Babies, toddlers, preschoolers and even school aged children are known for their love of arts and crafts. The messier they are the better.
Messy arts and crafts sometimes mean that little fingers full of paint, glue, clay, or other materials end up in the mouth. Sometimes the art supplies themselves end up in the mouth.
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely do not want any synthetic concoctions, chemicals, or questionable substances entering my little girl’s precious body. My solution?
Edible Art Supplies Including Edible Finger Paints, Edible Water Color Paints, and Edible Playdough!
Edible art is just as fun, if not more fun than your standard art store fare. Edible art supplies are easy to make with your child and even more fun to use with your child. Sure, some of these art supplies are sugar laden but I would rather see a little sugar pass my child’s lips than obnoxious chemicals no matter how “non-toxic” they supposedly are.
Here are a few of our favorite edible art recipes! Give them a whirl! I guarantee your child will love them!
Edible Finger Paint
Edible Finger Paint
Edible finger paint recipe that uses two simple ingredients but unleashes hours of fun!
Materials
- Corn Syrup
- Natural Food Dye
Instructions
- Put a good size blob of syrup on a thick piece of white or cream colored construction or craft paper.
- Add a drop or two of food coloring onto the syrup.
- Let your child have at it!...
Edible Watercolor Paint
Edible Water Color Paint
This edible watercolor paint is so much fun, created vivid colors, and keeps creative kids busy for hours! Make some today!
Materials
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- Several drops of natural food dye
Instructions
- Mix ingredients together.
- Get out the brushes and paper.
- Have fun!
Notes
This "paint" will be light in color and have a somewhat glossy finish.
Whipped Cream Finger Paint
Whipped Cream Finger Paint
This edible whipped cream finger paint is not only delicious but it makes for some great finger painting fun for children of all ages!
Materials
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Natural food coloring
Instructions
- Put 1 cup of whipped cream in a mixing bowl and mix with electric mixer.
- Add food coloring until you have the desired color.
- Paint and have fun!
Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough
Edible Peanut Butter Playdough
This edible peanut butter playdough is tasty and fun! You can use another nut or seed butter in place of the peanut butter if you wish. This homemade playdough is single use but provides loads of fun!
Materials
- 1/3 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup powdered milk
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, mix and knead all of the ingredients together.
- Play!
Notes
Use raisins, chocolate chips, pretzels or other yummy snacks to add to your play dough creations!
Do not store or reuse this play dough, this is one time use only!
Applesauce Cinnamon Dough
Apple Cinnamon Dough
This apple cinnamon dough is loads of fun! It dries within 12 hours so you can keep those precious creations forever.
Materials
- 1/2 cup cinnamon
- 1/2 cup applesauce
Tools
- 1 plastic zip lock sandwich bag
Instructions
- Pour cinnamon and applesauce into zip lock bag.
- Seal bag and knead until mixture turns to dough.
Notes
Allow your dough creations to air dry for 12 hours or until hard.
About food coloring….
I am not a fan of store bought food dyes. I prefer to make my own. Not only are they safe and easy to make, but the colors are so rich!
Below is a chart offering some basic natural coloring options.
| Desired Color | Food to Add | Amount to Add per 1 Cup of “Material” | Other Instructions |
| Yellow | Turmeric (stale is more flavor neutral) | 1 tsp | Add a small quantity of milk to get to desired consistency |
| Baby pink | Raspberries | Mash and strain juice from a dozen fresh or thawed frozen raspberries | |
| Pink | Currants | Blend handful of currants in a blender and add directly | |
| Blue/purple | Blueberries | Mash and strain juice from a dozen fresh or thawed frozen blueberries | |
| Dark pink | Blackberries | Mash and strain juice from a dozen fresh or thawed frozen blackberries | |
| Pale green | Avocado | 1/4 avocado mashed and added directly | |
| Green | Kale | 2 tsp kale juice (make with juicer) | |
| Brown | Chocolate | Cocoa powder to desired shade of brown | Add small quantities of milk or brewed coffee to get to desired consistency |
| Brown | Coffee powder | Coffee powder to desired shade of brown | Add small quantities of milk or brewed coffee to get to desired consistency |
If you do decide to purchase food coloring, this is the brand I suggest. It is very safe for little mouths!
I hope these recipes offer some fun inspiration for getting crafty with your little one!
Katy says
Thank you for the recipes! Lovely!
At preschool and at home we make our own playdough completely out of eatable products. Kids love to help measure and mix!
Another sensory activity is a No Sand sandbox!
1 large storage tub (about 22 x 15 x 6 inch is a great size) with lid
Flax seed or cornmeal (some use rice)
Fill tub halfway and add spoons, cups, funnels, cars, anything to move, push and dig in the “sand”.
Clean up is a cinch, a little sweeping and cover the bin until next time.
Lauren @ Hobo Mama says
These are so easy and so fun! And we have the ingredients already — score. I’ve got to try some of them today.
Thanks for the tips on food coloring, too — I’ve been curious about trying out natural dyes so it’s nice to have a chart handy!
Dionna @ Code Name: Mama says
You.Are.Genius. I think I might have to do a co-op preschool class using some of these recipes! Thank you for the inspiration.
Alinka @ Baby Web says
Fun, healthy, creative and edible!!! Makes me want to try out your recipes and I am not exactly an artist…
Ashley Poland says
Oooh, I love the guide to natural coloring! I think I’ll definitely have to try the fingerpaint; Miles loves painting on paper for about two minutes, and then himself for about twenty. (And most of his paintbrushes have disappeared. Go figure.)
Thanks for sharing! 😀
Momma Jorje says
These ideas are so cool! I love sweetened condensed milk… I wanna play! lol
lyndsay @ ourfeministplayschool says
So many recipes! Love! We try so hard to use only homemade stuff – and I love to have new batches to try with Aodhan. And the chart for food colouring!!! I am so trying and than directing my readers to your brilliance! Thank you.
Andrea at Tales Of Goodness says
Jennifer, you always take natural to a whole other level. As I was reading through this, I thought “hmm – what about the food coloring?”, and then “well, I guess it’s better than chemicals”. But no, you have a solution for that too! Your creativity and dedication are really inspirational. Keep at it please. Thanks!
Lucy says
Such a well-researched and inspiring resource, as always. Another for bookmarking!