Raised Apple Salt Painting

I’ve been wanting to try 3D salt art for a while now. It’s such a fun way to mix a bit of art and science. While you are doing this activity, the salt absorbs the water from the food coloring, which quickly spreads throughout the rest of the salt. The glue keeps the salt from dissolving, and once the glue dries, you’re left with a cool 3D craft that is definitely fridge-worthy. Kids will love making this, just be careful they don’t pour too much liquid on the paint, or you’ll end up with a mess.

Build fine motor skills and artistic skills at the same time!

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR THE APPLE SALT PAINTING:

You probably already have almost everything you need for this craft!

You will need:

• Green paper
• Salt
• White glue
• Pipettes
• Red food coloring (this kind is best)

Outline the shape of an apple onto the paper with glue. At first, we tried making a solid apple, but that didn’t work. Smaller lines are better for salt art.

Cover the entire thing of glue with salt, just like you would with glitter.

Shake off the excess salt.

Mix your food coloring into water, but make sure it’s a deep pigment color. If you use a light red, the apple looks orange and a bit like a blood-covered band-aid. You could also use other colors, we just wanted to make a traditional apple for this project.

Squeeze just a little bit of the colored water onto the apple and watch it spread across the salt. Keep adding coloring, little by little, until the apple is all read. Set the apple aside to dry. It will take several hours to dry. We left ours overnight.

The next day, the apple is dry and ready to display!

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