By Tamar Teitelbaum of Candidly Delicious

As the high holidays approach, I look for ways to keep my children entertained and engaged.  Honey Painting is high up on my list. I love that I can connect it to the holidays as a lesson. For an easy and inexpensive activity, kids can create a sweet honey masterpiece.

It’s also a great sensory activity- kids just love it. Feel free to set sliced apples on the table for a festive snack.

This craft is designed with the younger ones in mind. It’s friendly for ages 1+ (never give honey to babies under age 1), but honey painting is mostly geared for ages 3-5. By age 3, honey painting is an engaging and creative outlet.

What You Will Need

– Honey

– Corn Syrup

– Food Coloring

– Popsicle Sticks or Q-tips

– Ramekins or Plastic Cups

– White Paper Plates

Darker honey will create deeper colors and lighter-shade honey will create brighter colors.  So use the honey that you prefer.  The same goes with corn syrup.  If you use light corn syrup, it lends to brighter colors.  If you don’t have corn syrup, honey alone will work, but it doesn’t spread as nicely.  The corn syrup balances the texture.

Simple, inexpensive food coloring drops are ideal for this project.  Don’t bother with fancy gel colors.  It will not improve the quality for this use. Popsicle sticks are perfect as both the stirring tool and the paint applier.  Q-tips could also be used to apply the paint.  For a child that is a little older, a toothpick could even be used to get more detail.  Though expect that at some point, fingers will take over as the primary painting tool!

How To Make Honey Paint

First, decide how many colors to make.  For each color, pour ¼ cup of honey into a ramekin or cup.  Then add 1 tablespoon of corn syrup and 3-4 drops of food coloring.  Stir well and adjust the color if needed.

Line up the color-filled cups with a popsicle stick in each one and a clean paper plate.  Then, let the little one go to town!

My 5-year old created this gem.  It may not be much to look at, but she spent nearly 2 hours crafting it.  That gave me a lot of time to work on other things.

Tips For Containing The Mess

– Try a plastic tablecover underneath the child’s area.  Or set the plastic tablecover on the floor and let the child sit right on it and work.

– Strip the child down or dress in painting clothes first.  I’m also a big fan of long-sleeved paint shirts rather than aprons.

– Don’t stress this mess!  The honey paint is completely water soluble, which means it wipes up very easily.  Even if the little one decides to paint his or her hair, I can say from experience that a quick rinse in the shower gets it right out.

Variations

Here are a few fun variations to spice up this project even more.

– For a marbled effect, add a couple drops of chocolate syrup into one of the prepared honey paints and DO NOT STIR.  Then as the child scoops out paint and moves it around, there will be swirls of the dark color.

– For a next-level work of art, top it off with fun shaped sprinkles or shredded coconut.