The Badge Archive

Make Puffy Paint Colors

Activity Description: Scouts mix puffy paint in color wheel colors and use it to create a textured color wheel artwork.

Info Needed for Brownie Step 2 and Junior Step 3: Texture in a drawing helps us imagine how things would feel if we could touch them. For example, a drawing of a fluffy cat looks soft and furry, while a drawing of a rough rock looks bumpy. When you touch a 3D sculpture, you can feel if it’s smooth, rough, bumpy, or soft. This helps you understand what the artwork is supposed to be, like a rough tree bark or a smooth, shiny car.

Items Needed:

  • White school glue
  • Shaving cream
  • Food coloring (red, yellow, blue, plus optional green, orange, purple)
  • Small bowls or cups for mixing
  • Stir sticks, straws, or popsicle sticks
  • Paintbrushes
  • Thick paper or cardboard (to hold the paint without tearing)
  • (Optional) Extra food coloring for blending tertiary or hue/saturation variations

Prep Before the Meeting:

  • Portion glue and shaving cream into small bowls ahead of time
  • Pre-label bowls with color names
  • Set out stir sticks and food coloring near each bowl
  • (Optional) Mix primary colors ahead of time and let scouts mix secondary colors during the meeting

Instructions (Estimated Total Time: 15–20 min):

  1. Mix puffy paint in primary and secondary colors (10 min)
    • Scouts stir equal parts glue and shaving cream in each bowl.
    • Add food coloring to make red, yellow, and blue.
    • Mix red + yellow for orange, blue + yellow for green, red + blue for purple.
    • (Optional) Blend colors to create tertiary shades like red-orange or blue-green.
  2. Arrange the bowls in a circle to form a color wheel (5 min)
    • Place primary colors evenly spaced.
    • Add secondary colors between the primaries they were mixed from.
  3. (Optional) Observe and discuss the color wheel (5 min)
    • What colors did scouts mix?
    • Which colors are next to each other?
    • Talk about how colors change when mixed.

Step-by-Step Tutorials:

One Little Project – Make and Use Puffy Paint

Tia Kennard