Fingerpainting

Refilling fingerpaint squeezie bottles with homemade fingerpaints, not only saves some cash, but also reduces the waste we produce (the packaging, and bottles in the garbage) My son loves to get messy with fingerpaints and we have a tendency to go through a lot of it. Below is a recipe I found at this link http://www.care2.com/greenliving/homemade-finger-paints.html. Although I must admit I haven't tried the juice dyes but still use food coloring. Sometimes we don't even use paper, we just like to smear it around on our little kids table and squish it with our fingers, talk about a sensory activity.

1 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. water
1/3 cup soap flakes melted with 1/2 cup boiling water
juice dyes (see below)
* make your own soap flakes by grating a bar of homemade hand soap(available in your health food store) until you have 1/3 of a cup of soapflakes.
Combine the cornstarch, water, and melted soap in a bowl. Stir to blend. Letthe mixture set until it has become thick. Divide into separate bowls andstir in juice dyes for color.
How to Make Juice Dyes
One or more of the following: frozen berries, canned beets, or 1/2 cup plantmaterial (blueberries, beets, walnut hulls, cranberries, tea).
Water as needed.
Use the juice straight from thawed berries, or juice drained from cannedbeets. Mix colors for hue variations. If using fresh berries, fruit, walnuthulls, or tea, combine the plant material with 1 cup of water in a pan andsimmer over low heat for 1/2 hour or so, adding more water as it evaporates.