On my last trip home I visited Makers Mess with bestie for a crafty happy hour. We learned a new thing: paper marbling! With shaving cream!

First we had a quick tutorial…

And then we were all addicted! We each made a whole set of stationery.

The craftermath was dramatic!

At the end I mixed up my remaining shaving cream and created a pink ‘funfetti’ design.

Tutorial time!

Materials

• Shaving cream (any kind; we used Barbasol)
• Liquid dye (any kind; we used Rit fabric dye)
• Eye droppers
• BBQ sticks
• Trays (big enough to fit your paper)
• Ruler/spatula (I recommend metal because it’s easy to clean off the dye.)
• Assorted paper, cards, envelopes
• Cups/bowls for mixing dyes
• Table covers (it’s gonna get messy!)
• Art cloth or paper towel

Instructions
Fill tray with a layer of shaving cream. Smooth out shaving cream with a spatula or ruler (basically anything with a straight edge).

Drop in liquid dye. You can also use food coloring (as long as it’s in liquid form). Swirl around the dye with a BBQ stick.

Once you get a pattern/design you like, place a piece of paper on the shaving cream. Press the paper on flat to remove any air bubbles and to ensure your design is transferred onto the paper.

Lift and allow to dry for a minute (longer if there are thick blobs of ink). Use a ruler (one with a clean edge) to scrape off the excess shaving cream. Viola! Marbled paper!

You might be able to get a second or third press on your initial design. To create additional pieces, scrape off the inked shaving cream and add more dye, or pile on another shaving cream layer to start fresh. Use your marbled paper as is or cut to size to create other projects.

Buh-bam, our marbled paper beauties! The craft was meant to be a ‘spend as much time as you like on it’ project; we all ended up staying for the entire time, trying new color combos and techniques. Makers Mess is such a fun place to create! If you’re in the area, check out all the fun classes they have on their calendar!