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February 21, 2011

Raised Salt Painting

Art Recipe ~ Raised Salt Painting

Ready for a simple art activity your kids will LOVE.  Seriously this is one of our favorite go to activities.  The kid love exploring and watching their art come to life.  Read on to find our how easy it is.

Raised Salt Painting ~ kids love watching the watercolor travel along the salt.  A little art and a little science!Watercolors are such a versatile medium and I LOVE them.  This time we used the liquid watercolors which I think is a bit easier for this project, but the cake variety work as well.  For salt painting you will need table salt, white glue, watercolors and thick paper (I used watercolor paper because it was what we had on hand, but I have used mat board and even cardboard works well).
Raised Salt Painting ~ kids love watching the watercolor travel along the salt. A little art and a little science!

Family Fun magazine is wonderful and has so many amazing ideas, including this one.

Raised Salt Painting ~ kids love watching the watercolor travel along the salt. A little art and a little science!

Have the kids squeeze a design that they like onto the board with white glue.  Simple shapes, and designs seem to work the best for this project.  Once their design is complete, shake table salt over the entire piece.  Don’t be afraid to use a lot of salt, you want to make sure the salt covers all sides of the glue.  Tap off the excess salt into a tray, to use again.

Raised Salt Painting ~ kids love watching the watercolor travel along the salt. A little art and a little science!

Now let the magic begin!  Gently touch the tip of your wet paint brush to the salt.  No matter how many times my kids do this they are amazed to watch the watercolor spread up the salt.  Try not to “disturb” the glue by dragging your paint brush.

Raised Salt Painting ~ kids love watching the watercolor travel along the salt. A little art and a little science!

Once the glue is completely dry, your painting will sparkle beautifully.  Unfortunately this project might not be well suited for the keepsake box since it does tend to flake off after a while, so take lots of cute pictures.  Just remember art is often about the process and letting kids explore a new medium not always the end result.

Raised Salt Painting

This one is still wet.  Beautiful!

Raised Salt Painting ~ kids love watching the watercolor travel along the salt. A little art and a little science!

After the project dries over night, it should look similar to this.  I love the results!

Related posts:

  1. Rubber Cement Resist
  2. Painting on Salt and Glue
  3. Painting on Wet Glue
  4. Compass Painting
Posted in Kid Art and tagged Glue, Kid Art, Painting, Watercolors.

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Related posts:

  1. Rubber Cement Resist
  2. Painting on Salt and Glue
  3. Painting on Wet Glue
  4. Compass Painting
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35 thoughts on “Raised Salt Painting”

  1. Grandma on February 21, 2011 at 5:15 pm said:

    Love all the color and the intentness of the artists. What a fun indoor project.

    Reply ↓
  2. Shauna-lee on February 25, 2011 at 6:19 pm said:

    neat, we will have to give that a try!

    Reply ↓
  3. Karen on July 21, 2011 at 4:00 pm said:

    Gorgeous!!! I will try this in my Kindergarten class this year.

    Reply ↓
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  5. Cassey on January 21, 2012 at 2:54 pm said:

    I love this! Thanks for sharing. I run a daycare and love neat ideas such as this!!

    Newest follower!

    Reply ↓
  6. Michelle on February 8, 2012 at 5:35 am said:

    Can the painting be done on dried glue/salt? Maybe breaking up the project over a couple day/sessions?

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on February 11, 2012 at 3:05 am said:

      I have not tried it on dried glue, but I would love to hear how it works for you.

      Reply ↓
  7. Kelly on February 23, 2012 at 4:14 pm said:

    Where can you purchase the liquid watercolors ?

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on February 23, 2012 at 9:03 pm said:

      I purchased mine at a craft store, but you can also just use water and food coloring. Both work great. Hope this helps.

      Reply ↓
  8. Miep on March 20, 2012 at 2:33 pm said:

    Superb! what a magnificent tric!! thx for the tip!
    Miep

    Reply ↓
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  10. Candace Jedrowicz on May 31, 2012 at 8:22 am said:

    Hi Tammy! I love this project and would like to demo it on our craft show at Cool2Craft.com. I’ve been looking for a technique for our Paint it Up episode and I’m so happy you shared this! I will credit you (and Family Fun Mag) and link back to your blog. Please let me know if there are any other links you’d like me to include and any info you’d want to add.
    Candace

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on June 7, 2012 at 10:12 pm said:

      I would love it! Just a link back to the post on my blog would be great. I look forward to seeing it on your craft show, let me know when it is up. Thanks Tammy

      Reply ↓
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  12. maryellen on October 8, 2012 at 11:07 am said:

    A very cool project! I have 2 questions: 1. When the project dries does the salt stay stuck and not fall off? 2. Could you tell me where you got the containers that the liquid watercolor is in? (in the first picture) I have been looking for these so I can use the liquid watercolor in my class but not have to constantly keep refilling little cups. Thanks!

