Toddler craft - Puffy Paint

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Pinterest.  About five minutes after that, I was completely addicted.  So many ideas, so little time (and money!).  I've found some great ideas for crafting with my daughter, though, and this was one I couldn't wait to try out. 

I found it at Get Your Mess On, but I've since seen it at least four more places around the internet, so I have no idea where it originated. 

Puffy Paint:

For each color:
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup water
squirt of tempera paint (or a splash of tempera paint powder) - as much as you need to get the color you want.

First, gather your supplies (and your adorable assistant!).  Here in the Pacific Northwest, I found the squirt bottles at Bi-Mart for $2 each.  JoAnn Fabric and Craft had some smaller ones in a two-pack for $2, but I wanted the option for bigger bottles so I bought these (I think they're 12 ounce). 

I began by mixing the salt, flour, and water together, whisking well to get out all the lumps.  Then we poured in the color,

Stirred, stirred, stirred,

Put the paint in the bottles using a funnel (during which my daughter, who has never seen the Wizard of Oz, kept shouting "it's MELTING!  It's MELTING!"  Where do they come up with this stuff???), and presto!  Puffy paint!

We discovered about two minutes (and half a bottle of blue) into the project that it's a less-than-perfect idea to let the two-year-old control the paint bottle without supervision.  Once we got that down, though, we had a great time.  Makes a great fingerpaint with awesome texture!