Create your own scented water-colour paints with petals, herbs and water.

What you need:

• Herbs and non toxic flowers (we used nasturtiums, lavender and mint).

• Hot water (not boiling)

• Something for mixing and mashing leaves and petals.

• Egg cups or other small containers for each colour of paint

• Paint brushes and art paper

• Pen and labels or sticky notes

• Optional: Sieve or muslin cloth (to strain your paint)

What to do:

1. Take the petals off your flowers and put them into the mortar bowl.

2. Add two teaspoons of hot water to the petals and then crush them with the pestle adding extra water as needed. You are aiming for a similar consistency to thick juice. As a general rule, you will need about a teaspoon of hot water per flower.

3. You can strain or sieve your paint to get rid of any bits of petal or keep them in for a grainy effect.

4. Label each pot of paint with the name of the plant you made it from.

5. Leave your paint to cool, this also allows more of the colours to seep into the water.

Extra Ideas:

• Replace flower petals in the instructions above with the leaves of herbs such as mint.

• You can also dry out flowers or herbs first and then grind them to a powder before adding the water.

• If you want to make paint from mud or dirt then use bowls and implements that are not going to be used for food and do your mixing outside or on a covered surface.

Time to Paint:

1. On paper, test the colour of each of your paints and label the colours so that you know what each paint colour looks like.

2. Paint a picture of nature with nature.

3. Experiment by using flowers or other bits of nature as a brush.

4. What happens when you apply the flowers directly onto the paper? Our daisy made a yellow circle mark.

5. Have fun experimenting with your paint and techniques!

Did you give it a go?

Did you try making your own watercolour paints? Send us a photo of what you created and what you learnt and you’ll go into the draw to win a mystery “Upstart DIYer” prizes.

Happy painting!