My kids love sidewalk chalk paint. In the past I’ve purchased it in powdered form and doled it out stingily to make it last longer than a day. No more! This three ingredient sidewalk chalk recipe is so easy the kids can make it themselves! And the making is half the fun!
The ingredients….
I love creative activities that use household ingredients. Why? Mostly because this means they aren’t fancy ingredients that only someone with a fully stocked art studio would have. This recipe definitely falls under that category. Go into your pantry and grab corn starch (or corn flour) and liquid food coloring. You’ll need some small non glass bowls for safe mixing and fat paint brushes for mixing and painting.
Sidewalk chalk paint recipe….
This recipe is one of those that are so easy they can barely be called a recipe. But sometimes those are the best kind of recipes, both in the kitchen and in the art studio.
Mix equal parts corn starch and water, stir up, and add food coloring to desired vibrancy. To be honest we didn’t even measure. Add, mix, test, and adjust accordingly. If you have a sludge of corn starch in the bottom of your paint cup just add more water and stir!
If you ‘re the kind of person that likes to measure start with a half cup of cornstarch and a half cup of water. This will give you enough paint to play with!
This process is fun and the ingredients are inexpensive enough to allow for experimentation without stinginess.
Let’s make paint together…
Follow along with the video above and we can make sidewalk chalk paint together! I’ll lead you through every step. It’s so easy- even your youngest artist can be in charge of this recipe!
Storing your paint….
The cornstarch in this recipe tends to settle to the bottom when left undisturbed. If left uncovered the water will, of course, evaporate. Can it be reconstituted? Absolutely. But given the simplicity of the ingredients and process this sidewalk chalk paint may be best mixed and used immediately.
How about a painting a sidewalk chalk mural….
Use the paint recipe from this post to create a giant mural quickly with this masking tape method. It’s an easy way to paint BIG! (Check out the brushes we used- this is action painting at it’s best!)
Check out the masking tape/chalk paint mural idea now!
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I like this chalk paint recipe and idea…but I wonder–if the food coloring my stain my students hands and/or clothes if they’re not careful??
It may stain clothes but I wouldn’t worry too much about hands. The coloring is pretty diluted in the paint so it’s not too intense. I say put on some old clothes and enjoy! I do know it washes off the sidewalk easy peasy!
So fun! We’re going to try this one! Thanks Jodi.
Your girls would love this one! Thanks Laura!
If you ever redo this article, I suggest adding in that it is easy to clean off of cement.
Hi Michelle! That’s a good point. As vibrant as it is it does still wash right off with the first rain- no scrubbing required! Thanks for bringing that up!
Is it flour or cornstarch? You had it different in two places? Thank you so much for the recipe!
Heather- thanks for catching that! It should have read cornstarch! There is no flour involved!
You didn’t mean flour did you (paragraph 2 under mixing)? Just cornstarch, water and food coloring right? I didn’t want anyone to get confused. I love your website! Keep up the good work!
Ahh, thank you for catching this! I fixed it! It is cornstarch- no flour!