DIY Nature-Made Watercolor Paints

Editor's note: I originally wrote this as a guest post for Skip To My Lou, and I wanted to share it with you here before summer comes to a close. If you give this project a try, please let me know how it turned out for you! Use #SheMakesAHome on social media.

My girls and I love painting. I know, it's so much easier to just buy a Crayola paint palette, but this project is really more about the process than the end result.

The mission in my creative career is to connect art with nature. Children can especially benefit from this as they are just beginning to explore the world. This project contains three educational elements: art, science, and nature. You can adjust the depth of these questions depending on the age of your kid(s); even toddlers can learn from this by simplifying the questions.

1. Art: explore pigments with your child. Go online together to find out how historically, artists have made their own paints. Which artists preferred which type of paints, and what were they made from? When you are done with this project, observe how your own homemade paints dry. Have any of the paints changed color?
2. Science: Why do different plants have different coloring? What creates the different colors in plants?Why don't blueberries stay blue? How is it that eyes perceive color?
3. Nature: After you go on your hunt for plants (or take your plants from the fridge or freezer), how many natural colors could you find? How many shades of each color are there? After painting, are the colors on the paper as you expected? Were there any surprises? Which plant created your favorite paint color? Which plant had the most dull color? Which plants were the most difficult to extract color from?

Ready to get started? You will need:

• 5 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 6 Tablespoons corn starch
• 6 Tablespoons baking soda
• 3 Tablespoons corn syrup
• an assortment of plant material, from flowers to berries, tomatoes, citrus, leafy greens, beets, carrots, etc. Collect items for nature, or use what you have in your fridge, pantry, or freezer
• a juicer; alternatively, a masher and/or fine grater; muslin cloth or a very fine sieve
• a paint palette, ice cube tray, or clean egg carton
• glass mixing bowl

Directions

Mix vinegar, baking soda, corn starch, and corn syrup together in a small bowl. I used to glass measuring cup to create easy pouring through its spout. Whisk the ingredients until lump-free and smooth. Pour into your paint palette compartments until they are half full; or, if using an ice cube tray, fill each “cube” with about a tablespoon of the mixture.

Now you can extract the juice from the plants. You will want undiluted liquid from these plants, and as little plant material as possible. If you have a juicer, you are in luck! Juice each type of plant separately. If you do not have a juicer (I don't), follow these steps:

Mash the plants or fruits with a fork, immersion blender, or potato masher for plants such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, black berries, tomatoes, etc. This will work for any juicy plant with a thin skin. Transfer the smashed material into a muslin cloth and squeeze juice through it like a filter. Allow juice to collect in a small container. Alternatively, you can use a fine sieve like those used for steeping tea or a reusable coffee filter.

Root vegetables such as carrots and beets require a different approach. Use a fine grater to create a mound of mushy root material. Grated root material can have its juice squeezed through muslin cloth or pushed through a fine sieve with a blunt object, such as the end handle of a wooden spoon or a beater (as pictured). I achieved great success with carrots this way, mashing them through the mesh in a mortar/pestle-style motion.

Leafy materials were the easiest for me. Spinach, tree leaves, and flower petals can be ripped up slightly, and firmly squeezed and massaged in a muslin cloth until the juice drips through the cloth and into a container. If using a fine sieve or filter, a wooden spoon handle will work wonders.

After all of your plants are juiced, add 1/4 of a teaspoon or less of the juice to each of your partially-filled palette trays. Stir the juice well into the corn starch mixture. Allow to dry completely, up to two days. My mixture took the full two days to dry, but it depends on the humidity in your area. Being made from natural juices, these paints should only keep for 1-2 weeks, refrigerated.

You don't have to let leftover juices go to waste! You can paint with the pure juice immediately. Just dip in a wet paint brush and get started.

I hope you enjoy this project. While it can be a bit labor intensive, it really is all about the process and learning together.