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Puffy paint is the kind of craft kids remember. You squeeze it out like frosting, it stands up off the page, and it gets even puffier as it dries. The Artful Parent makes it with four things from the kitchen and the bathroom cabinet: flour, shaving cream, white glue and food coloring. It takes about ten minutes to mix and one afternoon of happy squeezing.
This makes enough for four or five colors and several pictures. Halve it for one or two children.
Shaving cream is mostly tiny air bubbles. The glue coats those bubbles and the flour thickens the mix so it holds its shape. As the water dries out, the glue sets around the air and leaves a light, spongy, raised line. That is also why it needs a stiff surface. Thin paper curls as the glue shrinks.
Zipper sandwich bags are the easiest: fill, seal, snip a corner. Piping bags give a neater line and are easier for small hands to squeeze. Old squeeze bottles work too if the paint is a touch thinner. You can also spread it with a craft stick or brush for a textured fill instead of lines.
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Runny, lines spread flat | Stir in a spoonful of flour |
| Too stiff to squeeze | Add a little more shaving cream |
| Not puffy | Fresh shaving cream, mixed gently |
| Pale colors | More drops, or use liquid watercolors |
Lay finished pictures flat somewhere they will not be bumped and let them dry overnight. Thick blobs can take a full day. Once dry, the paint is firm but still soft and squishy to the touch. Mixed paint does not keep well, so make it the day you plan to use it.
No. Store puffy paint for T-shirts is an acrylic fabric paint that survives the wash. This homemade version is for paper and card. It will crack and wash out of fabric, so save the kitchen recipe for pictures and keep a bottle of fabric paint for clothes.
Shaving cream and glue are not food, so keep an eye on little ones who like to taste. Cover the table with a tray, mat or old tablecloth. If someone has sensitive skin, try an unscented shaving foam.
If your crew loves this, mix up homemade playdough or slime next. Shaving cream also makes marbled paper, and salt dough ornaments make great keepsakes to paint.
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How to make puffy paint with flour, shaving cream, glue and food coloring. An easy project: about 40 minutes, plus 12 hours to dry or set. Materials cost about $4 to $8. You need 12 things, including all-purpose flour, foaming shaving cream and white school glue. The 10 steps start with measure Flour Into a Bowl for Puffy Paint, add Shaving Cream to the Puffy Paint Flour and stir White Glue Into the Puffy Paint Mixture.
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Put 1 cup of all-purpose flour into a large mixing bowl. Pick a big bowl. Shaving cream takes up a lot of room and you want space to stir without it spilling over. Have your measuring cup, a sturdy spatula and the shaving cream close by. Kids love helping measure, so let them level off the flour.
A glass or plastic bowl is easier to clean than wood once the glue gets in.
Measure 3 cups of foaming shaving cream and add it to the flour. Press it into the cup to get a real cupful, then scoop it out with the spatula. The foam is what makes this paint puff, so use the classic foam kind from a can. Gel shaving creams do not hold the air the same way.
Spray the shaving cream into the cup slowly. Fast spraying leaves big air pockets.
Add 1 cup of white school glue. Stir gently until there are no dry streaks of flour left and the mix looks like fluffy frosting. Fold rather than beat. Stirring too hard knocks the air out of the foam and you lose some of the puff. It should hold soft peaks on the spatula.
Washable school glue cleans off hands and tables more easily than craft glue.
If you want more than white, spoon the mixture into smaller bowls, one for each color. Four or five colors is plenty for a rainbow. Keep one bowl white. White puffy paint is great for clouds, snow and outlines, and it looks bright on dark paper. Scrape the big bowl clean so nothing goes to waste.
Use small bowls with straight sides. They make it easier to scoop into bags later.
Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl and stir until the color is even. Liquid watercolors work too and give brighter shades. Go slowly. You can always add another drop, but too much liquid makes the paint runny. Mix red and yellow for orange, or blue and red for purple, if you are short on colors.
Colors look lighter in the bowl than on paper once dry, so go a shade deeper.
Scoop each color into its own sandwich bag or piping bag. Push the paint down toward one corner and squeeze out as much air as you can. Seal a sandwich bag, or twist the top of a piping bag and close it with a twist tie or rubber band. Write the color on the bag if they look alike.
Stand the bag in a tall cup while you fill it. It stays open and upright.
Cut a small hole at the corner of each bag with scissors. Start tiny. A small hole gives a thin, controlled line, and you can always cut it bigger. A hole that is too big lets the paint gush out in one blob. An adult should do the cutting for young children.
Snip at an angle for a slightly wider, flatter line, like a cake decorator.
Cover your work surface with a tray or mat. Lay down a sheet of card stock or thick paper. Squeeze the bag gently from the top, the way you would a tube of toothpaste, and draw lines, swirls and dots. Bright colors pop against black card stock. Thin printer paper will wrinkle as the paint dries.
Keep the bag tip a little above the paper, not touching it, for a rounder, puffier line.
Lay one color right beside the next and the lines will join into a thick, raised design. A rainbow is a perfect first picture. Do one arch at a time, red on the outside, then work your way in. Little ones can press the puffy lines with a finger to feel how soft they are.
Draw a light pencil arch first if your child wants a guide to follow.
Keep adding details until you are happy with the picture. Fish, flowers, names and patterns all work well. Then set it flat somewhere safe and let it dry overnight. The paint firms up and puffs a little more as it dries but stays soft and squishy to the touch. Write the date on the back.
Dry it on a baking sheet so you can move it without bending the paper.
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How to Make Puffy Paint With Shaving Cream, Glue and Flour
E6000
E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
The industrial-strength craft glue that bonds glass, wood, ceramic, metal, fabric, and concrete. The one adhesive most craft projects reach for.
Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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