Chalk Painting
For years now, I’ve seen this sidewalk chalk painting idea and decided to give it a try with my kids!
What Is Sidewalk Chalk Painting?
Have you ever left your sidewalk chalk out in the rain, and gone to use them later when they were still wet?
The colors were deep and rich and vibrant! They practically glide over the sidewalk!
That is exactly the process for preparing this fun art activity.
By taking pieces of sidewalk chalk and not just getting them wet but allowing them to really dissolve in the water, you can make chalk paint.
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It’s messy, but… well, most fun activities with children involve some amount of mess!
Let me show you how to get set up, as well as some of my trial-and-error tips.
What You’ll Need for this Chalk Painting Activity
Sidewalk Chalk
Now, if you’ve had pretty much any experience with sidewalk chalk, you know what I mean when I say that not all sidewalk chalk is created the same.
Some brands are vibrant and pigmented, and others are high on chalk and low on color.
Sometimes that difference doesn’t matter one bit, but with this activity, it does.
That’s because you’re going to be diluting those chalk pigments with water, and if there isn’t much color to the chalk to begin with, you might as well just paint the sidewalk with water because there simply won’t be much color to your paints.
Save the lower-end brand sidewalk chalk for a time when you’re simply using them as sidewalk chalk.
This is the time for the more vibrant brands of chalk.
I don’t know why there is so much variance from one brand of chalk to another, but it’s worth a little trial and error to find an affordable pack of chalk that actually leaves decent color on the pavement.
Now, that doesn’t mean you need to hand over loads of money for chalk!
I have found some wonderfully pigmented sidewalk chalks at the dollar store, of all places.
In fact, the chalk pieces featured in this post were from a brand new box of sidewalk chalk I purchased from a yard sale. A great find for sure!
Baking Soda / Cornstarch
This is a bonus ingredient! You don’t strictly need it, but it does help thicken up the paint and make it a little more opaque.
You can use either baking soda or cornstarch. Either works, so just use what you have in your kitchen cabinets.
Mix a tablespoon into the water in each paint container, and then add your chalk.
Paint Brushes
For the most part, any type of brush works just fine.
You’ll clean the chalky paint out easily with hot, soapy water and go on your way.
I will say, though, that there are different textures of sidewalks. If yours is particularly rough, might I suggest not using foam craft brushes? They’ll get pretty torn up.
For best results, use any regular paint brush or natural bristle brush.
It’s up to you whether you’d like a separate brush for each color. On one hand, that’s a lot of brushes!
On the other hand, your colors are going to get mixed up otherwise.
You could compromise by having the garden hose turned on and keeping it nearby for rinsing brushes.
Or having a bucket of water handy to use for this purpose.
Sidewalk Paint Containers
Muffin tins were made for baking muffins. However, I believe their secondary design purpose is to hold multiple colors of wet sidewalk chalk. ha!
It keeps all of the different colors handy, but it’s shallow and unlikely to be tipped over – Muffin tins are simply perfect for this art activity.
Setting Up for Sidewalk Success
Alright, it’s time to get set up and make your own chalk paint.
It takes very minimal prep work.
The first time I did this, I crushed up the chalk and then added the pieces to water – creating different colors of chalk paint.
The next time, we did this activity, we do not do it this way! Ahhh!
Crushing up all of the chalk created a lot of unnecessary mess and a little bit of frustration.
I say “unnecessary” because truly, all you need to do is break off about a third of each stick of chalk and let it sit in the water.
Crushing up the chalk may have made it dissolve into the water quickly, but the water was still plenty pigmented with the single piece of chalk soaking in it and dissolving more slowly over the course of the activity.
Save yourself at least some amount of mess…and frustration!
Unless your children would get a high amount of enjoyment whacking at plastic bags of chalk with a hammer. #safetyfirst Of course!
That part could be fun, but…
Just don’t feel like you need to.
You can make the sidewalk chalk paint just fine without crushing it.
Here’s How to Prep the Chalk Paint
Put your sidewalk chalk in the muffin tins and fill each portion with warm water.
Allow the water and chalk sit for 10 to 15 minutes, letting the chalk dissolve somewhat into the water. You can do this with the ends of longer pieces of chalk – or shorter pieces as shown in the following photo:
Depending on your chalk, this may not be long enough.
Wanna just go ahead and let yours sit in the water overnight? Go for it!
As mentioned above, you may want to first crush the chalk into small pieces – or crush up those little ends that are too small to use as regular sidewalk chalk anymore without hurting your fingers!
Remember, though – this can get super messy. It’s really up to your personal preference.
Either way, now it’s time to get creative!
Use your paint brushes to make beautiful works of art!
Are you a classroom teacher or homeschooling parent?
This can be a great way for kids to practice handwriting skills, spelling words, vocabulary terms…That’s right – they can paint these things!
Cleaning Up Afterwards
Really, cleaning up isn’t too difficult.
Your muffin tin can be tackled with hot soapy water, and probably your dishwasher is up to the task.
Dump out any excess paint and water first.
The paint brushes could be a little trickier, depending on your type of brush.
The chalk particles can clump up the bristles in a way that regular paint typically wouldn’t do.
If soapy water and elbow grease doesn’t seem to be getting your bristles clean, you can always use mineral spirits. It’s overkill, but it will definitely do the job and do it quickly!
Don’t really want to deal with all this?
I’m laughing, because I totally understand!
There are actually lots of ready-to-go chalk paint options out there!
You may decide to go that direction instead of trying this DIY chalk painting activity.
Either way, I think your kids will have fun and enjoy having a chance to be creative.
Love Art Activity Ideas for your Kids or Grands?
Here are a few more for you:
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