DIY Eggshell Sidewalk Chalk

Yes. You read the title correctly.  Last week I tried making sidewalk chalk out of eggshells... and it worked!  Here's the proof:

DIY Eggshell Sidewalk Chalk

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Amazing, right?  I was surprised too.  I found the recipe in the book, Concoctions.  Use eggshells to make chalk?  It sounded so bizarre that I had to try it out.

Now here are two things to note in case you want to try this yourself:
1.  Chalk is super cheap.  There's no way this eggshell chalk could take the place of store bought chalk.  I made it to appease my crafty curiosity.  If you have curious kids, they might have fun making it too.

2.  This chalk is highly abrasive, so do not use it on blackboards.  Use it outside.   (I tested a small bit on my chalkboard table and scratched it up.  So trust me on this one.)

Materials:

- 6 eggshells
- Wax paper
- Rolling pin
- Large plastic bag

- 3 t flour

- 3 t very hot tap water
- Food coloring
- Small bowls
- Spoons
- Silicone Molds (or you could just use a paper towels*)

Directions:

1.  Wash and dry your eggshells.

2.  Grind your eggshells into fine powder.  There are probably better ways out there, but here's how I did it.  I placed my eggshells between two sheets of wax paper and I used a rolling pin to roll over them.  As my eggshell pieces became smaller and smaller, I began folding all four sides of the wax paper to keep them in a pile in the center.  After awhile my eggshell pieces were getting so small and sharp that they tore small holes in my wax paper.

I didn't want to loose any precious eggshell powder, so I placed the wax paper and eggshells into a large plastic bag.  I used the rolling pin to repeatedly hit the bag until my eggshell pieces were smaller than grains of rice.  (Baby Chuck helped out with the banging part.  We put a book under our bag just to absorb some of the noise so our neighbors below wouldn't get too upset.)

Our poor neighbors weren't feeling the love that day...

I stopped when my eggshells were this small.  (Let me know if you figure out a way to get them smaller... I'd love to hear any ideas.)

3.  Add 1 teaspoon of flour, 1 teaspoon of very hot tap water, and three drops of food coloring in a small bowl.  Stir them together to create a colored paste.  Add in 1 tablespoon of your eggshell mixture. Mush all the ingredients together.  Then, spoon your mixture into one of your silicone molds.  Repeat this process until you run out of eggshell powder.  I found that I had enough to make 2 1/2 little pieces of chalk.

*Note:  If you don't have silicone molds, the book recommends that you shape the mixture into a chalk stick and then roll that stick tightly in a paper towel to help it keep its shape.

4.  If you're using silicone molds:  Let them dry one day in the molds.  Then, when the top part seems dry, carefully pop them out and flip them over so that the bottom side can dry out too.  Wait two more days (or until they seem rock hard.)

*If you're just rolling everything up in a paper towel,  the book recommends that you wait 3 days to let your stick dry.  After it's really hard just rip off the paper from one end to use.

5.  Enjoy your curious chalk creation, you crafty minx.  (Ooh.  Alliteration!)