Patriotic Puffy Paints

Happy 4th of July!!

We had a wonderful time making Patriotic Puffy Paints today...it would even work well tomorrow if you want a last minute sensory, science experiment-y, patriotic craft! The homemade paints puff up in the microwave as they dry in seconds! Check out the close-up above!

The Simple Supplies:

* construction paper

* black crayon

* 1/4 cup flour

* 1/4 cup salt

* 4 teaspoons baking powder

* 1/2 cup water

* 6-8 drops food coloring

The Easy How-to:

1- Prepare a piece of construction paper or cardboard by drawing a flag outline in black crayon.

2- Mix all the other ingredients into a tin to make the paint. To make ours patriotic, we mixed two tins: one red and one blue. The recipe makes quite a lot, so if you only have one or two children you may want to mix the ingredients, separate it into more than one tin, and then add the food coloring. The ingredients are harmless, so letting your children mix them, feel them, and taste them (yuck!) are all wonderful sensory activities! Wear aprons because food coloring can stain.

3- When you are done painting, cook it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. The baking powder makes the paints puff--let your children feel the new textures! Mine even had fun "popping" some of the "bubbles!"

Final masterpieces (flags, fireworks, and flowers!):