Flax & Twine

a happy handmade life

DIY, projects + patterns

Rainbow in a Jar

I remember doing this rainbow salt jar project when I was young– one of my favorites.  I loved the process of making it, the way the colors looked next to each other, how the layers undulated in the jar.   I remember begging my mother to let me do this more.  She claimed that it used too much salt – way too expensive.  Given that the salt I bought my children was $0.50 a canister and could make four of these each, I realize now that my mother was avoiding the mess–  Hrmmph.  Well, fair warning, this is a salty mess, but oh so much fun. And relatively easy to clean up with 2 or 3 sweepings.
I love getting ready for projects, so much promise and cooperation.
 This project makes for a good easter centerpiece – so many pretty pastels.

Rainbow Salt Jar

Materials
Small Jars –We’re out of the baby-phase so no baby food jars in this house, but if you have them, they are ideal for this project. I found some old plastic craft jars I hadn’t used, so went with that. I highly recommend using glass as the chalk dust sticks less, like these.
1.     Gather Materials.  My suggestion is to get a set of materials for each child – makes for less yelling and grabbing. I know we’ll use them again, too.
Plus, that way they get to label.
2.     Pour salt on a piece of paper, enough to make a layer about 1/4 “ thick in your chosen container. This is tactilely so wonderful – let your kids play with it – or design with it.
3.     Take your chosen chalk color and rub the chalk back and forth across the salt until you get the desired color saturation.
4.     Carefully, pour layer of colored salt into container.
5.     Use the opposite side or a new piece of the paper for a new color (these pages can be used for chalk drawings after the project is over).
6.     Pour layers at angles and around the jar to get interesting strata.  You can rotate the jar while pouring to achieve this.
7.      Repeat process with new colors until jar is completely full.  Take care not to shake the rainbow salt jar as this will mix the layers up – brown salt, no fun.   Add lid and Voila!
8.     Take a moment to relish in the happy feeling you get making something and appreciate the colors and layers and how they look.
9.     Display your rainbow salt jar artfully.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Wow! I remember seeing this when I was a child at friends houses but I never knew how it was done.Great post and pictures! You give me ideas for my school job! Thanks!

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  4. This is a great project!!! I’ll have to wait a couple of years (you can imagine what a mess it would be now at 3!), but it’s on my list of things to do!!! And I also really enjoy your photography.

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  9. You’ve saved the day! I was trying to think of a craft to do with my troop of 6 y.o. daisy girl scouts and coming up empty until Design Mom linked you up!

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  13. What a FUN idea! I didn’t realize that the chalk would color the salt. So does the salt sort of work like sandpaper and make chalk dust that colors the salt?? So curious I think we’ll have to try it. You see the layered sand a lot, but this is more fun and simpler to be able to make all the colors yourself. THANKS for sharing!!

    Reply

  14. Thanks so much for sharing this. I tried it today with my Girl Scout troop and everyone loved the project. The results were beautiful! And several of the girls got creative and blended several colors of chalk together to make different shades. Fun project!

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  15. Yay! so glad you did the project and it was a success. It is somehow so satisfying seeing your hard work poured into that jar in such beautiful ways, isn’t it?

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  16. I came here via the ‘wonderyears’. This is such a heart warming way of beautifying unused glass jars/bottles. I must try this. Your display on the window sill makes such a pretty picture. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂

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  17. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this craft. Planning on doing it with my Brownie group for our year end party. Can anyone give a rough idea how long it takes? THANKS!

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  18. Thanks for all your lovely comments.

    Jacquelyn, I would say it took us between 30 to 50 minutes or so to complete two jars each (more with clean-up time). I have one that rushes and one that is careful and one that is distracted all the time. The more kids you add, the longer it will take the whole group to compete. Have fun and send pictures!

    Reply

  23. I remember doing this as a kid in an art class – it was a lot of fun an pretty simple. Let me add a few tips: 1) you can use “playground sand” too. 2) smash the chalk up first and then mix it with the salt or use powdered paint 2) you can use a pencil or end of an artist’s paintbrush to create designs like flying birds. Thanks!

    Reply

  27. Wow! this blew my mind! i always wanted to know how to do this! My parents would always buy specific craft kits to make these, if only they knew it was this easy!

    Reply

  28. Can you tell me how big the jars are that you used and where you got them? I would love to try this for a rainbow birthday party we’re having soon.

    Thanks!!

    Reply

  29. Ohh – fun! The jars are about 3 inches high and an inch and 3/4 on each side. I think I got them at JoAnn Fabrics a long time ago. Small jam jars, babyfood jars, or condiment jars all work well for this too.

    Reply

  33. Vinyl tablecloths are your friend! They are so cheap, and make great floor covers which can then be picked up careful and the waste dumped easily into the trash. Great for finger painting, play doh, and I’m sure for this project as well.

    Reply

  34. My kids just did this project.My son is 11 and my daughter is 8.Great project for both of them. They really enjoyed it! Thank you!

    Reply

  36. We did these as kids in the summer. Instead of rubbing the salt and chalk on the paper, we used old cool whip containers. It contained the salt a lot better and was easier on clean-up.

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  37. I LOVE THIS! We’re doing a Rainbow Birthday Party theme for our daughter and I think this is the perfect outdoor craft! Emphasizing the [outdoor] not inside my house with 30 kids! LoL Thanks for posting this!

