Colored Marshmallows for Play and Learning

Color mini marshmallows and use them in art activities and engineering activities for kids. { All our art recipes here}

Materials

Mini marshmallows
Jumbo marshmallows
Toothpicks
AmeriColor Gel Food Color

How to make colored marshmallows

Following our painting jumbo marshmallows we wanted to color mini marshmallows as well. Painting those tiny ones was daunting so we opted to dye them with food color. { Here is a wonderful Ultimate Guide to Dying Sensory Materials} from And Next Comes L.

Separate the mini marshmallows into 7 bowls.

In a separate cup add 2 tbsp of water and 1 squirt of gel food color. { We LOVE AmeriColor Gel Color for their vibrant colors} Mix the water and the food color well to make an even mixture. This art recipe makes for a great St.Patrick’s Day activity when we make it in rainbow colors

Pour the water and food color mixture into the marshmallows bowl and mix well until the color is evenly spread.

Yeah DON’T DO THIS. Don’t let the wet colored marshmallows sit in a bowl for a long time. I set all the colors up because I’m a rainbow lover and love rainbow projects for kids. I always want to see the projects with a rainbow vision. As soon as you make one color immediately transfer them to a cookie sheet { explained below}

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and lay out your marshmallows. Try to have them separated as much as possible. I know this takes a while. But if you do this now, removing them from the cookie sheet will be much easier.

Some more rainbow colored marshmallows. If they are little bit sticking to each other, it is ok. Don’t fret.

Once the marshmallows are dry { overnight is good} gently peel them off the wax paper and drop them in a bowl of powdered sugar/baking soda/white flour. Gently use the white powder to spread over your marshmallows to remove the stickiness. Then if you want drop the lot in a bowl and brush off the excess powder with a pastry brush. Alternatively you can also drop them in a foil pan and shake them off to remove the excess white.

Here are our rainbow colored marshmallows ready for playing, learning and creating.

Storing the colored marshmallows

To store these marshmallow, simply pour them into a airtight Ziploc Bag {plastic, zippered baggie} with some more baking soda. Seal the bag and give it a shake for the powder to spread and remove the stickiness. They should stay dry that way. Pull them out when you want to do some playing.