How to Make Scratch and Sniff Jello Paint: a Sensory Art Media

Kids love messy art which is why paint is always a favorite medium. It can also be a sensory experience even when using normal brushes. In fact, sensory isn't just for touch, and this paint is more for experiencing the sense of smell!

Yes, homemade Jello paint had a fun texture to paint with as well as a great smell!

Ingredients for Jello Paint

Jello (whatever flavors you like)
Water
Glue

How to Make Jello Paint

First you need to mix your water and white glue in equal parts.

Next, gather some bowls; we actually used a foam egg carton so each kid could have their own set of paints. Add a tablespoon or so of one of your chosen flavors to each individual bowl.

Now take your water and glue mixture and add to the jello mixing well. Now you are ready to paint.

Painting with Homemade Jello Paint

I did have my kids draw some designs with black marker before starting, so they would keep the flavors a little more separate and distinct, but that is totally optional, and they didn't always follow their lines anyhow.

Rather than use paintbrushes which I thought might be a paint to get clean, we used Q-tips. This had the added benefit of allowing one per color and zero water glasses to get knocked over.

The kids loved painting with Q-tips and the strange texture of the paint. My son really enjoyed smelling the paintings; luckily, he didn't try to taste any, but I suppose school glue is non-toxic if it had happened.

And clean up was simple since we could just toss the egg cartons and Q-tips.

After they dried, we ended up with a variety of scented paintings to display. They didn't really need scratching to sniff them, but the texture made it fun to touch the dry paintings. It even left a little smell on your finger.