I can not stress the importance of gluten-free art supplies enough, especially for the preschool set. Little ones are notorious for putting anything that is not intended to be eaten straight into their mouth (see exhibit A, below).
And don’t think you’re off the hook if you have older children. Kids are funny little people, much like wild animals in certain aspects. They tend to taste everything they come across, just like my pet lizard who “smells” with her tongue. They’re also pack animals, as evidenced when they eat boogers and glue in order to make their friends laugh (okay, maybe that’s just my boys).
Exhibit A
Another issue to keep in mind is hand to mouth contact. Say your child is playing with gluten-filled Play-Doh®, finger paints, etc. and forgets to wash their hands before picking up a gluten-free sandwich for lunch (or places the aforementioned booger in their mouth)…glutened. While a trace amount of gluten such as this may not induce immediate physical symptoms for the child, it can still cause an immune reaction that, if repeated often enough, will lead to trouble over time. It is always best to err on the side of caution and provide safe art supplies for your child whenever possible.
There will be times when the unforeseen occurs and a backup plan is necessary. You will want to have a standing protocol with your child’s teacher as to what approach to take, the following are two possible options:
- One option is to say to the teacher: “If the ingredients of said art supply cannot be verified, please offer an alternative (and safe) project for little Tommy to do instead.”
- Another option is to provide your child with a box of disposable “art” gloves for craft emergencies (this is what I choose to do, but it will depend on your child’s particular allergens and your level of comfort).
The following list of gluten-free art supplies is not all-inclusive (feel free to leave a comment if you know of a product that is not on this list). I’ve listed big-name products whose gluten-free status was easy to verify.
**It is important to continually re-check with the manufacturer since ingredients and labels can (and do) change without notice.
Art Supply Manufacturers’ Allergen Statements:
Discount School Supply lists the known allergens for most of the products they sell. I took a screen shot so you can see where to locate the allergen information for each individual product:
Gluten and Allergy Free Art Supply List
Adhesives
Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut/tree nut and soy)
Colorations Washable School Glue (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut/tree nut and soy)
Colorations Glitter Glue (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut/tree nut and soy)
Colorations Purple Washable Glue Sticks (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut/tree nut and soy)
Colorations Washable Premium Glue Sticks (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut/tree nut and soy)
All of Elmer’s Adhesives/Glues (also free of: dairy/casein)
Mod Podge (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut/tree nut and soy)
Crayons/Colored Pencils/Markers
All of Crayola Markers (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and D&C Red Dye #40)
All of Crayola Colored Pencils (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and D&C Red Dye #40)
All of Crayola Crayons (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and D&C Red Dye #40)
Colorations Super Washable Classic Markers (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Washable Chubby Markers (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Do-A-Dot Marker Sets (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Dry Erase Bullet Tip Markers (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Large Crayons (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Fabric Markers (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Ink Pads
Colorations Classic Colors Jumbo Washable Stamp Pads (also free of: dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Candy Colors Jumbo Washable Stamp Pads (also free of: dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Metallic Washable Stamp Pads
Colorations Stamper Perfect Washable Stamp Pads (also free of: dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Modeling Compounds
Aroma Dough (also free of: dairy, egg, soy, nuts)
Colorations Wheat and Gluten Free Play Dough (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut)
Crayola Model Magic (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and D&C Red Dye #40)
Crayola Air-Dry Clay (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and D&C Red Dye #40)
**CRAYOLA DOUGH IS NOT GLUTEN FREE!!
Discount School Supply Non-Hardening Modeling Clay (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Discount School Supply Super Light-Weight Air-Dry Putty (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Silly Putty (manufactured by Crayola, click the link above to see their allergen statement)
Soy Yer Dough (also free of: Borax, latex, dairy, egg, peanut & tree nut and kerosene. They have a soy-free version as well)
Paint
BioColor Paints (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Fabric Paint (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Finger Paints (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Liquid Watercolor Paint (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations No-Drip Foam Paint (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Simply Washable Tempera Paint (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Colorations Washable Glitter Paint (also free of:latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and soy)
Crayola Finger Paints (also free of: latex, dairy/casein, egg, peanut & tree nut and D&C Red Dye #40)
Elmer’s 3D Washable Paint Pens – Classic Glitter Colors
Elmer’s 3D Washable Paint Pens – Bold Colors
Elmer’s 3D Washable Paint Pens – Bright Confetti
**ELMER’S FINGER PAINTS ARE NOT GLUTEN FREE!!
Paper Mache
AMACO Claycrete Papier Mache (made from paper)
Other Art Supplies
Sta-Flo Liquid Laundry Starch (the list of ingredients on the website)
Macaroni Art: be sure to use a pasta that is gluten-free: rice, corn, quinoa
Recipes for Art Supplies
Gluten-Free Paper Mache
Mix 2 parts glue (gluten-free, see list above) with 1 part warm water
Dip each piece of paper into mixture, wipe off excess and apply to project.
