We love mixing up homemade art materials in our house. By making the materials first, we add another whole dimension to our arts and crafts activities. I've noticed that kids have just as much fun making them as using them. And, of course, homemade is a frugal and often environmentally friendly alternative to many commercial art materials.
With that in mind, I put together this roundup of 35 homemade art materials that kids can make (or help make) that encompasses everything from glitter paint to DIY stamps, feelie goop to salt dough. Some are from The Artful Parent and many are from around the web. Enjoy!
Homemade Paint Recipes
- Puffy Paint on The Artful Parent
- Sidewalk Chalk Paint on Moms Crafty Space
- Watercolor Paints on The Artful Parent
- Fingerpaints on The Artful Parent
- Bathtub Paint on Having Fun at Home
- Bathtub Puffy Paint on Chalk in My Pocket
- Glitter Paint on Creatively Content
- Microwave Puffy Paint on TinkerLab
- Shiny Condensed Milk Paint on ECE Made Easy
Homemade Playdough Recipes
- Cooked Playdough on The Artful Parent
- No-Cook Playdough on The Artful Parent
- Edible Peanut Butter Playdough on Make and Takes
- Kool-Aid Playdough on Running with Glitter
Other Fun Dough Recipes
- Air Dry Clay on The Artful Parent
- Salt Dough on The Artful Parent
- Cloud Dough on TinkerLab
Homemade Goops and Gaks
- Gak (also known as Flubber) on The Artful Parent
- Feelie Goop (also known as Oobleck) on The Artful Parent
Homemade Glue Recipes
- Glitter Glue on Artzcool's Blog
- Decoupage Glue (ie Mod Podge alternative) on Do It Yourself Divas
- Homemade Glue on I Can Teach My Child
- Papier Mache Paste on The Artful Parent
- Homemade Mod Podge vs. The Real Deal on The Artful Parent
Homemade Crayons and Chalk
- Recycled Muffin Tin Crayons on Our Best Bites
- Recycled Push-Up Crayons on Infarrantly Creative
- Bath Crayons on Artful Adventures
- Chalk Stars on From Glitter to Gumdrops
Homemade Stamps and Stickers
- Stamps with Everyday Items on Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning
- Cork Alphabet Stamps on Michele Made Me
- Rubber Stamps on SouleMama
- Plasticine Clay Stamping on Filth Wizardry
- Draw Your Own Stickers on The Artful Parent
- Stickers with Gelatin (homemade all the way!) on Skip to My Lou
Homemade Beads
- Dyed Pasta Beads on The Artful Parent
- Air Dry Dough Beads on The Artful Parent
- Paper Beads on Ramblings from Utopia
That's the end of my roundup, but I'm sure there are some other great homemade art materials posts out there. If you know of a good one (yours or someone else's) please feel free to share in the comments!
How about you? Do you make your own art materials, either once in a while or regularly? Do you have a favorite?
