I shared our active and colorful color fight party and now I want to show you how to make the DIY color powder that we used for the color fight! This DIY version of color powder will save you lots of money over the storebought holi powder variety and you’ll get a bold, colorful powder that’s also nontoxic. It’s the perfect way to throw a color party, host a neighborhood color run, and it can even be used for a really clever gender reveal!
DIY Color Powder Recipe for a Color Fight
To make this DIY color powder, all you need is cornstarch {lots of it!} and food coloring. Color paste or gel coloring, like the Wilton brand {affiliate link}, works the best and will give you a bold color. You can use liquid food coloring but you’ll end up with muted, pale colors and that isn’t nearly as fun {unless you want pastel colors for a gender reveal}.
You’ll need large pans to mix the color powder. Foil pans from the dollar store are cheap and easy. I found them in sets of two so each pan was only fifty cents. Another purchase I would highly recommend? Disposable plastic gloves {affiliate link} to protect your hands from the color. The gloves make clean up a lot easier!
In the pan, mix together 2 cups of corn starch and 1 cup of water. Mix together, using your hands as needed. The mixture is actually difficult to mix and I found it easier to get right in there with gloved hands and squeeze it together instead of trying to use utensils to stir it.
Once you’ve got it mixed fairly well, add one full 1 ounce container of coloring paste and, with gloved hands, mix until the color is blended throughout.
Repeat this process for each color using new gloves each time.
If you want a bigger batch of each color, double the corn starch and water. To save money, you don’t need to double the coloring. You’ll still get quite a bold color.
Place the pans in a dry location {a garage works well} and let them dry out for a couple of days {minimum}. Over the drying days, I regularly used a fork to stir and break up the powder a bit, letting it really have a chance to dry out completely. If you don’t stir it up routinely, you may end up with wet spots that will mold.
When the powder has dried completely, blend it, one color at a time, in a food processor to remove all of the chunks and create a fine powder …
… then place it in large mason jars or another style of container.
I used a pour spout lid {affiliate link} on each jar to make refills easier during the party but you could also pour straight out of the jar or scoop it out as needed.
This simple recipe makes a bold-colored powder … and you don’t have to worry if the participants get a bit in their mouths!
Not up for making your own DIY color powder? Order holi powder {affiliate link} online!
Don’t miss all the DIY details of the fun color fight party where this powder was used!
Diane says
March 13, 2015 at 8:32 amDoesn’t it stain?
Randi Dukes says
March 13, 2015 at 6:40 pmIt could stain so we told our guests to wear old clothes and provided them with a shirt to wear. We actually didn’t have any permanent staining in other clothes.
rachel says
September 29, 2016 at 2:08 pmMight be a dumb question but I purchased Holli powder how do I get it to blow out like dust, using at a rivelry football game
Shannon says
October 27, 2016 at 9:13 pmYou can blow it out of your hand, you can throw it, anything really.
Jacklyn sanders says
October 18, 2016 at 11:19 amI’m wondering if I make this powder could I use it for a gender reveal party? I’d like to put some of this in a box maybe with tannerite & shot it! Do you think it would work ?
Randi Dukes says
October 18, 2016 at 4:23 pmI do think it would work but be careful … the tannerite part is scaring me. 🙂 I’d love to know how this works. Will you share it on the Dukes and Duchesses facebook page?
Nicole says
January 27, 2017 at 8:27 amDid you end up doing this? I am in the process of planning it out!
Melanie Majors says
December 20, 2016 at 12:55 pmI am wanting to use this in a photo shoot for my family pictures! How well does it actually stick to clothes? I want it to really stand out in pictures.
Randi Dukes says
December 24, 2016 at 8:15 amIt sticks well at the time but the sticking isn’t permanent. You may want to add extra coloring to the powder to really make it pop.
K Lowe says
June 11, 2017 at 12:05 amI saw that you answered it doesn’t stain clothes, but just to double check, did you have any staining on the skin?
Randi Dukes says
June 11, 2017 at 4:14 pmNo, none at all. Some temporarily but it washed off easily with a shower.
anna says
March 21, 2018 at 6:10 pmno
Anna Mae says
March 13, 2015 at 9:08 amWhere would I find the lids with the pour spouts? I have never seen them. I love them. Thanks.
