DIY

DIY Bubbling Liquid Sidewalk Chalk

by Karly Wood June 25, 2015

by Karly Wood 1.3K views

Now that it’s warm outside (ok let’s be honest, it’s HOT), I try and get my daughter to spend a few hours a day out of the house. And frankly, it’s cooler out there than in the stuffy house. I’m not one to hoard a garage full of toys, and sometimes when we’ve run through the usual array of activities, my little 2 year old gets bored. She simply loves sidewalk chalk, but doesn’t always love lying in the driveway to do it. So I decided to get creative and make some bubbling sidewalk chalk. It’s fun and I already had all the ingredients in my cupboard, and I bet you do too! Check out this very easy tutorial on making some of your own summer fun in a bottle.

Here’s What You’ll Need

Squirt Bottles

Corn Starch

Baking Soda

Water

Food Coloring

Vinegar

Start by filling your squirt bottles about 2/3 full, with equal parts cornstarch and baking soda (yes that IS a 13 pound bag of baking soda you see! I use it for everything!). Now, there’s a caveat: corn starch is incredibly difficult to get into the bottles, without making a huge mess. At least it was for me:

I found that using a funnel best worked to get cornstarch in, but I had to shake it like a Polaroid picture (not really, at least not like a Polaroid. I did have to wiggle it back and forth to get the powder to go through). The baking soda was much easier!

Then its time to drop in your food coloring. Because this is such a large bottle, you can double or even triple what your food coloring box says to drop in. Otherwise your colors will be very diluted.

Fill the rest of the container with water and watch it bubble just a little!

Next, take a butter spoon or something with a sturdy, long handle and stir the mixture. It’s actually difficult because the corn starch and baking soda have combined and are virtually a solid! Then screen your cap on nice and tight. If you have lag time in between making and using your sidewalk chalk, you will notice that your colors may start to separate. Put your finger over the hole and shake gently. Be careful when removing your finger! The baking soda will make the paint SHOOT OUT of the lid opening! When you’re all ready, send the kids outside for some sidewalk chalking!

my little tribe of kids

Now, I hope you didn’t forget about the vinegar! Add some to another squirt bottle or spray bottle and when your kids have exhausted your liquid paint, tell them to go back and squirt or spray vinegar over it! They’ll be amazed at how it bubbles!

my little tribe of kids

I hope you find this an easy DIY like I did, and that you enjoy your time outside!

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Karly Wood

Editor at Red Tricycle

I'm a born and bred Southern California native and currently the managing editor at Red Tri. I get to share my life with my husband of 13 years and our beautiful, 5-year old daughter. In my free time you'll catch me cheering for the Dodgers, cooking, baking, reading, crafting and probably watching a little HGTV!