Winter Craft ~ Watercolor and Salt Snowflakes

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If you are looking for a “cool” winter craft to do with your kids, try these watercolor and salt snowflakes.  Watercolor and salt art is so much fun to do with kids!  For another version, see also my glue and salt spiderweb post. This is a super fun science and art combo.

How to Do this Winter Craft with Salt and Watercolors

Watch it:

 

Supplies needed:

• Construction Paper
• Pencil
• Glue
• Salt
• Watercolors- We used liquid watercolors and eyedroppers, but regular ones with a brush would work, too
• Pipettes

Start this winter craft by drawing a snowflake on a piece of construction paper.

To draw a snowflake, start with three or four lines criss-crossing each other. Then add little arrow-like lines along each line.

Next, trace across each line you drew with glue.

We drew some big snowflakes and some smaller ones with a few on the page.

Next sprinkle salt all over the design. I poured some salt into a small bowl so my kids could just grab a pinch and sprinkle easily. You want to cover all of the glue with the salt, so be ok with them using a lot.  Shake it around gently to cover up any extra spots you may have missed and then pour off any excess salt.

Let the glue dry. This can take a bit of time.

You could totally just stop there because it looks just like snow.  It is white and crystal-like. However, the next step is not something you’ll want to miss.

Painting the Salt and Glue Snowflakes With Watercolors

Now comes the extra fun part of this wintery craft!  Drip and drop watercolors right on top of the salt with the pipette or brush. It’s so fun to watch it spread and to watch the water get absorbed into the salt. If you are using a paintbrush, you just want to make sure you have a lot of water and paint on the brush.

We put our watercolors in small individual bowls with a little water water it down a bit.

It’s fun to mix colors in this project because they will spread and blend together on their own!

My son made a stunning rainbow snowflake! I love how beautiful it is.

We also tried some snowflakes. Even my 5-year-old made one!  Here are their finished projects.

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The Science Behind the Watercolor and Salt Art:

Use this to talk about absorption and how salt absorbs water and can dissolve in water. See also our experiment about dissolving things in water.

See more Snowflake art with snowflake symmetry drawings.

 

 

Be Sure to Check Out My New Science Book: Science Art and Drawing Games for Kids