An inexpensive rainy day project: DIY glimmer paint in two steps

I wasn’t sure if my son and I would ever attempt another colorful DIY creation after the Great Rainbow Slime Fail of 2012, but this recipe for DIY glimmer paint seemed too good to pass up. It’s sparkly AND colorful? COME ON, NOW.

We were stuck inside on a dismal day when I decided to be bold and attempt to DIY again… here’s how you can make your own shiny paint (note: it’s a little hard to see the glimmer in the photos, but it’s there)! We had all the necessary items except food coloring, so this little experiment only cost me $3.

What you need

• Half a cup of salt
• Half a cup of flour
• Half a cup of water
• Food coloring

How you do it

My favorite part about this entire experience is you can accomplish it in TWO STEPS: two. It makes DIY for the chronically challenged DIYer so eeeeeasy:

1. Mix together the salt, flour, and water; the mixture should be about the consistency of pudding.
2. Add food coloring until the desired shade is reached (note: we divided the batter into three cups so we could make different colors of paint). You can use a funnel to transfer the paint to a squeeze bottle… or you can just dump the paint out on a plastic-bag covered plate and finger paint like we did! Another option: transfer the paints to a ziplock bag and cut off one corner of the bag for a make-it-yourself applicator.

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The great thing? This can appeal to kids across the ages: babies can get their fingers all dirty and gross, toddlers will have fun mixing and matching the colors, and older kids can help with the prep and the painting. Who knows? Maybe there’s a teen or two out there that would also dig it.

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