Marbleized Paper Cards

This is the freshly dried cards.  After a little while in the envelopes they will flatten out and look really cute!

For our first Activity Days activity, we made Marbleized Paper thank you notes.  It was great because we passed off a goal in both the developing talents and the Serving Others sections of the book.  I found this great project at a site called Unplug Your Kids.

For this project you'll need a shallow pan that is large enough to fit the paper.  We used 9 x 13 pans.  You'll also need food coloring, cooking oil, white card stock (we used blank greeting cards that I found in the craft/scrap booking section at Walmart.  Regular paper doesn't work nearly as well.),  water and eye droppers.

Put just enough water in the pan to cover the bottom.  If the water is too deep, the color will sink if you don't work quickly enough.

Put about 1/2 tablespoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of food coloring in a glass or small bowl.  The ingredients won't mix.  Beat it hard with a fork until well blended.  Its like mixing an oil and vinegar salad dressing and will take a minute or two.

Using the dropper, place drops of colors on top of the water.  The drops will stay in a blob or maybe explode a bit.  Experiment with different colors and putting one color inside another.

When you have dots of color all over the surface of the water, use a toothpick or a fork to make patterns in the colors.  When you are happy with the designs, gently place the paper on top of the water.  Leave it for about 30 seconds or until the oil starts to show through the back of the paper.  Then gently peel the paper off of the water.  It will leave beautiful, colorful patterns on the paper.  Let the paper dry completely.  Be sure to use clean water and fresh drops of food coloring/oil for each card.

Use a lot of food coloring for a bright vibrant look, or less for a more pastel look.

To make the cards:

Since the oil soaks through the paper and leaves stains, we took cute scrapbook paper and cut it to fit inside the cards.  The girls wrote a note to someone to tell them what they appreciate and respect about them.  Then we used a glue stick to glue the notes inside the cards.

**The cards will curl and warp from the water.  But don't worry!   After a little time in an envelope they will flatten out and be beautiful!**

Goals Completed:  Serving Others #2, Developing Talents #4 or as an alternate activity.