Revised | Originally Published: July 3, 2021 @ 3:57 pm

Overview

Here’s another paint idea for your classroom’s visual arts idea arsenal–Glue Paint. This post describes mixing small batches of glue-based paint for application with brushes. I look at coloring whole bottles of glue in another post. Unsurprisingly, paint made with a glue base has a thicker and sticker consistency than watercolor or tempera paints.

Browse more DIY paint ideas here.

Supplies

You’ll Need:

• White Glue
• Liquid Watercolor
• Stirring Sticks
• Small Containers

Process

You can’t get much simpler than this: Squirt a bit of glue into a small container, add some coloring, and stir. The amount of coloring you use will impact the paint’s consistency–more coloring means a more runny consistency. You can mix up a dozen colors in no time. Kids can help make this paint–or even do it all by themselves. Here’s a post outlining 5 reasons to DIY with kids.

Cleanup

There’s always some cleanup after combining children with paint. A paint made with glue sounds like it’d make the cleanup process more challenging. I did some experimenting. I let glue paint dry for 3 days in its container, then tried to clean it. It proved to be a minor cleaning challenge. Most of it rinsed away with a blast of hot water, and my shot glass was spotless after a trip through the dishwasher. In another test, I soaked the container in hot soapy water for an hour, and it wiped clean in seconds.

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