    Reply

  40. FANTASTIC! I used this idea as a craft activity for my daughters 5th birthday which was themed ‘Rainbows & Unicorns’. It was such a huge hit with children and parents alike and such a nice take home token for each of the kiddies… plus it kept all 26 children occupied whilst the food was getting prepped and served!
    Thanks so much for sharing!
    The Spangler
    @The Quick Unpick

    Reply

  44. We did this at Awana in the summer when we were kids…but we used sand and food coloring…then we had to bake the sand in the oven on low. When our colors were ready we used big glass display vases and we made like mountain ranges and birds in the sky…u take black sand and pour a little on the side of the glass and take a toothpick and push down in the middle of the black sand and u have a bird like kids draw on paper…it was so fun…never tried the chalk way seems like less work! ~~~

    Reply

  47. So I want to start by saying this is an amazing idea 😀

    I have a 3 year old and 5 year old so I needed a more fool proof method to use. I gave them a small sandwich bag for each color and the salt already poured into the bags 😀 let them stir until they get the color they want and then pour them into containers with a funnel 😀 the bags keep the mess off the table and saves paper. Also we can keep the chalk pieces in the bags to do this project again.

    Reply

    • Hi Laiden. Thanks so much for your message! You can subscribe to my posts by RSS feed by clicking the button below my photo above. Or, you can subscribe by email. There is also a field to input that below my photo on the right hand side of the blog.
      xo anne

      Reply

  49. Thank for this creative idea. I found it through pinterest. The kids will love it! Wonder if we can use fine sand also? We live in the Bahamas and have loads of that resource! 🙂

    Reply

    • You can use sand! The colors aren’t as vibrant but it works and it is awesome to use something right outside the door. I’ve done it at the beach before. You can also use the colored sand and glue to make fun colored sand paintings.

      Reply

  54. This looks so pretty to try. I am an artist as well and love the whole calming behind it as well. But I am wondering about one thing. The salt is no longer good to consume right? Also I am a gardener and I saw one lady saying how they were going to use it as a theme for her daughter’s birthday. But outside. Just be careful if a lot of the salt gets in one spot on the grass it will cause it to brown and die. Some salts are ok like Epsom because of the magnesium(plants love the stuff) . Anyways just wanted to comment on how wonderful and refreshing to the eyes they are. Thanks for the blog posting.

    Reply

    • Hi, I know this is late to respond to this, but no, I would not consume it. It will have a lot of colored chalk dust included, and I wouldn’t eat it.

      Reply

  56. I am 42 and I did this in kindergarten….I have also done this throughout the years to decorate. It isn’t as much fun when you buy the already made colored sand.

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  57. Just wondering if you ummm can use sand cause looks fun but don’t want to waste money on salt and salt so please reply thank you bye

    Reply

  58. We enjoyed doing this so much…..The only modification that I did was mix the salt and chalk in a 1″ high tupperware container so the mess was not so much. Thanks so much for the great idea!

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  60. so cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  61. I LOVE this idea. We receive odd donations in our after school program and have a ton of colored chalks and salt. Thanks for sharing will send photos ASAP. Blessings, JudyB

    Reply

  64. Loved these too as a kid!! Just a tip to make this activity less messy and easier for a younger age group: use small round bowls (scratch-proof or old) for kids to ‘stir’ the salt with the chalk. Make paper cones, cut off the tip and use those to put the sand in the jar with minimum spilling.

    Reply

    • Hi! I’m not sure, but my guess is that it may stay in the tub some. It literally is just chalk dust in the salt, and I think it might be deposited on the sides as the water drained from the tub. In short, I don’t think it would stain your tub, but it may leave deposits.

      Reply

  71. I have had my daughter do sand art from colored sand just buy the kit with the sand colored already and it comes with a bottle to put the sand in.But having to color the salt is much more fun , also maybe small salt shakers or mason jars clear of course will be nice to use as well.

    Reply

  74. Getting ready to do this with my 5 year old. Remembering how much I’ve paid for my oldest to make a few sand art creations at the fair throughout the years I was excited when I found this and read how easy it would be to make my own sand. So started saving Dawn dish soap bottles because my daughter likes how they curve. So we now have 3 bottles clean and ready to go.

    Reply

  77. Wow, this is absolutely AMAZING!
    Would this work with bath salts (as in, pre-coloured) do you know?!?

    Reply

  79. Thank you for this. I spent a happy morning with my grandchildren making these. I bought som Pom-poms and we randomly put a few on several layers – looked like fruit bits in ice cream! Different coloured glitters work well when sprinkled on the coloured salt.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  9. […] This Colored Sand DIY is so easy. The girls always beg me to buy colored sand and I never knew what it actually was. Turns out it’s salt! Okay, so you’re probably thinking I’m daft that I didn’t know that until now, but well, we all have gaps in our knowledge. But seriously, the only thing you need for this craft is cheap salt, chalk and the jars. Get the full scoop on exactly how to make these right here. […]

    Reply

  16. […] Flax and Twine presents a great idea for an indoor art activity, that also makes for vibrant home decor – Rainbow Salt Jars.  All you need are some small jars with covers, a pack of salt, and different chalk colors.  Spread about ¼” thick salt on a piece of paper, and roll a piece of chalk on it.  Once the salt absorbs the color, carefully roll the paper to funnel the salt in the jar.  Do the same on a another spread of salt, but now with a different color.  The kids can use as many colors as they wish to fill up their jar. […]

    Reply

  35. […] Remove the labels from empty glass jars, then fill them with layers of hand colored salt to make pretty decorations from your home. Large jars make excellent bookends for your child’s room while tiny jars can be lined up in a row along a windowsill for a cute display. Learn more about this fun art project for kids at Flax and Twine. […]

    Reply

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