Making marbled paper with shaving cream and ink is a super fun summer activity and great for all ages and abilities—the shaving cream is cool and messy, and the results are stunning!
Use your hand-marbled paper to create collages, greeting cards, paper planes, or anything you can imagine!
Materials
2 cookie sheets, cutting boards, or baking trays
1 can of shaving cream (not gel!)
India ink or any permanent liquid ink, assorted colors
a few Popsicle sticks
a ruler
card stock and/or assorted papers
Directions
1. Spread a thick layer of shaving cream onto your cookie sheet (about the size of your paper) and smooth the surface with a Popsicle stick to create an even layer.
2. Drip a few colors of ink onto the shaving cream surface.
3. Using your Popsicle stick, swirl ink throughout the shaving cream. (Tip: be careful not to mix the colors too much—you’ll get better results if you can still see all the different colors.)
4. Place your card stock or paper over the layer of shaving cream and ink. Press it in a bit to make sure the paper is touching the entire surface of the shaving cream. Allow it to sit for about five seconds to let the ink soak into the paper.
5. Remove the card stock and place it on your clean cookie sheet. Using the side of a ruler, scrape all the extra shaving cream off your card stock to reveal your marbled design!
6. Using the same shaving cream, including the stuff you’ve scraped off your paper, create an even layer of shaving cream and repeat steps 2-5. You’ll get a very cool, layered marble effect.
7. When your shaving cream is too muddy with color, wash your tools and start again!
Once you’ve played with the technique on paper, try using 100% cotton or silk to create your own hand-dyed textiles.
Get messy, have fun, and make something beautiful!
And if you feel like sharing, post photos of your work to fiberflame’s facebook page!
fiberflame studio
1776 route 212, saugerties, ny 12477
845-679-6132 | fiberflamestudio.com
