February 11: (Not So) Absorbing Artwork



Squirting colored water on the lines of glue and salt.



Family Fun is one of my favorite magazines to look through for ideas of projects to do with the kids.  The last one I decided to try was entitled "Absorbing Artwork," but it just didn't work very well.  Part of it might have been that I couldn't find and eyedropper around the house so we used an extra bulb syringe which would have allowed more water with each squirt.  It also may have turned out better if we'd used a random design of glue rather than a more structured picture of a house that Ty wanted.

Ty got more into things after the project was finished and we began mixing the colored water to create new colors.  His grand finale was combining all the colors into black! He was quite proud of his water! 

In case you'd like to attempt this project in hopes of better results...here are the instructions.  ("Absorbing Artwork" was from the November issue of Family Fun on page 108.)


Ty added more salt after he was finished painting
with the water...not in the instructions, but fun!



You will need:

-card stock

-rimmed baking sheet

-white glue

-salt

-colored water (food coloring added to change colors)



-eyedropper

Step 1:  Set the card stock on the baking sheet (we taped ours to the sheet) and have your child use the glue to draw a design on the paper.

Step 2:  Sprinkle the wet glue with salt until it's completely covered, then tap off any excess.

Step 3:  Have your child use the eyedropper to drip colored water, on drop at a time, onto the salt.  As the salt absorbs the liquid, the water will move along the glue lines, resulting in a wonderful web of color.  Be sure to watch what happens when the color reaches intersection lines.

Brielle sat and watched the whole process....
I thought this was a beautiful picture of her
so decided to share it here!