Randi Dukes says
March 13, 2015 at 6:39 pmAmazon has a pour spout that will fit on jars but these ones are from Pick Your Plum. They don’t have them all the time but you can find them with some regularity if you keep an eye on the site.
anna says
March 21, 2018 at 6:08 pmok thanks and does anyone know where I can find corn starch. I also want to know which is better to make color poweder should I use flour or corn starch.
Randi Dukes says
March 21, 2018 at 10:18 pmYou can find it in the baking aisle at the grocery store. I’d use corn starch not flour.
Kelly says
August 10, 2016 at 8:05 amYou can also make them with the tops of old salt containers and mason jar rings!!
brenda says
March 15, 2015 at 6:15 pmWill this stain hair and how much would you make for about 30 kids
Randi Dukes says
March 16, 2015 at 6:04 amWe didn’t have any staining … it shook right out of the hair. We had 10 kids at our party and went through the powder really quickly. I doubled the recipe for each color and had six colors but for 30 kids I would probably quadruple the recipe for each color and have at least six colors.
Sarah says
April 7, 2015 at 9:10 pmGreat recipe love that is all natural, but it was still a little chunky, so for anyone else with this problem bast way to solve it is to throw it in the blend and it cleans right out!
Randi Dukes says
April 8, 2015 at 6:03 amYes, as I said you really have to throw it in the food processor or a blender to get rid of the chunks.
reg says
April 25, 2015 at 10:19 amNo problems if they inhale the cornstarch?
Randi Dukes says
April 30, 2015 at 10:44 amIt probably isn’t great to inhale the cornstarch in large amounts but we were throwing it in such small amounts {rather than blowing huge amounts into the air} that the risk of inhaling it was very small. We also had a rule that it couldn’t be thrown at faces.
Jill Wheeler says
April 27, 2015 at 2:31 pmThank you for the tips, this looks so simple to do. I read through some of the comments and see that this doesn’t stain. If I’m looking for it to stay on a white shirts, would this do it or do you know of another method I could try? Thanks again!
Randi Dukes says
April 28, 2015 at 6:00 amI was really hoping it would stain the white shirts as well and it didn’t. I think if you increased the amount of food coloring, it would be much more likely to stain.
JustMe says
June 11, 2016 at 9:33 amI know this is an old comment, but maybe someone reading this will find this idea of use. If you want to wear white t-shirts and get color on them, why not fill water guns with different colored dyes and have a squirt gun fight…and decorate each other’s shirt at the same time 😉
clo says
July 11, 2016 at 6:25 amHi, We will use the powder to do a “trash the dress” , I was looking for a way to “spray” the powder but the shooters they sell are rather expensive. Did you try the water gun to shoot? How did the powder come out?
If anyone can advice me 🙂
Thanks
Randi Dukes says
July 11, 2016 at 7:08 amWe tried using spray bottles to shoot the powder but it didn’t work well at all and I doubt a water gun would work either. The powder just kept getting stuck. Hope you can figure something out! I just love the trash the dress idea!
Karen says
May 20, 2015 at 7:20 pmI am looking at making large quantities for a color run. Do you think it’s doable? Do you know how long it would last and does it need to be in sealed containers? Thanks!
Randi Dukes says
May 21, 2015 at 8:13 amI made mine two weeks in advance. You need time to allow it to dry. I don’t think it would ever go bad … it’s just corn starch and coloring. As long as it dries out completely, it won’t build up any mold. Once it’s completely dry, you can store it in large ziploc bags.
Alisha Long says
June 21, 2016 at 10:18 amWas this successful? My PTO team is doing the same thing.
Maggie Roe says
February 28, 2019 at 8:19 pmHow did it work out for your PTO? We are considering making instead of buying. We are anticipating ~200.
Kristen says
April 11, 2019 at 1:23 pmHi Maggie – I researched how much it would cost for me to make my own for a large party (much smaller than 200 though) since I would be buying cornstarch and the dye, and it actually came out cheaper to buy it already made. I just bought a large batch from hippiepowder.com. You should check out that website for good deals compared to other powder sellers. DIY is great for smaller amounts, but for as many people as you are accommodating, DIY isn’t practical. Hope this helps! Also, peacockpowder.com is a sister site to hippiepowder.com (owned by the same people), but for some odd reason, the latter has a free shipping option even though the powder itself is a fraction cheaper on the peacock site. When all is said and done, they are equal minus a couple dollars.
