DIY Network

Marbleized Paper From "Creative Juice" episode DCRJ-209L

By Shaving cream and paint help create marbleized paper.

Fancy marbleized papers can be costly, but here's a quick way to make your own--quickly, inexpensively and with a minimum of mess.

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Marbleized Paper

Tools:

white foam shaving cream (not the gel kind)
large baking dish
toothpicks
coffee stir sticks
plastic spoons
fork
white paper. sized to fit easily in the baking dish
tempera paints
paper towels
hand trowel

1. Layer about 1" of shaving cream in the baking dish (figure A) and smooth out the top with a hand trowel (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

2. Use the spoons to drizzle the paints in various patterns on top of the shaving cream, creating shapes such as circles, squares, zigzags and stripes (figure C). Using toothpicks, forks and coffee stir sticks, swirl or move the paint up and down on the shaving cream to create patterns (figure D). Don't force the paint into the shaving cream: it should stay on the top.

Figure C

Figure D

3. Lay the paper on top of the shaving cream and the paint. Press down, but not through the shaving cream (figure E). Remove the paper by gently pulling it off the shaving cream. You can let the paper sit overnight so the shaving cream will dissolve, or gently blot with the paper towels to remove the excess shaving cream (figure F). The marbleized image will be left on the paper.

You can reuse the shaving cream about five times. When the prints get dull, add a fresh layer of shaving cream and paint.

Figure E

Figure F