{crafts} Marbling

Marbling

Here is a tutorial with directions on marbling. You just need a special marbling paint to get started, but the results are fabulous. The original tutorial can be found at http://www.minieco.co.uk/i-marbling/.

I saw these chocolate wrappers on Oh Joy ages ago and they completely changed my mind about marbling (I always used to think marbled paper looked a bit dull and assumed you needed loads of equipment).

It turns out it’s not so hard…and the results can be really colourful (Yay!).

HOW-TO
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You will need:

// Marbling paint. I used Marabu Easy Marble (not a sponsored plug!)
// A tray (I used a recycled foil food container)
// Paper (make sure it fits inside your tray)
// Water
// Cocktail sticks (a twig will do!)
// White spirit for cleaning up (or cooking oil…see comments section below for details)
// Newspaper
// An old top or Apron

STEP-BY-STEP
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1. Fill your foil container with some water….a few inches is fine. Then pop some drops of marbling paint onto the water. Limit your palette to three or four colours.
2. Give the water a swirl with a cocktail stick.
3. Shake a few more drops into the water if you fancy!
4. Once you are happy with the pattern gently lower your paper on top of the water and leave it for a few moments.
5. Then carefully lift the paper off the surface of the water.
6. Pop your design, face up, on some newspaper to dry.

HINTS & TIPS
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• Use a scrap of cardboard to ‘scrape’ the top of the water in-between each go. That will get rid of any paint residue from your previous attempt.
• I used coloured paper. Because of this, one of the marbling colours I chose was a transparent colour (crystal clear), that way you get to see the colour of the paper too.
• If you are doing this with kids I would definitely recommend using some gloves and an apron…it gets a bit messy.
• Have fun!! I found marbling incredibly relaxing so grab a bit pile of paper before you start…you will get through it.
• When your paper has dried, press it under some heavy books to make it flatter & smoother! Make sure you sandwich it between greaseproof paper just in case it leaves a mark.
• If you want some more inspiration then check out my Pinterest marbling board ^_^
• This particular marbling paint is oil-based so you will need white spirit to clean up any spills.