How To Make Non-Toxic Herbal Paint for Children

Making homemade paint for kids to use for arts and crafts gives you control over the ingredients, creating a natural, non-toxic alternative.

Messy Homemade Paint is Fun!

My kids LOVE to get messy with art and craft supplies. What kid doesn’t? Their favorite thing to play with (and make a mess with) just so happens to be paint. Homemade, non-toxic kids’ paint!

Now as I’ve learned and grown more into natural, toxin-free living, I’ve learned a lot about so-called children’s “non-toxic” arts and crafts products. I recently wrote a post called The Toxic Truth Behind Children’s “Non-Toxic” Art And Craft Supplies where I discussed my concerns for small children using these supposedly “non-toxic” products.

As I’ve discovered more and more I’m not thrilled with when it comes to store-bought children’s arts and crafts supplies, I’ve decided to do my best at finding recipes for many of these supplies and making them at home with my children. Not only is it safer for my kids and cheaper on my wallet, but we have a blast doing it together! Plus, it instills a bit of self-sufficiency in them which is something else I love. I want them to be creative and not feel like they have to run to the store every time they need something.

So today I want to teach you how to make some homemade, non-toxic kids’ paint. It’s called Herbal Earth Paint, and I’m sure you and your kids will love it!

Homemade Paint for Kids

The first thing you’re going to need to do is to gather up your supplies. The great thing about this DIY recipe for homemade kid’s paint is that you only need 3 things.

• Powdered herbs in varying colors (find our recommended source below)
  
• Clay (kaolin/white cosmetic clay)
• Liquid: water, egg whites, glycerin

Okay, so let’s talk about each of the ingredients.

Powdered Herbs

You can find high-quality organic herbs online at Mountain Rose Herbs.

Just be sure to choose herbs that are colored and powdered. Below are some powdered herbs and the colors you’ll get from them.

• Turmeric = orange
• Mustard = light yellow (just buy the seeds and turn them to powder in your spice grinder)
• Spirulina = dark green
• Beet Root = red
• Bilberry Fruit = purple
• Activated Charcoal = black
• Arrowroot = white

The great thing about using herbs for your coloring is that it really works! They also make your paint taste kind of gross. This way you don’t have to worry about your toddler eating too much of it. Plus, by using herbs, you don’t have to worry about having toxic pigments in your paint. Another reassuring thing about most herbs that you’ll be using to color your paints is that they’re not harmful to kids. The above herbs are all non-toxic and many of them are in fact nutritious! I’m not encouraging your kids to eat their paint, just that there’s no need to stress if they do!

Clay

Kaolin clay is the best clay to use for making homemade, non-toxic kid’s paint. One reason is that kaolin clay is fairly inexpensive clay, and the other reason is that it’s white so it won’t change the color of your paints like bentonite or colored clays will. (Find kaolin/white cosmetic clay here.)

The reason you need clay in your paint is to thicken it up. It would be too expensive to use only powdered herbs, so adding in clay helps it to go further. It acts as a filler – it bulks your paints up.

Liquid

You also need some sort of liquid to help your paint spread. Here you have a few options depending upon what you want your paint to do and how long you want it to last.

Water

You can use water to liquefy your paints, and this makes it the cheapest of all the liquids you can use. If you decide to go with water, know that it will cause your paints to act like any watercolor paint would and absorb right into your paper. The plus side to this is that your paints won’t be used up as quickly and you can paint on upright surfaces since your paint won’t run. The downside is that water paints don’t last as long since water grows bacteria. You’ll only be able to store these paints in the refrigerator for a week or so before needing to make more.

Egg Whites

Egg whites are great to use for making homemade paint for kids because they make your paints a bit thicker and more spreadable. They also hold your paints to the surface of your paper which is nice if your kid is painting using an easel and his paper is upright, but the downside to using eggs is that it can be expensive and they won’t store. These paints will only last the day.

Glycerin

Glycerin is a sweet liquid that can be found online and sometimes in the pharmacy section of your grocery store. If you’re concerned with your kids eating the paint, be sure you get “food-grade” glycerin. They use glycerin to make many children’s herbal tinctures because it is sweet and masks the herbal flavors. The great thing about using glycerin is that it will last at least a month. Just be sure to keep it in an airtight container. Glycerin also makes your paints very spreadable. Just don’t use too much or it can make the homemade paint for kids runny.

The next step is to mix your ingredients. You’ll need equal parts powdered herbs and clay. I used 1 TBSP of each in our bowls. Next add in a small amount of your liquid, about a teaspoon at a time, and mix. If your paint is too thick add more liquid. If it’s too thin add more herbs and clay. Easy peasy! Check out the photos below.

Using Your Homemade Paint for Kids

Now your kids are all set to get creative and play with their safe, healthy, homemade, non-toxic herbal earth paints. Enjoy! I know we do!!

Tip: you can also make your own homemade clay!

Do you make homemade paint for kids? If so, how do you make it?

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Author Bio

Meagan Visser is the owner of Growing Up Herbal on Etsy where she offers natural, herbal skincare products for children. She also teaches parents how to take charge of their children’s health naturally on her blog, GrowingUpHerbal.com, and she enjoys living a simple and healthy life with her husband and 3 little boys in the southern Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee. Connect with her on Facebook and Pinterest.

How To Make Non-Toxic Herbal Paint for Children was written by Guest Author.

* This article was originally published here