Marbleized Paper DIY

Happy New Year everyone!

Today I’m going to show you a very simple DIY that yields beautiful results. Marbleizing paper (and other surfaces) can be done in a variety of different ways. The following method is child-friendly, “I’m not artistic”-friendly, and wallet-friendly.

You will need the following items:

1. Newspaper
2. Shaving cream
3. Food coloring (or other inks if you have them, though I find food coloring smudges the least)
4. Toothpicks
5. White printer paper
6. Thicker white paper
7. Lots and lots of paper towels

Step 1: Cover your working surface in two-three layers of newspaper. Ink can go through thin paper easily so you want to protect your table.

Step 2: Cover a piece of white printer paper in shaving cream.

Step 3: Drop food coloring all over the shaving cream in any manner you like. You can splatter it, or drop big drops in a few places.

Step 4: Add a second layer of food coloring to the page.

Step 5: Use a toothpick to spread the color and cream all over the page. Try to make cool patterns on the surface of the shaving cream.

Step 6: Take a second sheet of paper now. I recommend using printer paper for your first few prints. I’m using printer paper in the following image. Press this second sheet of paper down on top of the page layered with color and shaving cream. Don’t flatten the sheets against each other- just let the second sheet balance on top of the shaving cream. This allows you to use the bottom sheet as a template for several prints.

Step 7: Remove the top sheet carefully. You will see that there is excess shaving cream on it.

Step 8: Use paper towel to pat and wipe off this excess shaving cream. Food coloring instantly dyes the surface of the paper, so don’t worry about smudging your final print by rubbing it with paper towel. I can’t say the same for other dyes. When I used alcohol ink it smudged quite a bit, so just be aware of the type of ink you’re working with. Then again- smudging can look quite cool! Here’s what this final print ended up looking like:

Step 9: When you’re comfortable with your technique, try pressing down thicker paper onto your shaving cream base. The result will be a more professional-looking print that is less likely to curl up at the ends. To prevent curling ends with printer paper designs, let the work dry with books weighing down each corner.

Here are are a few other prints I made during this crafting session:

For the following two works, I used pink and black alcohol ink. This type of ink spreads much more quickly so you can cover a larger percentage of the paper with ink, but it also risks smudging. I had success with these two prints!

Marbleized paper can be used for a variety of purposes. I gave my mum a set of marbleized paper envelopes and papers to be used as stationary several Christmases ago. I also use marbleized paper to decorate my binders. I slide the sheets into the plastic slips on the front and the back of each binder. You can also frame prints and use them as wall decoration. The possibilities are endless.

I hope you enjoyed this DIY! Let me know if you discover a type of ink that works exceptionally well for marbleizing- I’m always trying to perfect my technique.

Until next time,

xoxo, Chloe <3