To make this fun and easy marbleized paper you will need: 1/2 tsp alum (helps paint adhere to the paper), 2 cups liquid starch, liquid acrylic paints, a long wooden skewer , a 9 X 13 pan and white copy paper cut to fit the inside your pan. You can change up the size of the pan, just keep the proportions of starch and alum the same. The starch should be 1 to 2 inches deep in your pan.
Pour 2 cups of liquid starch in the pan then add 1/2 tsp alum stirring until mixed.
Gently drop acrylic paint on the surface of the starch. Some paint will sink to the bottom- do not worry. Try not to use too much paint. For best results choose light and dark colors that go together. It will take some experimenting to know how much paint works best for you. Brands of acrylic paint differ in consistency. If after several tries you have trouble with the paint not staying on the surface, try adding a drop of water to your paint.
Take the wooden skewer and drag the paint through the starch. Continue dragging the skewer through the paint until you get a design you like. You might try other tools like a fork, feather or comb besides the skewer. Really the fun of this activity is watching the paint swirl around making different designs. There is no right and wrong. Enjoy the experimenting. We were mesmerized —- we hope you will be also!
Lay your piece of paper on top of the starch. Allow it to sit for a couple of seconds.
Lift the paper out of the pan and allow the starch to drip off the paper
Rinse the paper under running water removing any extra starch. This does not change the intensity of the colors (the below photo is a different piece of paper paper from the above photo)
After the paper has been rinsed, lay it out to dry. It will take about two hours for the paper to dry. When the paper is completely dry, iron on medium setting until the sheets of paper are flat.
You may find that you can print two sheets of paper before adding more paint to the starch. In the photo below, the bottom piece of paper was made first. We then used our skewer again making a different design and put on another sheet of paper.
In the photo below we had too much paint on our starch so we went ahead and made a print then changed up the design and then made another. If you feel that you have made a lot of prints and your starch is too full of paint, just pour it out and start again.
The possibilities of what to do with your paper are endless—- cover pencils, a book or a box, make note-cards, book marks or a picture frame etc.
Have fun!
Tags: crafts, how to marbleize paper, kid's crafts and activities, kids crafts, marbelized paper, marbleized paper, marbleizing paper
May 25, 2008 at 11:12 am |
Oh Thank you for posting this!! This sounds like another craft I might enjoy and it’s something the kids will likely enjoy too. Oh boy.. adding more crafts to my belt. Heee..
May 25, 2008 at 1:50 pm |
Such a great project! Thank you for sharing it.
May 25, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
Thanks for sharing this great tutorial. I always wondered how to do it and this is another one on my growing list of things I want to try …
May 25, 2008 at 5:04 pm |
OH How Fantastic!!!!! I literally shrieked with delight when I first saw this! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks
May 25, 2008 at 6:41 pm |
Very cool! I’ve always wondered how to do this! I just finished making your hooded towel. When I get my other two done I’ll post pics. Thanks for the tutorials!
May 25, 2008 at 7:54 pm |
that was fun!!! Thank you for sharing
May 26, 2008 at 8:05 pm |
I remember doing this as a kid, have to try again. i wonder how handmade paper would go? Have you tried that?
May 26, 2008 at 9:43 pm |
..you’re so stinking cool!
thanks!
p.s. I used your end of the year “scoops of fun” teacher gift idea!
May 27, 2008 at 1:50 pm |
Denise Fleming has an alternative process with food coloring and shaving cream.
(Here’s the link: http://www.denisefleming.com/pages/activitiesb/marbleizedpaper1.htm)
May 27, 2008 at 8:30 pm |
Thank you for sharing this process. You got wonderful results and make it look easy! I bet it’s hard to stop once you start making papers!!!
May 28, 2008 at 12:56 am |
That looks great! I might try my hand at it.
May 28, 2008 at 11:55 am |
Ok this is super mega radical COOL. Way much simpler than the traditional method.
May 29, 2008 at 6:33 am |
Oh so cool! I have always wanted to know how to do this! I have a 9 year old who I know will want to try this with me sometime!
June 12, 2008 at 8:47 am |
Oh, thanks for this. I haven’t marbled in years. I think my children will love it. Now that the weather is warmer, we could do this outside (less mess).
June 15, 2008 at 5:58 pm |
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February 2, 2010 at 8:41 pm |
I found your web site when I was browsing for something entirely different, but this post was on the first page of Bing your blog must be incredibly popular! Continue the good work!
June 17, 2010 at 1:32 am |
Nice
………………….
My little sis Martha likes it. And my big sis, Andrea likes it too.
November 4, 2010 at 1:54 pm |
You can also do this with shaving cream and water color paints : )
November 21, 2011 at 10:14 am |
Best results I have seen for this type of project! I am going to do this with my 3rd grade art class soon! Thanks!
December 5, 2011 at 11:57 pm |
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