Madelyn came home yesterday with Homemade Sidewalk Chalk AND the instructions on "How-To" make it.....so, I thought I would share it with you all!
Any excuse is a good excuse to get outside. And Homemade Chalk ranks right up there! Not only will making your own sidewalk chalk bring hours of hopscotch and drawing entertainment, but all sidewalk fun builds hand muscles, which help young kids as they learn to write.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that the "Easter Bunny" JUST brought Maddy a brand new Crayola Box of 52 pieces of Sidewalk Chalk......um, yeah.
What You Need:
Toilet paper or paper towel tubes
Scissors
Duct Tape
Wax Paper
3/4 cup warm water
Small bucket or disposable container
1 1/2 cups Plaster of Paris
2-3 tablespoons tempera paint
What You Do:
1. If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half. Cover one end of each tube with duct tape. Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes. Each piece should be as long as the tube and about 4 inches wide. Roll up each piece of wax paper and slip it into the tube.
2. Pour the water into the bucket. Sprinkle the Plaster of Paris over the water and stir the mixture thoroughly with a spoon. Mix in the Tempera Paint (If you would like pastel colors, you can mix brighter colors of Tempura powder with some white.)
3. Place each tube tape side down, on a level surface. Pour the wet plaster mixture into the tubes. Lightly tap the sides of each tube to release air bubbles, then set the plaster-filled tube aside to harden for a few days. Once they are dry, peel off the tubes and wax paper. Your chalk is ready for action!
Enjoy!!
*UPDATE* A wonderful blog reader suggested trying Glow-in-the-dark paint.......give it a try!!!
I am also linking this post to the lovely blog Living with Lindsay.
21 comments:
So...so cool of you to share!
Love the whole concept and the possibility. If I follow through or not, is still in question. Big thanks, either way. Be well.
Oh this will go over GREAT at our house. Now to go figure out what Plaster of Paris is in Dutch (we live in the Netherlands) and find out where to buy it. Thanks for sharing!
I love this idea. I just wish my son were old enough to need sidewalk chalk because I would love to make it!! For now it might be a little odd if I strapped him into the carrier (he's only four months) and sat on the street coloring by myself. A little odd, but perhaps still an option. . .
Great idea! Especially with the school holidays coming soon...... As far as I know Plaster of Paris is ordinary 'gips', for sale in any DIY shop... And Danielle, he'll be big enough sooner than you wish!
That is so cool!! I'm going to try this. Thanks for posting the recipe!
We got our Plaster Of Paris at Michaels, and tried this today. The paste was really thick, so we added quite a bit of water to make it smooth enough to get into the tubes. We're waiting for them to dry...not sure if it will turn out. Any advice for future tries?
Thanks so much for posting!
Amanda
Just wanted to add to my previous comment.
We tried this again today, as our first attempt crumbled. I discovered that I was using a bottle of "washable paint", which made it very thick. My tempera paint worked great! I thought all the bottles were the same. Now I know! (:
~Amanda
This is great, I have been wanting to make my own chalk for some time now. I will definitely have to try this. Thanks!
Fantastic! This is a great idea - the kids and I can make some to give as gifts. I'm always looking for things that a 3 and 5 year old can help make. Thanks for the directions!
I did this when my kids were younger. It was fun to scout around the house and look for unusual molds. We even used cupcake tins with liners. My daughter also liked to layer colors in the molds or put in two colors and swirl it with a popsicle stick. It was fun to make and fun to give.
That is so awesome! Can't wait to try to make some for myself :)
This is great! I am making some tomorrow! I'm going to blog about it for Tuesday. Awesome.
About how many pieces does one batch make. Trying to plan ahead for a Girl Scout meeting.
My mom randomly sent me chalk while i was in Iraq, My friend and I had a blast with it. She is over there again now and I think I'm gonna make this and send it to her :)
I have a bucket of Plaster of Paris that I bought for handprints and used very little, so I'm so excited to use it on this recipe - the kids are home sick so we will have so much fun trying this, Thank-you!
umm i can tell from what people are saying that its cool but i dont have the stuff :(
Excuses for an adult to make sidewalk chalk. Once made, when going for a walk, write insperational words on the side walk every 10 feet or so.
Hi Leslie;
I love your blog - and all of the creative ideas you share! I've recommended your sidewalk chalk recipe on my own blog and would love it if you could take a look (I'm just starting out): http://www.chiliwalla.com/
It looks like great summer fun!
We originally heard about glow in the dark side walk chalk from Martha Stewart. However, the "Micheal's" in town only carries white glow in the dark paint in 2oz containers, what ratio of paints should I use?
Hi! My name is Jennifer Price. I write for a site called Today's Mama (www.todaysmama.com). I am currently writing a series on Christmas Crafting. I wanted to link to this post and ask permission to use the first photo of the sidewalk chalk. I would give photo credits to you. Let me know. My email is jeremynjenprice (at) gmail (dot) com
OMG!!!! thankyou soooo much for posting this cause its my brothers birthday tomorrow and i am going to make him some chalk cause it costs nothing!!!! thamks soooo much<3
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