A Bit of Magic Potion!
May 21, 2010 by Alison
As a gift for my daughters I gave them:
- Plaster of Paris
- Wax paper
- Cups
- and some food coloring
I found the Plaster of Paris from Lowe’s after searching all of the craft stores. It was around $7
Kind of a weird present huh?
I also gave them the cute cookie cutters, but that didn’t work so don’t worry about that part!
Mix a little of this and that! Water with Plaster of Paris. Creating a thick goo like the consistency of Peanut Butter.
Telling them they were mixing a magic potion sent beams of excitement through their souls! They could hardly contain themselves for the unveiling of the final product! ( Yes, my daughter was still in her pajamas)
Mix and add food coloring. I’ve heard tempera paint powder works too, but I couldn’t find any for the life of me! I used what I had!
You know the heart molds from the melted crayon post last February? Well, I wanted to use them again. I like to make sure I get good use out of things I buy:)
Let them dry for a few hours and then pop them out! We tried to get a little artsy and add green and darker blue to the chalk.
A dream come true with the magic potion…
SIDEWALK CHALK!
AHHH…
so perfect
so little
so cute
SO FUN!
So, my daughters were so excited on how these turned out they wrapped them up and decided to give little love notes with a sidewalk chalk to their friends!
How my mothering heart jumped at the thought of them learning how to think of others!
I did let the kids use them on the driveway the day before a rain storm just to make sure the rain washed the food coloring away and not stain the cement. After the rain storm it was GONE! YEA for the fun, YEA for not having to clean up a mess:)
‘Recipe’ adapted from: About.com
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What a cute and fun project with kids! Would be a great small gift for a teacher or friend, too
.-= Pam @ diy Design Fanatic´s last blog ..Inspirational Revelation =-.
This is fantastic. I have heard about homemade sidewalk chalk before, but never looked it up. Incredibly simple and looks like loads of fun. I know that moms tend to be the crafty ones in the family, but plaster and paint? (never mind the trip to Lowes) This is a craft a Dad can really jump into!! Thanks!
.-= Philip´s last blog ..Eggless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies =-.
What a cute idea! I’ll have to try that with my kiddos!
.-= Michelle @ Mommy Loves Stilettos´s last blog ..♥Mission Monkey!!!! =-.
Love this idea. We go through so much sidewalk chalk during the summer. Thanks!
that is such a good idea. I had no idea you could do that!
Cute idea!! That would be a fun gift to give their friends the last day of school… I have a mold that is letters. it would be fun to make each kid their letter! Thanks!
OMG I had no idea plaster of paris would turn into chalk! I played with that stuff when I was a kid!!!
How freakin’ cute is this?! I didn’t even know this post was in the works. Nice job ALison!
I LOVE this idea! What a fun gift for your kids!
I love this I’m planning making some for my grand daughters birthday and make one of my walls a chalk board I think she’ll love it.
Holly
.-= Holly Days´s last blog ..SAD =-.
I didn’t know you could make sidewalk chalk with plaster of paris. Great idea! Thanks for sharing.
My daughter will luv this. Thank you!
Oh my!!! This is something my boys are going to LOVE to do this summer! Oh what a great gift idea for my son’s birthday too! We are doing a lego theme! Lego-shaped sidwalk chalk, ooohhh I am now getting excited!
.-= Courtney Carpenter´s last blog ..Lila-3 months (yesterday!) =-.
Can you use these molds for crayons or sidewalk chalk AND food? Or do you keep them exclusively for crafts?
When we do this with my dayhome kids we use toilet paper tubes, just tape them to a waxpaper covered lid and then peel away the tube as you use it, so much cleaner.
Omg! So stinkin’ cute! I have to make these with my niece! She would die! Thanks for sharing! ♥
.-= Kristy ~ Posh Pixels Design Studio´s last blog ..as seen on :: etsy’s front page! =-.
so adorable!!!! i love how your chalk’s all heart-shaped and with darker color on the inside!
Thank you for sharing! I am going to suggest this to my cousin for her daughter’s little party this year!
.-= Issa´s last blog ..Father’s Day Gift Tags and Rosettes =-.
OH MY GOSH!!! How cool is this! We go through sidewalk chalk like crazy during the summer time! We’re so goign to make this!
makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com
Oh my!! Cute! I have a heart tray too and I can’t wait to try these!
.-= Kim ´s last blog ..End Table =-.
Great tutorial. Very handy, thanks!!!
.-= Missy´s last blog ..Patriotic Rag Wreath and Ra Ra Craft =-.
I love this idea! I’m definitely jotting it down to make for some ‘I like your kid’s’ gifts this summer as I visit friends with little ones. :O)
AWESOME idea!!!! Will be whipping some up tomorrow for sure!
.-= genevieve lebel´s last blog ..Designing for a CURE… It’s a win-win situation! =-.
OMG! Mad mess!!! 2 tips: 1 – WEAR GLOVES! I’ve been technicolored! 2 – work fast! I enlisted my 3 year old as a helper… BAD IDEA!
PS I included your post on my blog!
.-= Genevieve Le Bel´s last blog ..crafty concoctions and boredom busters =-.
Hi, it should be mentioned you shouldn’t wash your dirty dishes from this project in your sink. Not good to wash plaster of paris down sink drains:)
Thanks again for this post!! I wanted to let you know I tried it out, and LOVE the chalk, I’m posting a link to you for the inspiration :O). I made a bunch of ‘star shaped’ chalk for my friends’ kiddos for the fourth, but didn’t even think about this until I saw your heart molds! I used a different recipe (same basic concept, but I couldn’t find you link at the time). Thanks again for sharing.
Such a great idea! I’m thinking this would be great for birthday parties, you could make them in a shape to match your theme
.-= Amy @ Blowout Party!´s last blog ..Decorated Summer Cookies =-.
I’m afraid there is a reason you did not find Plaster of Paris at craft stores and that is because it is not a child’s craft material. It is a material to be handled very carefully, with health and safety precautions taken. I found the following information online(from the side panel of a box of Dap Plaster of Paris:
WARNING! May cause eye, skin, nose and throat irritation. Do not get in eyes. Do not get on skin or clothing. Do not breathe dust. Harmful if inhaled. Handle with care. When mixed with water, this material hardens and then slowly becomes hot. DO NOT attempt to make a cast enclosing any part of the body using this material. Failure to follow these instructions may cause severe burns that may require surgical removal of affected tissues. When mixing or sanding, dust may cause irritation to eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Prolonged inhalation of excessive amounts of dust will have adverse pulmonary and respiratory effects. Over exposure may cause lung damage. Contains crystaline silica which can cause cancer. Thank you.
Hi
thanks for sharing this tutorial. I can’t wait to try this with my little girl !
I have linked back to this page from my blog http://thatcutelittlecake.blogspot.com/2011/01/rainbow-party-bags-and-favors.html
Thank you
Thanks for sharing with all of us, Alison! We loved your description on how to make adorable, heart-shaped, homemade chalk and know they would work perfectly with our products, Chalkboard China. Thanks again!
To add to what “Artist” said, Plaster of Paris is most harmful when it it in it’s dusty form and can be inhaled. When the kids drag the chalk across the pavement, it’s kicking up dust all over the place and I would be surprised if they were not inhaling a bit of that.
Very fun idea, but I really would pull this one from the must-do list.
This sounds like a great birthday favor! Did you use anything in the molds to make sure they didn’t stick?
http://www.crayola.com/canwehelp/contact/faq_view.cfm?id=204
Even Crayola sidewalk chalk is plaster-of-paris based.