We love sidewalk chalk because it’s a fun activity for kids (and adults) of all ages to do outside. This puffy sidewalk paint recipe only requires a few materials and it’s such a clever spin on the traditional store-bought sidewalk chalk. Kids will love painting with this DIY sidewalk paint this summer!
RELATED: Sidewalk Chalk Ideas
Puffy Sidewalk Paint Recipe
This sidewalk chalk paint squirts out easily and stays “puffy” when it hits the concrete. Kids can easily draw pictures or write words with this liquid chalk! You can make the chalk any color you’d like, or make a whole rainbow of colors! Dish soap is added to this recipe to make clean-up super easy.
Supplies Needed To Make Puffy Sidewalk Paint
- Flour
- Water
- Dish Soap
- Sidewalk Chalk – the leftover remnants of old chalk are perfect for this!
- Plastic Squeeze Bottles
This recipe will fill up a small squeeze bottle of puffy sidewalk paint. If you want to make multiple colors, double or triple the recipe and just divide the mixture before adding the sidewalk chalk.
Watch the Video Tutorial
How long does the sidewalk paint last?
This paint will need to be used the same day. The water and flour will start to separate and go bad after that. We found using small squeeze bottles were easy to use in a day’s activity. If you do not feel like you can use all of the paint, make only 1 or 2 colors.
Clean-up Tips
Clean-up time! When you are finished, simply spray it down with a garden hose on the highest pressure setting. The dish soap should help make the clean-up easier. We recommend you spray while the paint is still wet and do not let it dry in the sun. If this happens, get a brush broom to help scrub some of the paint off while spraying with water. If it’s not coming off, don’t worry, it will eventually come off after a few good rainfalls. We recommend spraying off after use so that it does not dry on the sidewalk.
If you are still having difficulty cleaning up, wet the paint and wait 5 minutes. Then spray the area with the highest pressure setting on your nozzle and as close to the paint as possible on a slight angle.
NOTE: make this the same day you plan on using it. It must all be used within a day or it will start to go bad. Also do not leave the paint inside the squeeze bottles overnight or the pressure from the mixture may cause the tops to pop off.
A note about sidewalk chalk: Sidewalk chalk is designed to be washable but can sometimes stain newer driveways or sidewalks if the surface still has open surface pores in the concrete which can absorb the colorants. Always read the packaging of the sidewalk chalk you purchase.
Steps To Make Sidewalk Paint – that’s puffy!
Puffy Sidewalk Paint
Materials
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 TBSP dish soap
- 1/2 piece sidewalk chalk
- 1 unit plastic squeeze bottle
Instructions
- Mix 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of water.Â
- Add 1 tablespoon of dish soap.
- Mix well until all clumps are gone.Â
- Now using a cheese grater, grate the sidewalk chalk piece on the finest setting in the color of your choice. We did red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.
- We used between a 1/2 to 1 full sidewalk chalk piece. Depending on how bright you want the color to be you can mix in more if needed. You can also reuse old chalk pieces that are small. If you add more chalk, you may need to add a bit more water to the recipe.
- Mix well to combine the color. Add more grated sidewalk chalk in if the color is not bright enough.
- The mixture should be thick but fluid, if it is too thick add a little bit more water to it.
- Now take a funnel and pour the paint into a squeeze bottle.Â
Notes
Once you make this fun paint, you won’t want to buy the store brands! Kids will love that they can get involved with both mixing it up in the kitchen and playing with it outside!
If you are interested in trying a store-bought sidewalk paint, we recommend this kind by Crayola.
More Summer Ideas
See this list of over 100 summer bucket list ideas – check off each item this summer with your kids.
See more sidewalk chalk ideas – these are all so much fun to do!
My kiddos loved this! A great cooler weather activity. We put chalk in ziplock bags and crushed them with hammers out side. The kids could do it on their own and it was fun!
Can I use food coloring instead of chalk grated for the coloring?
You can! But I would test a spot to make sure it doesn’t stain. If you wash away right away and don’t use too much, you should be fine.
Mine wasnt puffy at all. Whyyyyy???
Still worked. Just the effect wasnt there.
Used food coloring instead of chalk.
Used a blender instead of by hand.
The blender could have made the chalk too puffy? If it’s a little too runny then you may need to add a little more flour.
I love your idea!!! Sounds so fun for a boring summer day?
Can’t wait to make the puffy sidewalk paint with my grandchildren! ?