DIY
By Lindsay Ponta
HOW TO MAKE
Glitter Gemstone
Sidewalk Chalk
Create bedazzling designs
on your driveway with this
shimmering sidewalk chalk
Sidewalk chalking has gained popularity during the coronavirus
pandemic as a way to spread positivity and create a sense of
community amidst social isolation. Drawing with sidewalk chalk is a fun outdoor activity for summer, but it
can only keep kids occupied for long. Making sidewalk chalk, however, can keep little ones busy for the whole
afternoon. If you try this DIY at home, tag us on social media with the #washingtonfamilymag hashtag. We want to see
your glitter gemstone sidewalk chalk and your colorful works of art!
Supplies: 5-pound box of plaster of Paris
Liquid tempera paint
Biodegradable glitter
Silicone gemstone mold
Silicone rectangle mold
Mixing bowls and spoons
Cookie sheet
bit more plaster of Paris to thicken
it back up.

3 Sprinkle a generous amount
of glitter into the gemstone
mold, tapping and shaking the
mold to distribute the glitter.

Place mold onto a cookie sheet.

Note: While beautiful, glitter
Start by making a batch
is just tiny bits of plastic that
of sidewalk chalk for the
end up polluting waterways.

gemstones. Pour some powdered
Use biodegradable glitter that
plaster of Paris into a mixing bowl
breaks down in water to ensure
and slowly add water, stirring
your afternoon of fun doesn’t
constantly, until it resembles pancake leave a lasting impression on the
batter in texture and thickness.

environment. 1
2 Squeeze tempera paint into your
bowl of “batter,” mixing colors
until you have a shade you like. I
recommend matching the color of
your sidewalk chalk to your glitter,
which you will add next. If the paint
thins out the chalk mixture, add a
4 Spoon the colored chalk
mixture into the gemstone
mold. Tap the cookie sheet a few
times to let the mixture settle into
the corners of the mold and to
remove any bubbles.

10 Washington FAMILY JUNE 2020
5 two. If it’s warm and sunny, set
Let the mold dry for an hour or
9 Set the rectangle mold aside
to dry for at least an hour or
it outside in the sun. You should be two. Peel back the silicone mold
able to pop the gemstones out as
on one rectangle to see if it’s dry.

soon as they feel dry on top. Once
Once they’re ready, pop them
removed, leave them uncovered in a all out and place somewhere
warm spot to dry for a while longer. warm and dry to air out for a
couple days.

Repeat steps 1-5 with two
Note: They might look dry on the
additional colors of your
outside, but they could still be holding
choice. If you have three gemstone
onto a lot of moisture. If you seal
molds, you can mix up all three
them up too soon, the moisture will
colors at once to save time.

turn the chalk into a blob of mush
inside your container.

Mix a bigger batch of sidewalk
Once your chalk has had
chalk without tempera paint for
plenty of time to dry, you
the white rectangular bases.

can store it in any container to keep
the chalk dry.

6 7
8 Pour mixture into one cavity
of the rectangle mold at a time,
quickly pressing three gemstones
into the top before it solidifies.

Repeat for remaining cavities.

10 Lindsay Ponta created the DIY and
lifestyle website Shrimp Salad Circus
in 2009 to inspire busy women to live
perfectly-imperfect creative lives. She lives
in Silver Spring, MD. Find easy DIYs and
recipes at shrimpsaladcircus.com.




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