How to Make your own Glitter

Posted by Natasha on August 13th, 2019

There are so many fun things you can do with glitter! Kids usually love piling the glitter on their projects. Unfortunately, it’s not always the most ecologically friendly craft product since most glitter is made out of bits of plastic. 

Luckily, you can easily make your own glitter at home using eco-friendly ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Read on to find out how!

Materials needed to make your own glitter:

• Salt
• Food coloring
• A cookie sheet
• Aluminum foil or a silicone mat

How to make glitter at home:

Preheat your oven to 375º Fahrenheit.

Decide what color glitter you want to make. You can use a single food color or blend to make a new color! This project can help you teach your little one about additive colors (for example, how red and blue make purple). Experiment a bit with the colors before you start adding them to the salt so you know what to expect.

If you don't have any food coloring available you can use water color paints instead. They will work just as well. 

As a quick note - some “natural” food colorings do not hold their color well when baked. I’ve learned this one the hands-on way!

When your food coloring is ready, pour about ½ cup of salt into a bowl. 

If you don’t have salt, you can substitute sugar. However, sugar can attract bugs, particularly ants, so salt is a far better choice if you plan to craft with your glitter. 

Add your food coloring, about one drop at a time, until it's the color you want. Mix to combine with a metal or plastic spoon. Make sure not to use a wood or bamboo spoon because it will stain!

You might notice the salt dissolving a bit, but that’s okay. It will dry back out in the oven. 

Cover your cookie sheet with foil or a silicone mat. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it protects your cookie sheet and makes clean up easier. 

Spoon the salt out of the bowl onto a cookie sheet. Using your spoon, spread the salt in a thin, even layer across the sheet. You can also use the back of a spatula.

Next you’re going to bake the salt to get rid of excess moisture from the food coloring. Once your oven is hot enough, place the cookie sheet of colored salt in the oven. Bake until the salt is dry, about 10 minutes. If it still isn’t dry in 10 minutes, give it a stir and put it back in for a couple more.

After your salt is baked, take the cookie sheet out of the oven and let the glitter cool. You may notice some clumps of salt - don’t worry! Just brea them up with a fork. 

Now your homemade glitter is ready to use! Store it in a salt shaker so it's ready to use whenever you need it.

If you used non-toxic food coloring (instead of watercolor paint) to make your glitter, your glitter is also safe to eat. You can add some sparkle to your meal by putting your glitter in a salt shaker and sprinkling it on your food. 

You can also use this technique to make colored sugar for decorating cookies or cupcakes!

Making your own, eco-friendly glitter for craft projects is fun, easy, and inexpensive. It’s perfect for holiday projects, like decorating these free printable snowflakes, and a fantastic learning opportunity. What will you use your new glitter on?