How to Marble Paper: With Videos

I have long admired marbled papers. The patterns and swirls look exotic and difficult to make. And it's true that really detailed effects can take a while to perfect, but marbling paper is something you can learn to do, and there's much to enjoy in the learning process.

Although there are techniques you can learn that produce certain effects (techniques that can be learned from one of the books listed below), there is no wrong way to marble paper. Even with no prior knowledge and done with an air of experimentation, you can produce really lovely results. Fooling around with water and paints is all you really need to do.

Of course, as with any craft, you can refine the process, but there's nothing wrong with learning as you go when you are marbling paper. In fact, if you've spent some time playing around with the process, you'll have a knowledge base set up for when you want to learn more specific techniques later on.

I'm writing this wizzle in an attempt to get you going with learning how to marble paper. It's an especially fun thing to do with a bunch of kids on a backyard picnic table during the summer months. Who doesn't enjoy outdoor water play on a hot summer day? And to be able to make it an art project, too? What a blast!

Innovation Marbling Kit, Japanese Suminagashi

This was the first paper marbling kit I'd ever used. These inks float on the water, making delicate patterns and colors.

Kids can be mesmerized with the process of marbling paper! The process is almost magical with how it uses colors and the properties of water and floating designs.

Two processes for marbling paper come to mind as a project for involving kids. The first is the use of shaving cream with either food coloring or liquid tempera paint. The video above shows the process of using the foam. If you have shaving cream at home, you may want to substitute the shaving cream for the commercially available art foam. It will do basically the same thing. Use either food coloring drops to add the color or fill a paint brush with liquid tempera and drip it into the foam. Practice different swirls to see what effects you will get. When you place the paper on the colored foam, both you and the child will be amazed with the way the colors pop out on the paper.

Another project you can try is one that uses wax crayons. Every home with kids probably has a glut of wax crayons that may or may not be used for different art projects. If you have extras lying about, this may be a good use for them.

Because of the use of boiling water with this process, please work with your child and don't let them get too close to the boiling water!

 Take a tin can and fill it with water. Make a double boiler by putting the can of water into a pot of water on the stove and set to boil. With an old grater (not to be reused for food), grate brightly colored wax crayons (Crayola, etc.) and place them in little piles on the boiling water. Using a stick, swirl the colors together. When they are cooled and being careful not to burn yourself, place a sheet of paper on the soft wax swirls. Lift and place face up to cool.

These colorful paper swirls make great greeting cards. You can cut to size and glue the finished project to folded construction paper for amazing cards to give on special days, such as birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc.

Adults who marble paper are often attracted to the idea of making book art or otherwise creating hand-made books. That was how I started marbling paper myself. I make little books of poems I call Pocket Poems using hand marbled paper for the pages. Each poem is broken into sections and printed on hand-marbled paper and then reassembled into books that measure 2" x 3". The covers have either photos or drawings. They fit into your pocket where you can take them out to read while waiting in the grocery store line or at a bus stop. They're fun to read and to share.

Maybe you can think of a way to use your marbled papers, too. Teachers can use them as part of a classroom writing and book-making project. Crafters can use marbled papers in their scrapbooking projects.

How will you use marbled papers? Please let us know in the comment section below.