Puffy Paint Pictures

~Update: In giving more details to a friend, I realized I didn't mention something we learned the hard way: be sure to use thick paper (like medium to heavyweight cardstock) so that the paintings don't warp as they dry.

I forget that kids don't need to do something entirely new for every craft.  Sometimes you can pull out an oldie and they are still thrilled by it.  Case in point: homemade puffy paint.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup salt
Tempera Paint or Food Coloring

Mix the first three ingredients together, the mix will be thick. Add a few drops at a time of tempera paint or food coloring (I used icing coloring, it is more vibrant)

Now, the hardest part of this is getting the mix into squeeze bottles.  I got mine at Michael's, but you can use old condiment bottles as well.  It takes a funnel, a skewer, and some little elbow grease to get it in:

I had printed out some pictures from Marcel's Crafts

and after almost an hour (!) of this:

and this:

we got this:

What doesn't come out in the picture is the shimmer that forms from the salt crystals as the water evaporates.