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on October 8, 2012 at 1:09 pm said:

      Thanks! The salt did flake off a bit, but for the most part is stayed on the board. Make sure that you are using a sturdy surface like mat board. The containers that I have the watercolors in are actually washed out acrylic paint containers that came in one of those paint by number kits. I love them and they work great, but I’m not sure where you can find them. I totally agree that refilling little cups is a bit of a hassle.

      Reply ↓
      • Stephanie Holson on April 7, 2014 at 11:42 pm said:

        You can buy very similar containers here: http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=22162&keyword=watercolor%20tray&scategoryid=0&CategorySearch=&Brand=&Price=

        Reply ↓
  13. Barbara Shaver on October 14, 2012 at 5:45 pm said:

    You can also use jello on glue…it does the same thing….and has pretty scents.

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on October 15, 2012 at 6:35 pm said:

      Great Idea! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply ↓
  14. lynda wells on October 27, 2012 at 12:45 pm said:

    Loved these and the tin foil ideas. Great for the kids and have some I want to try for myself.

    Reply ↓
  15. Lora Graham on November 6, 2012 at 1:23 am said:

    Wonderful ideas and super kid-friendly experiments that are sure to keep children everywhere excited and enjoy learning all at the same time. I taught preschool for a lot of years and keeping their attention and them enjoying learning (whether they know it or not…lol) is the key to success and your ideas are perfect for all the above. Keep the ideas coming so we can share the fun of science, awe and wonder again and again. (Makes us look like we amazing as teachers and parents too…lol)
    Thank You, Lora Graham

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on November 7, 2012 at 2:27 pm said:

      Thanks! I would agree that having fun while learning is the best way to go(for kids and adults!). I love watching kiddos faces light up as they discover something new. Thanks for your encouragement:)

      Reply ↓
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  18. Julie Golding Clarke on February 19, 2013 at 5:41 am said:

    I haven’t tried the salt and glue work yet but will do so …. when it is completely dry I am going to carefully cover it with a layer of watered down PVA (white glue). This always makes things really durable so hopefully it will work here too!

    Reply ↓
  19. Gina on February 22, 2013 at 4:35 pm said:

    That is beautiful and my home educated children are expoloring water colours. We have a regular family art session at the weekend so that is the one for this time. Thank you for posting.

    Reply ↓
  20. Philippa on March 4, 2013 at 1:48 am said:

    I love this! I am so looking forward to trying it out with the learners at our school. It will be such a wonderful learning experience and a great sensory tool when it is dry.

    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply ↓
  21. Grandma Linda's Child Care on March 7, 2013 at 5:23 pm said:

    Hi Tammy, I have been looking for something to do with my different age group of kids . For a art show for a child abuse prevention . Would love to try this out for this. If its okay with you . I will also credit you and family fun mag. .Also I think I will try useing a paint sealer to see if that would help with the salt not falling off will let you know if it works. Thank you Grandma Linda

    Reply ↓
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  23. Ms Leslie on May 7, 2013 at 11:01 pm said:

    I made this with my Pre-K class today and we had a blast. They turned out so pretty! 🙂 Great idea, thanks for sharing!

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on May 8, 2013 at 3:44 pm said:

      I love it! I bet they had a blast.

      Reply ↓
  24. MIMIMOM on July 9, 2013 at 9:29 am said:

    Thax for sharing this! this is supercool!
    Where did you buy the white glue?
    Can I get the informtion(where to buy, the brand name or so) for the glue and water colors?

    Reply ↓
  25. Julie on August 20, 2014 at 10:52 am said:

    We ( my 3 yo & I) did this project today. It was so much fun! She loved how the colors were absorbed, but she really liked pouring the salt. Lol the project turned out beautiful! It dried well and I’m going to glue the paper to a sturdier surface to keep it from cracking, then place in a frame. (We just used reg. construction paper because that’s what I had on hand. )
    Thanks for the idea plus all the others on your site.

    Reply ↓
  26. Jeanine on May 13, 2016 at 3:39 pm said:

    I actually love the way the paints appear more pastel when dried in the salt Thanks!!

    Reply ↓
  27. tanya on September 29, 2016 at 9:38 pm said:

    great fun I am going to try this in kindergarden

    Reply ↓

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