DIY glitter, you say?! You bet. While putting together a playdough sensory project a couple of years ago, I thought adding a bit of sparkle for a snow-like effect would be fun. After a disastrous first attempt, a couple of rounds in the kitchen, and some toddler testing, I found salt may be the secret to DIY glitter for kids’ crafts.
Because I made ALL the mistakes, I thought I’d share what worked and what didn’t so you can make your own taste-safe, eco-friendly homemade glitter with guaranteed success – the first time!
I’ve also shared some specific ways I’ve used our salt glitter for play, as it works SO well for some activities but isn’t always a good substitute (this won’t work well in our DIY meditation jars, for instance).
To make your own taste-safe DIY salt glitter for crafts, you’ll need:
- Salt (you can experiment with different types – table salt, rock salt, etc.)
- Food coloring (I’ve used both drops and gel)
- A bowl and spoon or resealable clear plastic bag
- A baking sheet
Safety Note: As with any craft, adult supervision is necessary when using salt glitter with toddlers or younger children. Though this is a taste-safe recipe, it shouldn’t be ingested by the (tiny) fistful and can sting eyes. If you have pets, you’ll want to ensure they can’t get into this, as even small amounts of salt can be toxic.
How to Make Homemade Glitter – DIY Instructions:
Prep the salt.
Preheat the oven to 350 and place salt into a small bowl. Different kinds of salt will give you different sizes and colors of glitter, so experiment with table salt, rock salt, etc., to see which you prefer! I used coarse sea salt.
Dye the salt with food coloring.
Add food coloring and mix with the salt. In my experience, both liquid drops and gel work well, but the gel may be a bit easier to mix quickly and more evenly.
If you’re making this with kids, you can pour your salt into a resealable clear plastic bag, drop in your food coloring drops, seal the bag, and let them squish it until the salt has been dyed.
Tip: to add dimension to your glitter, you can mix up 2 or 3 different batches using shades/hues of the same color (light blue, green-blue, and dark indigo, for example). After cooling, mix together to create a salt glitter that gives the illusion of more sparkle.
Bake the dyed salt.
Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet in one layer. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Let the salt glitter cool, then pour it into a small container for storage.
After cooling, pour into a suitable container for storage. I like to use old spice jars.
I mixed some fine table salt with our coarse sea salt. This adds variety, dimension, and natural brightness, giving it just a bit more of that old-fashioned glitter feel!
Yay! An ocean and riverbed-friendly alternative to store-bought glitter that you can sprinkle on crafts or use with sensory activities to your earth-loving heart’s content!
Homemade Glitter Tips and FAQs
Does salt glitter look like regular glitter?
DIY salt glitter won’t be as shiny as commercial glitter, which is typically made from tiny bits of plastic or metal. However, it’s a safer and eco-friendly alternative.
Can I use salt glitter in slime?
This is something you can experiment with. Salt can potentially affect the consistency of the slime due to its ability to dissolve in water-based substances.
How can I store the DIY salt glitter?
Store your DIY salt glitter in airtight containers. Keeping it away from moisture will help maintain its texture and usability.
Can I use DIY salt glitter in my craft projects the same way I use store-bought glitter?
Yes, you can use DIY salt glitter in a similar way as store-bought glitter. It can be glued to paper, added to play dough, used in dry sensory bins, and more.
Is salt glitter the same thing as edible glitter?
While homemade salt glitter is taste-safe, you wouldn’t want to eat it. For homemade edible glitter that you can use for food decoration, use granulated sugar instead of salt.
Can I use sugar to make homemade glitter for crafts?
If you’re wondering if you could get the same results with sugar, I tried it, and I don’t recommend it for use with kids’ crafts. Here’s what I’ve learned: It sort of works. Food coloring mixed into sugar produces beautiful, brightly colored, glitter-like sanding sugar. You don’t have to bake it, but it leads to one major headache for play and kid-crafting…
When held in little hands, the sugar warms enough to become really sticky, quickly creating a technicolor mess. Though it looked gorgeous and had that fantastic glitter sparkle, the playdough we used it with started to change consistency after just a few minutes of play, and we ended up having to toss out the goopy batch we had rolled in the sugar glitter.
So while it’s absolutely delightful for baking, using sugar as a glitter substitute for play or crafting just didn’t work.
Ways to Use Homemade Glitter for Play and Crafts with Kids
It isn’t every day that a project comes along, and you think, “I’m going to need homemade glitter for this,” but I’ve found it’s ideally suited to certain play situations – here are a few ways I’ve used this DIY glitter with kids…
1. Make Homemade Glitter to Practice Kitchen Skills
The coloring of your glitter is a great way to give toddlers an introduction to basic kitchen skills. Smock them up and let them mix their own colors of homemade salt glitter in a nice big bowl with a spoon or smushed around in a plastic bag. We adults aren’t generally transfixed by the food coloring process, but for little ones, watching the salt turn colors is pure magic!
Homemade glitter is also a wonderful supply to use for pouring practice. Kids can transfer the DIY glitter to different containers or mix the various colors of salt glitter together.
2. Use DIY Glitter with Playdough
Our donut sensory play activity is a REAL crowd-pleaser. Instead of using expensive baking decorations to top our playdough donuts, you can mix different colors of DIY glitter for sprinkling and rolling.
3. Sprinkle Homemade Salt Glitter in the Garden.
Glitter in…gardening? It sounds crazy, but we’ve been known to sprinkle glitter on dirt to produce magical results (wink!). Glitter is one of the star supplies used with our unicorn gardens, and this salt glitter is PERFECT for sprinkling on plants as it disintegrates and washes into the soil after a couple of waterings.
In fact, salt (specifically Epsom salt) is packed with good nutrients that can encourage things like big blooms and healthy chlorophyll production. If your kids are into fairy gardens or just love an opportunity to sprinkle anything over dirt and flowers, homemade salt glitter is a plant-friendly option!
4. Use DIY Glitter for Kids Crafts and Art Projects
I don’t often use glitter in arts and crafts activities (because it gets EVERYWHERE), but occasionally, it gives a project that extra special sparkle. Our bendable bats are a great example, and the *hint* of shine and dimension that colored salt adds really lends itself to the mysterious illusion of movement.
Kids can sprinkle salt glitter on wet watercolor paintings for a shimmery, textured effect.
Use salt glitter in different colors to make sand art. Fill up clear glass or plastic containers layer by layer for a beautiful visual effect.
While salt glitter is a bit less…glittery…it still maintains a lovely shimmer in the light, and you can mix various shades of the same color to add dimension. It’s also SO much easier to clean up.
More DIY Sensory Play Supplies
I’ve DIY’d quite a few craft supplies and sensory bin fillers in my day, so if you’re on the hunt for more fail-safe play ideas, be sure to visit our moon sand DIY, homemade water beads, and DIY colored rice.
And here’s a particularly fun one: for all of the colorful party vibes, use easy DIY confetti in a party sensory bin!