Eolia Disler says
June 2, 2015 at 11:50 amHello, I just come from a share from Bare Feet on the Dashboard and your recipe for color powder was perfect to add at this link-up about India (with the festival of Holi…).
I will try to do one of those color fight with my kids during this summer and will use your DIY.
Sheri says
June 4, 2015 at 6:42 amHi, I am organizing a fundraiser carnival/BBQ event and would love to have this idea put to use as a carnival game primarily because it is so colorful and we are an Art School that is raisin money or Autism Art programs. What are the rules that you used for your game in using this colorful homemade product?
Thank you for your great idea!!
Randi Dukes says
June 11, 2015 at 11:55 amWe made a rule that you could only throw it at someone below the neck … no faces. That was really about it and it went smoothly with no problems.
Judy says
June 10, 2015 at 9:27 pmThis looks really fun. I’ve recently seen a Wal-Mart comercial that has kids throwing water balloons filled with color at each other. Would this mix work as a liquid to fill water balloons?
Randi Dukes says
June 11, 2015 at 11:53 amGosh, I don’t think it would. I don’t think the cornstarch would dissolve well and stay dissolved. You’d probably be better to use watered down washable paint.
Elaine says
June 24, 2015 at 9:24 pmhow do you start the game giving them a hand full?
Randi Dukes says
June 25, 2015 at 7:33 amIf you click through on the link that shares the whole party you can see a few other details. We gave them little baggies full of powder and then had them come back to the filling station for refills. It kept it all from going too fast and being over in no time.
alaina says
August 5, 2015 at 12:14 pmI am having surprise party for one of my friends and we want to have a color fight. Everyone at the part is wearing white shirts and we want it to get messy and stain the shirts! Is there anything we can do to make them stain the shirts
Randi Dukes says
August 7, 2015 at 7:43 amI wish I had a good answer for you but I really don’t. I wonder if you let the mixture stay a bit wetter if it would stain more or if you doubled the amount of food coloring. You may have to google some ideas.
Brynn says
May 30, 2017 at 5:27 pmMake chalk bombs (basically fill a nylon with the powder) and have them throw those at each other, that stains way better – probably because it doesn’t come out until it’s on the shirt, you don’t lose a bunch on the air.
Sophia says
October 11, 2017 at 11:46 amCan you give me more info on this? I’m planning an event for my sorority and we are doing a color war like this and we want it to stain our white shirts but not our hair or skin. Any help would be awesome!
Samantha says
July 30, 2016 at 11:49 amI made this and it smells awful. Is that just the smell of corn starch?
Randi Dukes says
July 31, 2016 at 7:34 amI don’t remember ours smelling bad at all. I’m thinking that might just be the corn starch but I’m really not sure.
Emmy says
August 20, 2016 at 3:00 pmNO!!! That is not the corn starch entirely! I did this about 3 weeks ago and mine had an odor too. When I checked the bags this morning, they were growing mold ?. 100# of cornstarch, 16 containers of food coloring, and about 50 aluminum pans wasted. Extremely upset because it was for a fundraiser at our school and the powder was completely dry when I bagged it.
Randi Dukes says
August 20, 2016 at 4:48 pmOh no! We used our within days. I’m thinking yours must have still been moist because cornstarch doesn’t grow mold in the pantry.
Corey says
July 31, 2016 at 12:30 pmCouldn’t you speed up the drying process by placing it in the oven?
Randi Dukes says
July 31, 2016 at 2:12 pmI’m sure you could! I haven’t tried it but I’d love to hear if you do that.
Emmy says
August 20, 2016 at 3:02 pmIt doesn’t work. I put ours in the oven for almost 3 hours at the lowest setting possible. When I took them out, they looked great on top but were hard as a rock. It “dried” them so fast that it wasn’t capable of crumbling anymore it was just a rock.
Randi Dukes says
August 20, 2016 at 4:46 pmThanks for letting us know!
Courtney says
August 8, 2016 at 11:26 pmI Needed pink and blue for a gender reveal and followed directions for first color. For the second one, I decreased amount of water and it was perfect. I went back and added more cornstarch to the first, and by doing this, they were both ready immediately. The powder is already pretty fine, but I will run through the blender tomorrow to make sure.
