This recipe was born out of necessity one day when I was trying to re-organize the garage and had just a little too much “help” from my younger kids. The older ones were happily playing in the treehouse, but even though they are very capable, it makes me nervous when the little girls climb the climbing wall or rope when I’m not out there.
The girls wanted to play with sidewalk chalk, but the last of our chalk had been used by the older kids to color our entire driveway a few weeks before.
When cleaning the garage, I found a huge bag of calcium carbonate that I use for making simple whitening toothpaste, and wondered if I could make my own sidewalk chalk.
I couldn’t think of any way to make it solid like chalk, but had a better idea… sidewalk chalk paint!
Ever since the great paint-on-the-living-room-wall incident of 2013, the little girls had not been allowed to paint very often, so when I asked if they wanted to paint the driveway with sidewalk chalk paint, they were more than excited!
Since our driveway is black, I just left the paint plain white, but later experimented with adding natural food coloring and turmeric for some color variations.
I mixed up the paint and handed them some paint brushes and they were happy for hours…
Sidewalk Chalk Paint Supplies
- Calcium carbonate ( a friend said cornstarch will also work)
- water to get desired consistency
- brushes
Sidewalk Chalk Paint Instructions
Mix 1/2 cup of calcium powder with water to get desired texture. I uses about a 1:1 ratio of calcium to water and it was a great consistency.
Put the paint in a plate or bowl and let the kids paint the driveway!
Note: I washed off the paint when they were done, so I don’t know how long it would stay on if you left it. Calcium carbonate powder can also be added to regular latex based paints to make chalk paint for furniture or cabinets.
What creative activities have you inadvertently discovered for your kids?
Do you make your own traditional sidewalk chalk? Is there a store bought option that is safe?
Hi!
I’m working with a group that wants to cover a lot of sidewalk — and this seems perfect!
can you tell me how much Calcium Carbonate to buy? we want to do 9 colors, and about 400 square feet.
We have a permit to cover part of a park, and we’re really excited about it!
Thanks!
Hello Katie,
Did you notice if the grass around the driveway was affected ? Just wondering. I hate using salt in the winter because I’m afraid it will leach into the ground around the driveway, and kill plants… ( of course, we have to use it mixed with sand on the steps sometimes…I value our backs and heads more than the grass, of course !)
laurie
Not that I noticed…
You are an awesome mom…I wish we had a driveway now! We live way out of town though so I won’t complain; -)