# Red Cabbage Art > Soak heavy paper in red cabbage water to make homemade "magic" pH paper. Kids then paint on it with vinegar, lemon juice and washing detergent to make colors appear, and outline the shapes they spot in their abstract designs. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-for-kids-red-cabbage-art/ - Ages: 4–8 yrs · Difficulty: medium · Mess: medium - Time: prep 40 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class - Skills: science, acids-and-bases, color-change, observation, creativity, fine-motor - Cautions: citrus, ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - Red cabbage - Water (household) - 1 piece Pot, knife and strainer (household) - 1 piece Shallow tray or pan (household) - 1 sheet Heavy paper: cardstock - Watercolor paper (optional) - Heavy construction paper (optional) - Vinegar (household) - Lemon essence or lemon juice (household) - Washing detergent (household) - Baking soda solution (optional) (household) - 3 piece Small shallow dishes (household) - 3 piece Paintbrushes - 1 piece Pencil (household) - Markers ## Substitutions - Instead of cardstock: Watercolor paper or heavy construction paper (The post lists all three heavy papers as options.) - Instead of lemon juice: Baking soda solution, diet coke or hand soap (The post lists these as extra options for more colors. The colors will differ from lemon's pink.) ## Safety - Adult chops the cabbage and handles the boiling water and hot cabbage liquid. - Adult pours the washing detergent into the dishes, using only a small amount. Detergent is not for mouths or eyes. Wash hands after painting. - Vinegar and lemon juice sting eyes and small cuts. - Supervise so kids paint with the liquids and don't taste them. - Red cabbage water may stain clothes and surfaces. Cover the work area. ## Before you start - Adult: chop red cabbage, boil it in water, then strain the cabbage out. See the original red cabbage experiment post for details. - Pour the purple water into a shallow tray or pan. - Soak heavy sheets of paper in the purple water, preferably overnight. - The next day, remove the paper and let it dry completely. This is your "magic" paper (pH strips). ## Steps 1. Draw a simple picture, like a flower, on a sheet of dry magic paper. 2. Adult: pour a little vinegar, lemon juice and washing detergent into separate small dishes, with a brush in each. 3. Paint with vinegar and watch pink appear on the paper. 4. Switch between vinegar, lemon juice and detergent to paint more colors. 5. Paint freely to make abstract designs and patterns. 6. Look closely at the designs, like cloud watching, and find shapes in them. 7. Outline the shapes you see with a marker. The adult can help with the first outline. 8. Name what you found: a lake, a fish, a whale, a monster… ## Tips - If you decide to do this art activity, then you are having red cabbage soup for lunch! - Best for kids 4+. The results are very subtle, so the process may be a little lost on the younger crowd, but your kindergartner may think it's so magical! - Build up excitement by announcing that these liquids will make colors magically appear on the paper. Even after doing it a few times, mine was still excited to see pink from plain vinegar. - With the soap, a greenish blue appears as soon as the brush hits the paper and eventually turns yellow. That alone was exciting. - The highlight was outlining and identifying the designs in the art, like cloud watching. I helped with the first outline, then she picked up on it. - It's open ended: all they need to do is paint and explore designs. What a great way to encourage creativity! ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2014) How awesome is it when science meets art? The kids love their [**art activities**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/art-projects/) and their [**science activities**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/science-2/) but this artsy science activity just wowed them. I just wish some one had showed me this experiment when I was in school - I totally would not have done the B-R-A mnemonic!!! ( blue to red = acid) My 5 year is quite familiar with the red cabbage experiment since we have done 3 activities based on the same. Read our post on the " **[red cabbage experiment"](https://www.funlittles.com/science-experiments-kids-scientist-dramatic-play/),** **"** **[red cabbage tie-dye](https://www.funlittles.com/science-experiments-for-kids-red-cabbage-water-tie-dye/)**["](https://www.funlittles.com/science-experiments-for-kids-red-cabbage-water-tie-dye/) and our ever so fun " **color changing goop**". The first red cabbage experiment shows what you need and what the experiment is all about. Materials - Red Cabbage Water - Heavy paper ( **[Cardstock Paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IDRW/?tag=blmemo-20)** , **[Water Color Paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E01U6S/?tag=blmemo-20)** or **[Heavy Construction Paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FSR93I/?tag=blmemo-20))** - Shallow tray - Lemon Essence - Vinegar - Washing Detergent If you decide to do this art activity, then you are having red cabbage soup for lunch! To make your "magic" paper (pH strips) follow the instructions in the **[original post](https://www.funlittles.com/science-experiments-kids-scientist-dramatic-play/).** Once you make your red cabbage water, soak heavy sheets of paper in the water, preferably overnight. Remove them from the water on the following day and let the paper completely dry. Once you have your "magic" paper it is time to engage in super fun art activities. I should warn you that this art activity is suitable for kids 4+. Since the results are very subtle the entire process may be a little lost on the younger crowd. Your kindergartner however may think this is so magical! Set out your red cabbage water strips along with a few materials - we chose vinegar ( acid - turns pinkish purple), lemon essence ( turns pink ) and washing detergent ( turns bluish green). You can add baking soda solution as well. The original post gives you a lot of options. Basically we are choosing acids and bases to see the color change in the red cabbage water paper which is acting like a pH strip. My 5 year old drew a simple picture of a flower and then I built up excitement by announcing that these liquids will make colors magically appear on her paper! Although she has done this a few times, she was still excited to see color on her paper simply through vinegar. Mom! " I got pink on my paper" She continued to "paint" her flower by switching between the vinegar, lemon juice and washing detergent ( diet coke, hand soap are also great options if you want a wider array of colors) The best part of art activities like these is that they are so open ended and all she needs to do is just paint and explore designs. What a great way to encourage creativity! Here is another design my 5 year created with the paper. All she did was use one of the 3 materials I set out and created art. Every time she used the soap, as soon as the brush hit the paper, a greenish blue ( which eventually turned yellow) would appear and that alone excited her. What she did next was the HIGHLIGHT of the activity. Once we got these abstract designs and patterns, she started outlining and identifying the designs she saw in her work. "Hey mom, look here, this looks like a whale" etc.. Just like cloud watching -instead of watching the clouds she was observing her art to pick out patterns. { Cloud watching is oh-so-fun!} Alright, she created a monster? How did we move from a flower to this one haha? { Once she picked out a pattern she saw, I helped her with her first outline} She picked up on it and started outlining her observations. Here is another pattern she created with water color paper. So what did she see in this one? Plenty! There! she outlined a bunch of images for us. Apparently there is a lake, lion ( more like an ant eater-- but it is her imagination), fish, whale, apple, and a pointer finger. Well, I had to experiment with this amazing art activity! ### Recap: - Chop red cabbage - Boil in water - Strain the cabbage out - Transfer the now "purple water" to a shallow pan - Soak heavy paper/cardstock/water color paper in the purple water over night - Remove the paper the following day and let them dry - Now you have your pH strips that will change color based on the solution used to paint - Paint with lemon juice - Paint with vinegar - Paintwith baking soda - Paint with laundry detergent - Enjoy the color change! Stop by this awesome sensory activity - color surprise goop play. [](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-color-changing-goop-science/)