Kristi Rumpf says
August 23, 2016 at 6:14 amCourtney,
I was wondering how you staged the gender reveal.
Did you just throw the “colored powder”; or put it in a balloon to pop over the parents-to-be???
(There are so many ideas out there but I didn’t want ours to be too cheesy.)
I love the idea of using this since it’s non-toxic & there are children involved.
Thank you!!
Jenny says
August 24, 2016 at 6:33 amYes – also thinking of doing this for a gender reveal (to put in the pipes of a fourwheeler)… can you let us know how it went? Maybe with pictures?!
Mariela says
August 31, 2016 at 2:47 pmHello, I’m a cross country runner and my team and I came up with the idea of doing a color run as a fundraiser to get gear for our team. We started a ballot to see how many people would participate and turns out there is many. Any tips or rules to make the powder for 300+ people? I don’t want the powder to go to waste.
Randi Dukes says
September 1, 2016 at 1:58 pmWow, that’s a LOT of people! I’d suggest getting a group of people together and assigning them each a batch and/or a color.
Meliska says
September 21, 2016 at 5:01 amHi I was wondering how best to ‘throw’ the powder onto the runners? And how long will it last once made?
Randi Dukes says
September 26, 2016 at 7:57 amIt should last for a while in an airtight container but be sure it’s totally dry or it will mold. It’s probably a good idea to keep it in the fridge.
It works to use handfuls and throw it … however, if you were going to have a station that runners were going through, you could maybe set up a fan or something to blow it as well.
Susan says
September 28, 2016 at 5:54 pmOur town had a color run and they used plastic squeeze ketchup/mustard dispensers like you would find at a restaurant. You can buy them fairly cheap at a dollar store and just squeeze them in the direction of the runners. The powder is carried on the air squirting out of the bottle.
Craig says
October 22, 2016 at 9:41 pmTrying to make a powder “makeup” for Halloween – would this work for that?
Randi Dukes says
October 23, 2016 at 7:13 pmI’m not sure it would really stick to the face. Maybe if you mixed it with some vaseline or something.
Brandi says
October 24, 2016 at 11:39 amWill be trying this this weekend for our gender reveal in our tail pipe and having the kids having a color fight. Will reply with how it went!!
Randi Dukes says
October 24, 2016 at 5:14 pmI can’t wait to hear! Feel free to share photos on the facebook page!
Gennell says
October 27, 2016 at 9:07 pmOur PTA is using this for a Color Run Fundraiser in a few days.
Due to possible allergies with the children, we are using Argo cornstarch and Betty Crocker Color Gels. Neon and regular.
I’m on my second batch of making the colors.
I baked mine on 225 for 45 minutes after mixing the water and colors.
Stirred each color after removing from the oven. Let sit overnight.
None were hard clumps, just dry powder with some little clumps. Put in blender to make it into the fine powder.
Never noticed any odor from both batches.
Lindsay says
October 29, 2016 at 11:19 amCan i slow bake this to expedite the dry time?
Randi Dukes says
October 29, 2016 at 6:46 pmYes, other readers have done that. If you look through the comments, you’ll see one from someone that baked it at 225 for 45 minutes, stirred it, then let it sit overnight. I haven’t tried it though.
John says
December 12, 2016 at 3:25 pmThats great. You could also use Rice flour. That is not so fine, and it won´t get into your lungs.
Its not so sticky, but has the same effect, and doesn´t stain so much. There are many good recipes for Holi Colors
Jack Rose says
March 1, 2017 at 3:14 pmWould this be able to wash out of hair easily?
Randi Dukes says
March 1, 2017 at 8:43 pmYes, no trouble at all!
Cindy Lou says
March 28, 2017 at 1:57 pmHeyy friends and I were thinking of doing this as part of our day date before prom would it stain on the skin because that would be a problem
Randi Dukes says
March 28, 2017 at 5:50 pmI can’t absolutely promise you but we didn’t have any staining on the skin at all.
Barbara says
April 5, 2017 at 9:28 pmWhen I was little I remember a bug “spray” that was pumped out in something that looked like 2 heavy cardboard tubes, one inside the other, and I think the inside one had an end on it. Something like this might be able to pump ot some of the powder. Boy does that date me!
Why wouldn’t you mix the color paste to the water first? Does it not mix?
