Ice Chalk Popsicles

 

I can't get over how much the kids loved these ice chalk popsicles! I'd seen several different recipes to make something similar and we even had them on our Summer Bucket List, but ours kind of came together spur of the moment one day. We'd been painting outside with our favorite washable tempera paints and forgot to bring them in when we sought refuge from the heat. When we went out later to clean up, the paint had had it too and dried up quite a bit. Instead of tossing it, we added water and turned it into these fabulous popsicles (which really fit the bill the next scorching day!).



Here's how to make your own. You'll need:
- popsicle molds (that you no longer need for making edible popsicles) or dixie cups and popsicle sticks;
- several colors of washable tempera paint; and
- a freezer.

Dilute a few squirts of tempera paint with water until you have an easily-pourable but still opaque consistency. Repeat for each of the color separately. Pour the first color into the bottom of your mold and freeze for at least 20 minutes. Keep adding layers, allowing them to freeze a bit in-between -- some of our colors still mixed a bit and I kind of liked the tie-dye effect. When you get close to the top, make sure to insert the popsicle stick before the layers have frozen too much. If the layers are too frozen, use a butter knife to poke through the paint and insert the popsicle stick. Let the whole shebang freeze over night.

When you're ready to use, run the mold under a bit of warm water and wiggle the paint pop out (or just peel the dixie cup if that's what you used). Take outside and help the kiddos stay cool while painting the sidewalk or themselves!

p.s. even though the pops use washable tempera paints, I'd recommend washing down any sidewalks with water that you don't want painted. We've had several serious rainstorms, but the paint is still showing on those areas I didn't spray down after :)