How to make skittle paint

Have you tried making homemade watercolor paint? Here is a fun and easy how-to!

Yesterday, I shared a little glimpse of the Teach Preschool workshop for teachers. While presenting to the teachers, I demonstrated how to make M&M Paint.  One teacher then asked me if you can use Skittles candy instead. Well, I didn’t know so today, I gave it a try and wanted to share the results of Skittle Paint with you…

Gather your Materials

You will need skittles, water, cups, paint brushes, and paper.

The amount of Skittles varies depending on the amount of paint you want to make.  In this tutorial, I used two regular sized bags of Skittles.  For my class, I would probably use at least one, maybe two, large bags of skittles.

I also used two different flavors of Skittles. The flavor didn’t seem to matter – they all worked the same.

The How-To

Step 1: Sort the Skittles

I sorted the skittles by color. In my classroom, I would invite my students to sort the skittles – great activity for color sorting, comparing, grouping, counting, estimating, and color recognition.

Place each of your sorted colors in a dish you can use for painting.

Step 2: Add Water

Add enough water to cover the top of the skittles. Remember, the more water you add, the paler your color will be. For stronger color, add less water…

Step 3: Mix

Now stir or swish the Skittles around in the water. The color will immediately start to come off of the Skittles and change your water to the color of the Skittles…

Step 4: Paint!

Now you are ready to paint with the Skittle Paint.  The paint will be like painting with watercolor paint. It is a very thin paint but slightly sticky to the touch…

The smell of the Skittles starts to fade a bit once the water is added.  But – FYI – if you taste the water, it tastes like very sweet Koolaid. However, once the Skittles start to dissolve in the water, they are not all that tempting to want to drink or eat but the good news is that Skittle Paint is non-toxic…

Because the Skittle Paint is a fairly thin consistency  – I decided it would be fun to try dripping the paint on a paper towel and it worked fabulously…

My niece joined in with me and made her own Skittle Paint designs…

The colors are vibrant and there are lots of fun possibilities with Skittle Paint! Now it is your turn to give it a try…

Comparing Candies

To compare the difference, M&M paint does seem to be a little thicker, works very well with paint brushes,  and M&M’s do not dissolve completely – only the shell dissolves.

Skittles keep on dissolving as long as you are stirring them or they sit in the water. I only let my Skittles sit for a few minutes before painting with them.

You can view M&M Paint here! 

Both candies are non-toxic, but you need to be considerate of any food allergies your students may have before trying either type of paint. 

A super simple and super fun process that your kids are sure to enjoy!

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