With the kids home from school and parents searching for simple projects to keep them busy, try jumping into the emerging trend of inspirational sidewalk chalk art!  Fun and positive sayings have been popping up everywhere from driveways to sidewalks in our area and all around North Carolina.

I have gathered together a gallery of photos from these public displays of art that have been spotted locally to help inspire you!  Imagine how nice it would be to keep this trend going with new positive sentiments to ponder on each of your daily walks around your neighborhood.

So take a gander at this photo gallery for some ideas, then grab your sidewalk chalk — or make your own with simple ingredients from home — and head outdoors to create your own public art displays!  Who knows whose day you could brighten with an encouraging saying or a colorful design!

This week, we set out to make our own Puffy Sidewalk Chalk Paint.  We found the ingredients easily around our house, and finally found the squirt bottles at the dollar store for our puffy paint.  The kids had a brilliant time testing the recipe by decorating the driveway with colorful hearts, rainbows, and flowers.  But, we did find that this chalk paint bakes onto the driveway making it a bit harder to remove than regular sidewalk chalk.  Also, use all the paint in the same day as it doesn’t save well.

Puffy Sidewalk Chalk Paint Recipe

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1 tablespoon dish soap – just about any dish soap will work

5-10 drops of food coloring or washable paint

1 squeeze bottle for each color paint

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and water until there are no lumps. Stir in the dish soap to the flour mixture.  Add food coloring until the desired color is achieved.  Pour the mixture into your squeeze bottle. Rinse your bowl before starting the next batch.

Happy painting!