This is a great fun craft to do with kids – make your own Sidewalk Chalk. Who doesn’t have happy memories of drawing hopscotch or a chalk treasure hunt on the floor near you home?! Making your own Sidewalk Chalk is surprisingly straight forward to do! And the best thing about it, is that it makes great “party favours” too. Make some heart shaped ones to keep kids busy at a wedding or have some far star shaped ones at a superhero party or for the 4th of July. There are plenty of occasions when you can give these chalks as little gifts.
Sidewalk Chalk Materials:
- 1 cup Water
- 2 cups Plaster of paris*
- 3 tlb sp tempera powder paint or food colouring
- An old tin/ plastic cup and chop stick for mixing and storing – we used an old tin per colour.
- Silicon ice cube trays in the desired shape
*double check the instructions on your plaster of paris packaging. Make allowances for paint. If in doubt, LESS is better as it will result in a softer chalk that will draw better.
Sidewalk Chalk How To:
1) Add you tempera powder to your plaster of paris and slowly mix with the water. You will have a reasonably RUNNY consistency. You think it will never set! But fear not, it will. The runnier your original mixture, the softer your chalk will become and the easier it will be to draw with. If you want to make white chalk, you can leave the plaster of paris plain, but you will get a better effect if you do add white tempera powder.
Note: Plaster of paris will start setting after 20-30 minutes (you will see it getting warm – a great science experiment). So you have to work reasonably quickly!
2) Carefully pour your mixture into your silicon trays. Don’t worry if it looks a little messy you can tidy them afterwards. Give you tray a gentle tap/ shake. You want to get all air bubbles out. Top up if necessary.
3) Let it set. Ideally leave your shapes in the trays for at least a day before taking out. Though you should be able to remove them once fully cooled again. Leave 2-3 days before actually using them!
4) Package and GIVE!
Give them as party favours or make them for the 4th of July!
Give them as wedding party favours or on Valentine’s Day!
Enjoy and get creative!
