Paper Marbling

Paper marbling is the art of printing multicolored designs onto a paper surface. There are many different ways to make a marbled sheet of paper. I'll show a few different ways to do it here is the first.

1. Find a shallow container that is large enough to fit the card's surface on it. 
2. Spray shaving cream onto the surface till it is full.
3. Use a straight edge to smooth it out (A ruler would work perfectly)
4. If you want a pale marbling design flick water colors on the shaving cream surface, then use the end of a paintbrush and swirl it around slightly, lay your card on the shaving cream and press down lightly.  Pick it up and use the straight edge to scrap the shaving cream off. Let it dry. If it is  wrinkled then set under some heavy books overnight.
5. If you want a bright and vivid marbled paper then follow the steps above but use food coloring dyes.

This is an example of paper marbling that I did 

For the next method you will need chalk, a butter knife, a container big enough for the card surface filled with water

1. Over the container of water use the butter knife to scrape the chalk into a powder
2. Once you have enough chalk powder on the surface of the water you can swirl it around a little bit.
3. Lay the paper on top of the water
4. Lift it up and allow to dry
5. Set it under heavy books over night if the paper is wrinkled
6. Spray with a clear coat (Hair spray works too)

This is paper marbling that I made with chalk. It works good as a background or you could paste it to the front of a card.

The third way that you can use to marble paper is shown in the steps below:

1. Use a size to make the inks or paints you are using float on top of the water.
2. Add a variety of colors that contrast (See my page on contrasting colors click here)
3. Use a comb or toothpicks to swirl around the colors. Don't swirl around to much or it will create a brown or gray mess.
4. Lay down your paper (Use a sturdy paper so that it doesn't tear) And use the tips of your fingers to "scratch" the back of your paper.
5. Wear gloves so that you don't get finger prints on the corner of your paper when you are lifting it up.
6. Lay it down on a rack to dry or hang on a clothesline. 

These are all marbled cards that I and my friends have made using the above technique.