Paint With Coffee!

What You Do:

1. Put a couple of tablespoons of coffee grounds in a bowl and cover it with water. Let it soak.
2. Have your child sketch a picture of a house or animal. Outline the house or the animal in white crayon. Have her press hard on the crayon and fill in as much of her outline as possible. Use the green crayon to draw a line for her house or animal to stand on. This is the horizon. She can also make leaves or grass. Remember to have her press hard on the crayons while drawing.
3. Using the paintbrush, have her use the coffee "paint" to paint across her colored sketch. It doesn't matter if some of the grounds get onto the paper. The wax in the crayons will resist the coffee dye and keep the color of the crayon.
4. Let the picture dry.
5. Have your child again paint over the parts of the picture that she wants to be darker. Using the same shade over dry paper will darken the shade.
6. Strain the grounds from the leftover paint and have your child use her fingers to spread the grounds on one portion of the picture.
7. Keep picture flat to dry. It is fine if some of the grounds drop off after the picture dries. Now you should have a beautifully stained drawing with the white image still shining through!

Did You Know?

• Coffee painting uses the natural dye in coffee to stain the paper.
• Coffee is only one natural stain or dye. Tea also creates stains. The gills, and dark parts of mushrooms produce some amazing shades of color. Ask your child if she can think of other liquids that dye paper or cloth.