Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Jul 23, 2021 | DIY Crafts, DIY Projects

Learn how to make sidewalk chalk paint and keep your children entertained all day long with this quick and easy kids art and craft activity! A great outdoor summer craft for kids!

DIY sidewalk chalk paint is one of our favorite (and inexpensive!) outdoor summer activities! We’ve previously shared our favorite homemade chalk paint recipe before, but it is SO much fun that I couldn’t resist bringing it up one more time! Making your own sidewalk paint is super easy, and it only requires a couple of ingredients, so virtually ANYONE can do it!

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

HOW TO MAKE:

1/2 cup Cornstarch
2/3 cup Water
Food Coloring

Mix together the water and cornstarch, and stir until the cornstarch dissolves. Our chalk paint recipe generally calls for a 1:1 ratio of cornstarch and water, but since we were painting on the sidewalk instead of paper, I incorporated just a bit more water and found that we liked it even better. We were able to paint longer brushstrokes without needing to reload the paintbrush with paint, which is always great for younger kids. Divide the paint mixture into the wells of a muffin tin or similar painting tray, and add food coloring to achieve the desired colors – note that the colors will dry much lighter on the sidewalk than they appear in the tin!

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Large kids paintbrushes work best, but any paintbrush will do!

Since the entire batch of paint only costs about $.50 to make, I never have to worry about them ruining expensive paints when it comes time to experiment with color mixing (Sutton’s specialty!).

When the kids were done painting with the paintbrushes, they decided to paint their hands and feet and make hand/footprints on the sidewalk. They had a blast with it! The paint washes off their skin easily with soap and water, and we didn’t run into any problems with the food coloring staining their skin or the concrete.