Gluten-Free Play Dough
My Favorite Gluten and Allergen-Free free play dough recipe.
If you know of a gluten-free art/craft product that is not on this list, please leave a comment letting me know and I will update the list (once verified). 😀
And welcome to my blog!
Whether you're here looking for advice on how to go gluten free (with delicious kid-approved recipes of course!), or to read some of the latest medical research on celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity...or even to read about one woman's rise from the depths of gluten-free despair to a place of downright enthusiasm, it makes no matter. The point is, you are here now so let's have some fun!
THANK YOU!!!!!
Thank you so much for doing all of this hard work. This is our first school year GF/CF/EF and it is a little scary.
You are quite welcome (and big hugs to you Cynthia, you'll do great). 😉
Excellent list Heidi! Thank you!! I love discount school supply. I found them right after going gf! I will be taking your list shopping for sure 🙂
Heidi, this list and your advice will help so many. I'm going to share it with my support group members in my email newsletter tomorrow. 🙂
xo,
Shirley
Bubber modeling compound is gluten free 🙂
Heather,
Is this the Bubber you're talking about? http://wabafun.com/?page_id=25
Yes. we use it at home.
Thanks so much. I always struggle so much to find/figure out gluten free art supplies. DO you have a similar list for toiltries? I cannot figure that stuff out at all and my 3 yr old is getting sick still 🙁
Thanks! This is my first year to prep a "safe" list for my daughter's preschool, and this will help. DSS has been a really useful source since her school already orders many of their supplies there. I'm taking the same route and supplying a bucket of GF dough with utensils for her, but her school had also suggested floam or gak (school-made) as modeling alternatives they already use that would be safe for the entire class.
Thanks for this list and all of your information. I've not really been aware of the importance of GF products (other than food) until recently. It's just amazing to me how many items do have gluten in them.
This list is SO HELPFUL!!! This will save me so much time…I am off to buy some art supplies now! 😀
not sure if you or your blog readers will be interested in this info. but sharing just in case. Called Crayola regarding soy in products. Soy is definitely in all their washable markers and colored pencils. Soybean oil (just protein) in their Color Wonders products. (Called them after our son put marker in his mouth…he has soy sensitivity….agh!)
Thank you, Heather, for calling Crayola about the soy. This could explain why my daughter got so sick intestinally (and red knees and elbows) after sucking on the Crayola washable markers last week.
Thank you so much for posting this!
Great info. You may want to add Glob paints. They are also gluten free and allergen free (soy). They claim to be biodegradable and made from natural colorants from fruits and veggies.
Hmmm. This might be why I used to get so sick as a kid. lol
I always chewed on all sorts of things, but my favorite was crayons. o.0
Definitely love this website.
Thanks so much, Heidi, for putting this updated list of gluten-free art supplies. This is so helpful to print off and give to my daycare for my daughter who is under 3 years of age. They’ve been giving her Play-Doh for a year, even though I told them she couldn’t have any gluten!
For gluten-free playdough, I recently bought Max’s Mud, which is made from organic rice flour and jojoba oil. Some of the colors are made from vegetables, and a few are from FD&C colors. It’s nice to know most of the ingredients are organic in case they end up in our children’s mouths. The playdough is certified gluten-free, certified organic, vegan, and compostable and naturally biodegradable. Here is their website: http://www.maxsmud.com
I talked to crayola this week and while they still say Crayola Model Magic Crayola air-Dry Clay has no gluten in it, the products are made on the same machine as the playdough so could be cross contaminated. The machinery was washed between making the play dough and the other products. So you should use your discretion before buying.
I love you for this! I googled modge podge and gluten and yours were the first 2 links. I know you know what you’re talking about so I looked no farther 🙂 Safe art supplies are important for us grownups too! I want to do a glitter/modge podge craft on my phone cover – certainly something that I’d touch all the time and potentially ingest bits after it’s done even…maybe I’m paranoid but thank you for this awesome list!