Tutorial On Marbleizing Paper
Recently I was introduced to the very cool art of paper marblezing. All you need for this step by step tutorial are
* cornstarch
* 6 cups of water
* oil paints
* paint thinner (I use odorless Turpenoid from a craft store)
* paper or cardstock
* sticks to stir paints--orangewood or popsicle sticks are great for this.
* plastic cups
* medium saucepan
* glass bowl
Gather up your supplies and you'll be on your way to creating gorgeous, funky swirled patterned paper...
1. Mix a small amount of cornstarch (about 1/4 cup) to six cups of water in a medium saucepan and place over low heat. Stir the mixture together until it dissolves and keep stirring until becomes milky in color. It's important to keep agitating the mix so that it stays smooth.
2. In between stirring, prepare your oil paint mix. Cut the plastic cups like the picture shows and add a little of the thinner. You don't need a lot, just enough so that it covers the bottom. Squeeze in a small amount of paint and stir with the sticks.
3. Have you been keeping an eye on your cornstarch mix? After it has turned that milky color, it's time to transfer it to a glass dish, like a Pyrex bowl. It's time to let the mixture cool a bit so it can "set". This would be a good time to pick the paper that you want to marbleize.
4. Drip a bit of whichever paint colors you'd like to use onto the now-cooled surface of the glass dish. Swirl the colors together with the wooden stick, how ever much or little you want, depending on the effect you are going for. Dip your paper or cardstock lightly onto the surface of your paint/cornstarch mixture and lift up.
5. Presto! Look at your awesome marbleized pattern! Place your paper pieces onto paper towels to dry for a bit. Later on you will be rinsing off the cornstarch mix with cold water. it si important not to let it dry or it will flake off.