Randi Dukes says
April 6, 2017 at 1:25 pmThat’s a great idea … honestly, I Just didn’t think of it!
Sarah Sullivan says
May 4, 2017 at 7:23 amHello.
We love your recipe and will be using it for our upcoming Color Run. Thank you for sharing!
One question:
We are comparing costs for making it vs. buying the 25 pound bags.
The recipe listed above…about how much powder does that make?
Thanks again!
Carolyn Holmes says
July 25, 2018 at 2:45 amWE just purchased everything for our teen vbs.. We got corn starch in #50 bags for $26 at restaurant supply in the city
We then purchased the Americolor Gels in 13.5oz bottles for $16 of Amazon
The foil pans we purchased for $ .89 each…
Our plan is to make 100# of color..to play capture the flag.
It is July so it is warm outside. We experimented with 1lb of cornstarch in a large
bowl, then added 1/2 cup water mixed with hands. clumpy..
then added the color .. a squeeze of about 1/2 oz and mixed in with hands. really mixed
well.
I then put it in the sun for a few hours. It is dry and lightly clumped. They are still outside so we will have to
wait for the heat of the day or the oven to finish removing moisture. they really are pretty! Colorant is mixed
in well, and it looks great..
Cost…. $2.50 a lb.
Closest commercial supplier $3.49 a lb..
Holipowder $4.50 a lb.
Randi Dukes says
July 25, 2018 at 1:50 pmThis is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your cost comparison. I hope you have a blast at your event!
Denise says
May 17, 2017 at 5:54 pmI was wondering what the mess factor is, will it be falling off of everyone all over my house. And what will the yard be like after
Randi Dukes says
May 19, 2017 at 6:29 amWe were actually really surprised at the lack of mess. It either stuck or didn’t so it wasn’t falling off everyone and the yard didn’t look too bad … just a quick hose down to deal with it.
Smokey T Bear says
May 25, 2017 at 2:56 pmJust remember that cornstarch (and flour) is flammable when in powder form. Don’t use this near open flames such as a birthday cake.
Courtney says
July 7, 2017 at 1:44 pmHow many pounds of Wilton’s Icing Gel did you find that a small container could make? I need to make 30pds of color powder and I am just not sure how far the Wilton Color stretches.
Viviana Joaquin says
August 2, 2017 at 2:37 pmHow well this work if i add some water to it… like in a water gun
Randi Dukes says
August 7, 2017 at 10:34 amI think it would work fine but I’d do a little test run to be sure.
leah says
September 18, 2017 at 1:22 pmim doing a gender reveal party (color fight) boys against girls, nut we do not want the color to wash out.
is there a way to keep the color in?
Randi Dukes says
September 21, 2017 at 8:43 amThe only thing I think you could do with this recipe is use a much higher concentration of food coloring. That would make it stain more, I think.
babyblue4681 says
February 10, 2018 at 7:51 pmTo throw the powder you could go to Dollar Tree, get the balloon blow up tubes. Fill them with the powder. Instant blow gun.
Jessie says
February 22, 2018 at 8:09 amDo you know how long this would last if I made it ahead of time? Or should I make it as close to the date of use as possible?
Randi Dukes says
February 22, 2018 at 9:03 amAs long as you get it completely dry, it should last for a long time in an airtight container. It’s basically just a powder. Some people have commented that they’ve had mold but I don’t think the powder was fully dry before they stored it away. You need to frequently stir it around so wet spots can dry out.
Tally says
May 20, 2018 at 12:27 pmI will try it, thanks a lot!
Tammy says
June 12, 2018 at 12:15 pmDoes this have a shelf life?
Randi Dukes says
June 14, 2018 at 6:29 amIf you get it completely dry, you can store it in an airtight container for a long time … the same way you can store cornstarch for a long time. But be sure it’s dry because if any moisture remains, it will go moldy.
No says
June 30, 2018 at 4:28 pmI found it easier to oven bake it stirring every 20 minutes or so. We took old pantyhose and filled little parts of them with this and had a color war!
Karen says
May 18, 2019 at 6:20 pmHello. What would you use to make chalk bombs. Material or panty hose? Which would be best? Thank you. Karen
Randi Dukes says
May 18, 2019 at 8:28 pmI think panty hose would work much better because it would allow the powder to spray out better!