Alum is the key! {for bright marbling projects}

Hi friends! A couple of months ago I picked up a set of marbling inks at the dollar store to use on a project. The colors were really pretty when wet but faded a lot as it dried. I was kinda bummed. A viewer suggested treating my paper with alum for brighter results but I didn’t have any…that is til this month’s Smart Art Box turned up on my doorstep!

I tested the supplies in the box on the paper that came with it, cardstock and tags and it worked great. I think pre-treating the paper with alum is key but I think the treated paper will only keep a couple of days in a sealed container so this project takes a bit of planning. I am the queen of losing track of multi step projects but luckily do don’t have to do it perfectly for it to work as you will see in today’s video!

This project features supplies from out sponsor Smart Art Box.  Every month they send a surprise box of supplies to do a project as well as a booklet with step by step instructions. You never know what you are going to get! Visit their website to find out more or subscribe to the monthly box!

Supplies:

• Alum powder (for preparing paper)

• Methocel (water thickener)

• Jacquard marbling inks

• Liquid synthetic ox gall (optional)

• Paper or fabric *This project is a bit of a process so you might as well treat a few papers to make the most of your effort.

• Metallic pens (optional)

• Plastic tray (not included i kit, I used a dishpan)

Directions:

1. Mix water and alum in a tray and soak papers of fabric you wish to marble for at least 20 minutes. (Fun fact: if you happen to forget about the bucket of soaking paper and leave it overnight it will still work!) Hang to dry completely and store in an airtight bag until you are ready to marble.

2. In a tray, mix methocel with water using a whisk and skim off bubbles with a paper towel.

3. Gently add ink to the paper surface. If you want the ink to move more you can mix ox-gall in with the ink before adding it.

4. Swirl the surface of the water with a skewer.

5. Bend paper and set the center of the paper on the center of the water and let sides drop. You can leave this in the water for a few minutes if desired but I lifted mine right off. Set aside and repeat this process with any other objects you wish to marble.

6. Rinse the project under a very gentle stream of water and lay flat to dry.

Don’t worry if your inks sink a bit or things don’t seem to be going perfectly because the projects usually turn out fine anyway. I think the biggest problem would be not whisking up the methocel properly (ending up with a gel-sludge on the bottom of your pan) so take care to do that.

These first two examples were done on the paper in the kit:

Notice the light streaks on the example below, that occurred because I laid my alum/water-soaked paper over a wire rack and those are impressions of the wire. It’s best to hang dry these I think.

This last photo is manilla tags and cardstock:

You will have leftover inks and powders so you can repeat this project at least 3-4 times. I think you will use a lot less ink if you have the methocel whisked in properly. Also this is quite a production so I recommend treating as much paper and fabric as you think you might want to marble to save time and supplies because it is a lot of work to just do one sheet of paper. Can you tell I don’t do well with steps and rules?  😀 This was a lot of fun though, I probably wouldn’t have tried this project otherwise but I know there will be some more marbling in my future! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!