My daughter has this awesome book. She drew the toucan on the right. We have so much fun with these kinds of books and papers.
This is the book that she has. Such a great book! It reminded me of how we used to make our own crayon scratch paper.
So we made some of our own. We colored lots of colors on a white piece of paper.
Then, cover the colored crayons with a hard/dark layer of black crayon. Then, scratch off the black layer using a scratching tool.
I used a paper clip, embossing tool, and the wooden tool that came with my daughter’s book. I’d have to say that the thicker the end of the tool, the better. A plastic or wood would probably be best, as well.
The kids had fun, but I wanted a better layer of crayon on top so I did an experiment.
I colored up a new paper with some square swatches.
Then, I melted some crayons in a metal tin. At first I melted them in the oven and then tried painting with them. They cooled way too fast this way. So, I brought out a large skillet and put it on the stove. I left it on low to keep the crayons melted. You can see that I painted with QTips. I would imagine the crayon would ruin any paint brushes.
I tried different color layers then just black, too!
This technique does kind of work. Really you could just omit the colored layer beneath because the top layer of crayon melted the bottom layer. I was worried about that happening, and it did. Also, you really want your crayon liquid kind of hot to be able to put a thinner layer of crayon on top. Some of my squares were too thick and then it was hard to scratch into.
So I’m not satisfied with the results. It worked if you didn’t want color underneath. I’m thinking that doing this on scrapbook paper might work better because then there would automatically be color underneath that wouldn’t melt into the top layer.
It was fun, nonetheless!
Does anyone have any ideas? I’d love to be able to make my own that looks closer to the kind of paper you can buy at the store.
Thanks,
Rebecca
Posts
11 comments:
Have you ever tried Craypas for the top layer? They come in so many bright colors and are a nice smooth waxy layer to scratch off. I did this in an ArtEd class in college, and I can't remember but I think we might have even used colored pencil for the bottom layer. Thanks for reminding me of this fun project- I wonder if I still have those CrayPas somewhere.....?!
Once you color the bottom layer with the colored crayons, add a couple drops of dishsoap to black tempera/acrylic paint. Paint the mixture over the crayon and let it dry! Works great for my preschoolers :)
I've always done this with poster pain of India Ink over the top (or a combination of them both!) to get a good thick layer to scrape through.
That looks like a great book! I am going to track one down for my daughter, she will love it!
Great ideas already! Thanks. I'll have to first try the dishsoap and tempera paint because I've got it on hand!
Rebecca
I remember doing these as a kid! It's been so long since I thought about them.
Using black paint works better than the crayon. I did a quick search and just found two tutorials. They both say to use black tempura paint. I don't know how important the type of paint is.
http://littleartmonkeys.com/Projects/Drawings/CrayonScratch1/CrayonScratch1.php
and this one says to add a drop of dish soap into the paint. I'm not sure why but it sounds familiar: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/01/11/scratch-art/
I would definitely play around with the paint idea. Good luck!
What a neat project and that book looks amazing! I remember doing this in school a long time ago. Always fun to be reminded of projects that I can now do with my daughter.
sounds like everyone has the same idea! a note on india ink - IT STAINS! i would not use it in my home w/my kids - only in my (former) classroom where i wouldn't cry if it got on the seats/floors! definitely recommend the crayon (crayola really is best for this) and tempera mixed w/a drop of dishsoap. color hard and thick - no white of the paper should show through. a skewer or toothpick works great. you can get fancy and detailed with a straight pin end shoved in the flat-end of a skewer. good luck! :)
I totally remember doing this as a kid, what a great idea to make your own! Sorry, I can't think of any ideas though...I'll keep my wheels turning. :)
I don't know how to help you with the DIY project but I thank you for the tip on the book. I need a gift for a lovely little artist soon and this would be perfect!
For a cleaner/easier way to apply India Ink, try a permanent ink stamp pad like Ancient Page or Memories. The layer of crayon below allows it to scratch off nicely.
When we did this we colored the under part with markers... that way you could do the crayon part on the top - I loved the idea of melting the crayon!!!) and layer that over the marker without it melting the colors together! Great work though!
Post a Comment