Hey there! Today, we’re going to learn how to make our own watercolors at home. It’s a fun and easy project that you can do with just a few ingredients. Let’s get started!
To make your watercolors, you’ll need the following ingredients and tools:
1. Find a place where it’s okay to be a little messy, like the kitchen.
2. In a bowl, mix four tablespoons of baking soda with two tablespoons of cornstarch.
3. Add three to four tablespoons of vinegar to the bowl. The mixture will fizz, which is fun to watch! Stir until the fizzing stops and the mixture is smooth.
4. Spoon the mixture into six cubes of your ice cube tray, filling them halfway.
5. Add a few drops of food coloring to each cube. Start with the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. Mix them well with your spoon.
6. To make new colors, mix the primary colors together. For green, mix yellow and blue. For orange, mix red and yellow. For purple, mix red and blue.
7. Let the watercolors dry. This might take overnight or a couple of days.
Once your watercolors are dry, you can use them to paint! Just grab a piece of paper, a paintbrush, and some water, and you’re ready to go.
Mixing colors is like a fun experiment. You can create new colors by combining the primary colors in different ways. For example, if you want a darker green, add more blue to your green mix. If you want a lighter green, add more yellow.
If you love insects, you can make insect-inspired art using construction paper. Remember, insects have three main body parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen. They also have six legs and an exoskeleton.
To make your insect art, you’ll need scissors, glue, a pencil, and markers. Cut out the shapes for the head, thorax, and abdomen, and glue them together. Add six legs and draw a face with antennae, eyes, and a mouth.
Another fun art project is making sun prints. You’ll need special paper, some water, and sunlight. Place objects like leaves on the paper and leave it in the sun. The sunlight will change the paper’s color, creating a beautiful print.
Art is all about creativity and experimenting with new things. Whether you’re making watercolors, insect art, or sun prints, have fun and let your imagination run wild. Happy creating!
Color Mixing Experiment: Use your homemade watercolors to explore color mixing further. Start with the primary colors you made: red, yellow, and blue. On a piece of paper, try mixing different amounts of these colors to see what new colors you can create. Can you make a color that looks like the sky or the grass? Write down the “recipe” for each new color you create by noting how many drops of each primary color you used.
Nature Color Hunt: Go on a nature walk with a small notebook and a pencil. Look for colors in nature that match the watercolors you made. Can you find something red, yellow, or blue? What about the new colors you mixed, like green, orange, or purple? Draw a small picture or write down what you find. When you return home, use your watercolors to paint a picture of the things you saw.
Insect Art Challenge: Using the insect art instructions, create your own insect using the watercolors you made. Paint the head, thorax, and abdomen with different colors. Think about what colors insects in nature might be and try to replicate them. Once your insect is complete, give it a name and write a short story about where it lives and what it likes to do.
