Today I've got a really fun older toddler activity for you, marbleized paper! This tutorial is bought to you by a lovely guest poster Kerrie of Sea Kettle Diaries. Please check out her blog when you are done here!
Hi Homestead readers! I’m Kerrie and I blog over at SeaKettle Diaries about life as a teacher, artist, wife and new mom. Here I am, with my little sidekick, Levi...
Even though my little guy is a too young for this particular
project, I wanted to share it anyway, since it is one of my all time favorite
art activities. I'd recommend doing this
with older preschoolers, although there are lots of different steps that you
could modify depending on the age and ability of your kids.
What you’ll need:
shaving cream (the white and foamy stuff, not gel)
paper plates
watercolors
a medium-sized paintbrush
paper
cardboard
a cup of water
a kitty helper (optional, of course) :)
1. First, fill a paper plate with shaving cream
about an inch high.
2. Use a
small piece of cardboard to smooth out the surface.
3. Add a good amount of water to your watercolors (more the better!) and gently paint on your shaving cream. I tell kids to try to "drop" the paint on the shaving cream rather than to "paint" it (you could also use droppers to literally drop the paint if you think that would be easier). The idea is that you don't want lots of indents in your shaving cream. I usually encourage kids to make different colored stripes, but as long as there are different colors next to each other, they can paint it any way they’d like.
4. Now for
the fun part..time to swirl! Use the back of your paintbrush, stick it in the
shaving cream and swirl it around any way you want, back and forth each way or
around in a circle. It's just important not to over-do the swirling, if
you want to keep the marbleized effect.
5. Next, place a piece of paper on top of the shaving cream and rub it gently.
6. Pull up the paper and scrape off the shaving cream with a
piece of cardboard. Ta-da! Kids love seeing the "magic" at the
end.
Thank you, Kathryn, for inviting me to share this little art experience with you and your readers!
Love this!! Actually saw something similar last week and can't wait to try it with my little guy.
ReplyDeleteI think it would make great wrapping paper too!
Thanks for a great guest post KC! This toddler art month has been awesome.
yes, it would make great wrapping paper! awesome idea. :)
DeleteThank you! I haven't tried it yet as we don't have shaving cream at our house but I love it!.
ReplyDeleteThis art month has been fun! I look forward to doing it again.
So I tried this. With a 2 year old and a 4 year old. I couldn't get the watercolors to work, so I said, "Hey, why not food coloring?" We have some cool pictures but kids are pink and purple now. Next time I am going to try tempura paints.
ReplyDeletePlease let me know how that works out!
Deletesorry it didn't work for you. Some watercolor sets aren't as pigmented as others...you could also try tempera cakes with a lot of water. Good luck!
DeleteLooks awesome! We will be trying this at our house :)
ReplyDeleteHooray for another great toddler art post! I've seen this on the web and it looks fun. If only I can find some shaving cream that doesn't smell like cheap cologne.
ReplyDeleteI know right! Maybe Whole Foods sells it. I never thought to look there.
DeleteI did this with 2nd graders. We used circles cut out of poster board with green and blue acrylic paint . They made really cool Earths, just in time for Earth day! :)
ReplyDeleteanother awesome idea. love it!
DeleteWe will be making marbleized postcards at Vacation Bible School this summer. The craft instructions for the curriculum says:
ReplyDelete"Don't flush leftover shaving cream down the toilet or wash it down the sink. Instead, throw the shaving cream into the garbage."
What are your thoughts on this? Is there anything environmentally damaging in shaving cream?
I haven't thought much about it as we don't use shaving cream in our house. I would assume that it might not be good for a septic tank if you are at a camp that doesn't have normal city plumbing. I would think a simple google search would bring up an answer. I found this actually : http://greenanswers.com/q/17155/pollution-toxins/consumer-products/are-shaving-cream-harmful-environment
DeleteTraditional Shaving cream is pretty toxic apparently. You might think about getting a natural brand.
Levi will be there before you know it! I love this!
ReplyDelete