Use our free snowflake templates or draw your own snowflake designs. Then use white glue and salt to create 3D art. When you add the liquid watercolour paint it spreads like magic across the raised salt — it’s so cool!
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Free printable templates for snowflake salt painting:
Click the link below to find the snowflake templates we used to make our salt painted snowflakes! The templates are free to download and print.
»> Snowflake Templates «<
My snowflake salt paintings look wet. How can I get the crystal look?
Your snowflake salt painting may look quite wet, especially if you’re painting with light colours. To get a more crystal-like look, rather than puddles of wet and salty glue, you can pour more salt on top of the wet paint and salt, then tilt off the extra. You can also add more paint into the water to make stronger colours. We find the snowflakes look better with lighter colours, but bold colours can still look beautiful.
How long does a snowflake salt painting last?
This art project is more about the process of watching the paint spread across the salt than the end result. The snowflake salt paintings are pretty to look at once they’re complete, but they aren’t meant to last more than a day or so. As the salt dries it will start to fall off the paper if the paper is bent in any way. So don’t count on saving these art projects long term — just enjoy the process of making them!
What type of paper is best for salt painting?
You need to use a thick paper that can handle glue and moisture without warping too much. We like to use watercolor paper for salt painting, because of how thick it is, and because it’s made to absorb liquid. However, cardstock will work as well, and it’s a lot less expensive. We used white watercolor paper to make our snowflakes, but you could also use different shades of blue cardstock to represent the sky.
Do you have to let the glue dry when making salt painted snowflakes?
We don’t wait for the glue to dry when making salt art — we like to paint on the salt right away. However, you can definitely wait a few hours, or even overnight, to allow the glue to dry. The salt and glue can smudge easily when the glue is still wet, so you need to just barely touch it with the brush. So painting the salt once the glue is dry might be a good way to make this art project easier for younger kids.
Snowflake salt painting is such a fun activity, perfect for when the blustery winter weather keeps you indoors. This process art project for kids is great for at home or during a weather unit at school.
Here’s even more salt painting ideas:
Salt and Watercolor Snowflake Art
Fireworks Salt Painting
Painted Salt Sculptures
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