DIY Sidewalk Chalk Sticks (with Video)
A simple 3-ingredient Sidewalk Chalk recipe that can be customized to any color or shape that your kids like! This DIY Sidewalk Chalk is not only cheaper than buying store-bought chalk, you can make full batches in your children’s favorite colors to avoid squabbles over a shared favorite chalk.
DIY Sidewalk Chalk Recipe
Last year, I shared our method for making fun shaped sidewalk chalks – perfect for themed birthday goody gifts.
Today, I’m sharing how to make a standard stick-style sidewalk chalk using that same method. Making your own sidewalk chalk is perfect if you have kids who always use up the same colors over and over again, or tend to bicker about who gets to use a specific color of chalk. (Seriously, we just need a big container of ONLY pink and blue chalk since those are the only colors my daycare kids ever want to use.)
You can even make customized colors that you might not normally see in store-bought chalk.
Surprisingly, making our own sidewalk chalk is also cheaper than buying store-bought chalk! A 5lb bag of Plaster of Paris costs me about $16 and makes 17 batches of DIY sidewalk chalk. (Two batches are approximately equal to a regular-sized pail of sidewalk chalk, so after the first four batches, we’ve broken even. That’s 13 batches that are practically free.) That’s not even counting all of the money saved with all of the rejected colors of chalk that the kids never want to use.
Check out our quick video for how to make DIY Sidewalk Chalk – and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free printable recipe card:
Materials Needed to Make Sidewalk Chalk
- Plaster of Paris
- Water
- Tempera Paint
- Glitter, optional
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: some of our tempera paints had different water quantities/consistencies. Watch the video to ensure that your chalk mixture has the right consistency.
Note: You can swap out the Plaster of Paris for cornstarch. It will take longer to dry, but it will work. (I do highly recommend the Plaster of Paris method, though.)
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Disposable bowl or mixing bowl <– note: you will need to wipe out your bowl completely – do not put any plaster down your drainpipes
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spoon
- Duck Tape
- Cardboard Tube
- Wax Paper
How to Make Sidewalk Chalk
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the Plaster of Paris and water.
Stir well until all water is absorbed.
Add paint and mix. Add more paint to achieve your desired color.
If using glitter, stir it in until well distributed.
Scoop the mixture into a ziptop bag.
Seal the bag and snip a corner off the bottom of the bag.
Cut the cardboard tube into lengths just longer than you desire your sidewalk chalk pieces to be.
Use a piece of tape to seal one end of the cardboard tube. Flip over and use a piece of wax paper to line the inside of the cardboard tube.
Fill the tube with the chalk mixture. Tap the bottom of the tube to remove air bubbles (I also used to fingers to push the mixture down and compact it a bit).
Let the mixture set for 2 hours, or overnight. (You can also pop in the fridge to accelerate the setting time.)
When the chalk is completely dried, cut or peel off the cardboard tube and wax paper.
Pin this Easy Method for Making DIY Sidewalk Chalk:
Grab your free printable instructions for how to make sidewalk chalk:
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DIY Sidewalk Chalk - Stick Version
How to make DIY sidewalk chalk, a super simple recipe if your kids are always fighting over the same colors or you want to make a fun shaped chalk for a special occasion. This DIY Sidewalk chalk works just as well as the store-bought stuff!
Materials
- 2 cups Plaster of Paris
- 1 cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons Tempera Paint, as needed
- Glitter, optional
Tools
- Disposable bowl or mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spoon
- Wax Paper
- Cardboard Tube
- Duck Tape
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the Plaster of Paris and water.
- Stir well until all water is absorbed.
- Add paint and mix. Add more paint to achieve your desired color.
- If using glitter, stir it in until well distributed.
- Scoop the mixture into a ziptop bag.
- Seal the bag and snip a corner off the bottom of the bag.
- Cut the cardboard tube into lengths just longer than you desire your sidewalk chalk pieces to be.
- Use a piece of tape to seal one end of the cardboard tube. Flip over and use a piece of wax paper to line the inside of the cardboard tube.
- Fill the tube with the chalk mixture. Tap the bottom of the tube to remove air bubbles.
- Let the mixture set for 2 hours, or overnight. (You can also pop in the fridge to accelerate the setting time.)
- When the chalk is completely dried, cut or peel off the cardboard tube and wax paper.
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I hope your kids all love getting to pick their own colors of homemade sidewalk chalk (and then getting to create masterpieces with them) – and you get to enjoy a bit of a reprieve from the sidewalk chalk squabbles!
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I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that is both equally educative and amusing, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head on this topic. Thanks.