Organic Arts And Crafts Supplies For Your Children

Edible Paints For Kids

If you are a parent of a small child, you may have heard of edible paints for kids.  If not, don’t feel lonely as there are many of us parents that this is new for.  When you have little ones in your house, you know they will try to put just about anything in their mouth! Bearing that in mind, finding a safe alternative to common items they play with would be ideal.  Here is a list of a few natural and organic products you can use in place of traditional products.

1. Play Doh: My favorite recipe for making play doh is very easy to follow and will last forever if you keep it stored in an air tight container.  You will need 3 cups of flour, 3 tbsp. vegetable oil, 1.5 cups salt, food coloring and 6 tsp. of cream of tartar.  Mix together all of the ingredients in a pot on medium heat.  Stir frequently until the mixture forms a ball.  Take the pot off the heat and let it cool.  Once cool, knead the mixture and have fun!
2. Bubbles: This is a simple recipe that yields a lot of bubbles.  You will need 1 cup of water, 2 tbsp. of light karo syrup or 2 tbsp. of glycerin and 4 tbsp. of dishwashing liquid.  Mix all the ingredients together and start blowing!!
3. Sidewalk chalk:  This is also an easy recipe that will give you a lot of chalk!  You will need to mix together 1 cup of Plaster of Paris, which can be found in the arts and crafts department with 3/4 cup of water.  Add food coloring and mix well.  Pour the mixture in any mold you like (we use muffin tins) and let dry overnight.  Take the chalk out of the mold and let dry for an additional 24 hours and then be creative!

Crayons Made From Vegetables

A great addition to your child’s arts and crafts supply is crayons made from vegetables.  Wee Can Too is an amazing company that was started by a mom who just wanted her baby to have fun with finger paints!!  When Sarid Ditton’s daughter turned 6 months, she wanted to find finger-paints that were free of all toxins and weren’t harmful to the baby if she put her fingers in her mouth.  When her search came up empty, Sarid started experimenting in the kitchen until she came up with a great alternative that was completely natural, non-toxic and 100% safe if ingested.  This signature product is the winner of the 2012 Cribsie Awards! I was offered the Veggie Crayons ($11.00 for a set of 5 colors that are made from fruit and vegetable powders.  I also received the Tempura Paints ($30.00) which are made from the same basic ingredients as the crayons.  The paints come in powder form and with a little water; these four colors will yield more than 12 ounces of paint.   I was interested in these products for my son Henry, who has autism.  One of Henry’s “quirks” is that he puts things in his mouth without realizing he has done so.  It is a bit like when you may be snacking on a bag of chips while watching tv and you mindlessly put them in your mouth.  Althoguh he is 11, he still wants to eat with his hands, so sometimes life is like the movie Groundhog Day!  Every meal, we remind him to use his utensils!  I was curious how he would be with the items from Wee Can Too.  Sure enough, when he was using the crayons, he tried to chew on one of the crayons.  I was very happy to know he could do so and I didn’t worry about him taking harmful ingredients into his mouth.

One reader will win The Original Naturally Safe Finger Paint – Tottle Set -$35.00

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