Tie Dye Coffee Filter Craft for Kids
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We are stuck in Chicago a little longer than expected due to some vehicle issues so I wanted to repost this fun and SUPER easy activity that we did last year! This tie dye coffee filter craft was SO incredibly simple and didn’t require anything other than household materials.
You’ll need a coffee filter, markers, water, and a dish or plate of some sort.
Color the coffee filter to your heart’s content with markers, then place it inside any type of bowl or dish that will hold a little bit of water.
We had pipettes that we used to suck up water but you can have your kids either dip their fingers in a cup of water and shake off the water or use a small spoon to handle the water. You’ll simply want to take small amounts of water and pour or shake it onto your coffee filter that you colored.
Pipettes are great if you have them but they are not necessary!
As the water soaks into the coffee filter the colors from the marker disperses and creates a tie dye effect! If you add too much water, however, it will wash most of the color off of your coffee filter so be careful! Hang them to dry when you are done and then tape them up on a window or door as a sun catcher!
What a great gift.
I like this idea and it would be fun and simple for my 1 and 3 year olds 🙂 I don’t have pipettes but I am thinking about trying straws. I will put the straw in a little bit of water and hold the top of the straw closed with my finger, that way a little water will stay in the straw and the coffee filter won’t be soaked 🙂 Thanks for all your ideas!!!!
I’ve done this with black magic markers for the experiment, “Is black really black?” Color a black dot in the center of a coffee filter. Then use drops of rubbing alcohol directly on the dot. Watch as colors spread out from the center, revealing lots of different colors. I use a variety of marker brands to see which ones have more color.
I’ve done this before in my kindergarten class. A spray bottle works great for wetting the filter just enough to spread colors. You can also turn them into butterflies with a painted clothes pin and curled pipe cleaners.