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My kids love, love, love spending time outside. They also both love anything arts & crafts related (so their mommy’s children) and making a mess (they are kids). We headed outside after school one afternoon last week to accomplish both of these with fun, DIY sidewalk paint.
This isn’t the first time we’ve made our own sidewalk paint, but it was a first for my daughter and I felt like trying something new, so we tried a different method this time. They both love drawing with sidewalk chalk and we have a ton of it. Including a LOT of small pieces that get cast aside. Rather than wasting them, I decided to “repurpose” them into paint.
Supplies
- Sidewalk chalk – old, small pieces work great!
- Water
- Hammer
- Newspaper
- Muffin tin
- Assorted paint brushes
Instructions
Step 1 Select a piece of sidewalk chalk and sandwich it inside a couple sheets of newspaper. Use a hammer to hit it a few times and smash the chalk.
Of course, adult supervision is very necessary for this step depending on the age of your children. I let my 7 year old son do the smashing with his small hammer while I supervised. His toddler sister got the joy of just watching this part. If your children aren’t old enough, this should be done by an adult.
Step 2 Pour the chalk dust into one of the cups in the muffin tin.
Step 3 Add water and gently stir to combine. There is no perfect amount of water. Add a little for thicker, darker colored sidewalk paint. Add more water to thin it out and get a lighter color. This is a great opportunity for the kids to experiment and see what happens (science + art – I’m sneaky like that sometimes 😉 ).
Step 4 Repeat steps for additional colors.
Step 5 Definitely the most important step – have fun painting the sidewalk!
And maybe your feet & shoes …
And hands …
Needless to say, a certain toddler might have had our paint all over her and her clothes by the time she moved on to watering the front porch steps instead of painting.
I sat back, laughed, and snapped a lot of photos. I was enjoying watching my kids be kids and I knew I had my secret weapon waiting inside. Thanks to a great sale at Target plus coupons and Cartwheel, I snagged three 94.5fl oz bottles of all® free clear detergent the day before. It fights tough stains, but, even more important to me, it’s the #1 detergent recommended by Dermatologists, Allergists, and Pediatricians for Sensitive Skin. Like their love of arts and crafts, my kids also inherited my sensitive skin so detergent that’s gentle is a must.
With all® free clear detergent ready and waiting in our laundry room to fight stain battles, my kids are free to be kids and enjoy all the messy fun of childhood. Find more ways to be Free to Be here and continue the conversation by joining the all® free clear community – the perfect spot to connect with other parents and learn about the latest all® detergents.
Do your children have a favorite outdoor activity?
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