DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Corn Syrup Paint Father's Day Cards

Corn syrup paint is fun for young children to make and use.  The paint stays nice and shiny (almost like stained glass) -- unfortunately, it's hard to capture it with a camera.  Don't let the card get wet... water will "melt" the paint and make a mess (er, you really don't want any paper cards to get wet whether you're using corn syrup paint or not but I thought I'd mention it).

The paint is edible.  I don't suggest encouraging the children to eat it -- they'll end up bouncing off the walls with all the sugar.

I prefer "basic" colors like red, blue and green as I find them to be less muddy and more stained glass looking... but the kids often like playing "junior scientist" and mixing their own colors.  You can use this craft as an opportunity to learn about the color wheel.

Be a little careful with the food coloring -- if you drip it on a carpet or nice clothing, it will stain.

Materials:

• corn syrup (light colored is better)
• food coloring
• paintbrush
• something to mix your paint in (we used clear plastic cups) -- ex:  plastic cups, egg carton cups, paper plates, plastic lids, small glass cups or baby food jars - the nice thing about baby food jars is you can screw the lids on and store the paint in the fridge for quite some time.
• paper or card stock

Instructions:

• Fold a piece of paper or card stock in half to make a card.
• Using a pencil, draw a simple shape on the front of the card.  The paint runs a little when you use it, so don't make your shape too complicated -- something like a heart or tree is perfect.
   
  or
   
  Print one of the templates I've provided below and use it to make your card.  (reminder:  fold the printable template in half down the middle to make it into a card).
• If you want to print a message inside your card, I would do so before painting.  Print whatever you like!  Here's a suggestion for a cute little poem:

  To My Daddy:

  I hugged this little card real tight

  And kissed it, Daddy too!

  Then I painted carefully

  Especially for you!

• Mix your paint:
   
  • In plastic container (we used clear cups) add a tablespoon or two of corn syrup.
  • Drop a drip or two of food coloring into the corn syrup
  • Use your paintbrush to stir.
  • Repeat to make as many colors as you like (I personally wouldn't make more than 2 or 3 colors)
• Note:  Warm water (which "melts" the syrup) washes your paintbrushes nicely.
• Paint your card with the corn syrup paint.  The thinner you apply your paint, the faster your card will dry!
• The paint takes quite awhile to dry so make sure to leave a couple days for drying time...  The thicker you apply the paint, the longer it takes to dry.  The paint should stop being sticky when it's dry but it will stay shiny.  I live in a fairly dry climate (Alberta)...  In someplace with a lot of humidity you might want to use a fan on low to help speed up the drying.

Craft Templates:

• Close template window when done printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Butterfly card template

Crown card template

Flower card template

Heart card template

Star 1 card template

Star 2 card template

Tree card template

Printable version of these instructions.