Mosaic Corn Art with Kids!

Today I have a super fun Thanksgiving craft to share with you guys. I can hardy believe that I am typing the word “Thanksgiving”! It’s still back-to-school time in my head. I guess I need to catch up… and this craft will help :) I found this kids craft for Mosaic Corn Art on the Imperial Sugar website and fell in love! I remember doing something similar when I was little… it’s a little old school and a little modern. If you had everything ready ahead of time this could be something fun to have on the kids table on Thanksgiving Day. Imperial Sugar has a ton of kid crafts and recipes on their site and the best part is they are organized by holiday (look at how many Thanksgiving crafts they have!). We made the Salt Dough Leaves a few years ago and I’m thinking about trying the Glitter Leaf Votive Holders next!

For this craft you need:

• -gel food coloring
• -popcorn kernels
• -white vinegar
• -sugar
• -flour
• -water
• -cardstock

My kids loved this project because it was almost three different mini projects in one. First, you make the sugar paste (that will be your glue for the final project).

Mix the following ingredients together in a mixing bowl:

1 cup flour, 3 tablespoons Imperial Granulated Sugar, 1 cup cold water and 1 cup boiling water.

Mix until smooth, bring to room temp, then store in an air-tight container.

Second… time to dye the popcorn kernels, which also happens to be our personal favorite. My kids LOVED doing this for some reason. Actually I did too haha. We used clear plastic cups for this step which I think made it even more fun. Add 1/2 cup water and 1 tbsp white vinegar to some small cups. My two year old measured all the water and my 5 year old got to do the vinegar :)

Next add a few drops of gel food coloring to each cup.  They gel is really fun to watch… we had clapping and shrieking! Then add 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels to the cups. Let them sit for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

The next morning I took the kernels out and placed them on a pan to dry, that also takes a few hours.

After they were completely dry I got some cardstock and the kids started planning. I showed them the original Mosaic design that I saw on the Imperial Sugar website but they went rogue haha. I put some sugar paste in a baggie and trimmed the end to make it easier to handle. You could also use a paintbrush to apply the sugar paste.

We had a sun, dots, stripes and an abstract scene. After we finished we had some colorful kernels left over and now I’m thinking about placards for the Thanksgiving Day Table??

Imperial is having a Holiday Baking kit contest so check that out HERE! And be sure to also visit them for so many more Thanksgiving crafts, recipes and even printables! Check them out HERE.