Noa and I spent some time painting this morning. He was doing his usual technique - mix the color, taste the color, apply color to face, arms, hair - a little on the paper and repeat. Even though the jar states that the contents are non-toxic, I had to wonder about some of those mystery ingredients. I started considering what other options there are in the way of toddler-friendly paints. After all, I don't think "washable" means quite the same thing as "let your kid eat as much as he likes." It turns out of course that quite a few people/ companies have addressed the concern. Here are some of the solutions that I came across:
You Can Buy "Green" Fingerpaint:
1/3 cup soap flakes melted with 1/2 cup boiling water
food coloring or juice dyes (see below)
* make your own soap flakes by grating a bar of homemade hand soap (available in your health food store) until you have 1/3 of a cup of soap flakes.
Combine the cornstarch, water, and melted soap in a bowl. Stir to blend. Let the mixture set until it has become thick. Divide into separate bowls and stir in juice dyes for color.
How to Make Juice Dyes
One or more of the following: frozen berries, canned beets, or 1/2 cup plant material (blueberries, beets, walnut hulls, cranberries, tea).
Water as needed.
Use the juice straight from thawed berries, or juice drained from canned beets. Mix colors for hue variations. If using fresh berries, fruit, walnut hulls, or tea, combine the plant material with 1 cup of water in a pan and simmer over low heat for 1/2 hour or so, adding more water as it evaporates.
Nuno Organic and Kidbean both make a natural kids' fingerpaint.
They look pretty good, but cost $22- $25 /a set. Yikes!
Or You Can Make Your Own Like This:
I found this great recipe by Annie Berthold on Care2.com/greenliving.
1 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. water1/3 cup soap flakes melted with 1/2 cup boiling water
food coloring or juice dyes (see below)
* make your own soap flakes by grating a bar of homemade hand soap (available in your health food store) until you have 1/3 of a cup of soap flakes.
Combine the cornstarch, water, and melted soap in a bowl. Stir to blend. Let the mixture set until it has become thick. Divide into separate bowls and stir in juice dyes for color.
How to Make Juice Dyes
One or more of the following: frozen berries, canned beets, or 1/2 cup plant material (blueberries, beets, walnut hulls, cranberries, tea).
Water as needed.
Use the juice straight from thawed berries, or juice drained from canned beets. Mix colors for hue variations. If using fresh berries, fruit, walnut hulls, or tea, combine the plant material with 1 cup of water in a pan and simmer over low heat for 1/2 hour or so, adding more water as it evaporates.
For A Super Quick-Fix:
Mix up some instant vanilla pudding and add a range of colors with food dyes - yum!
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