Marbled Paper DIY

Creating Beautiful Marbled Papers

This week I have been working on a small collection of fine art marbled papers. If you want to know more about the nuances to creating beautiful marbled paper along with one surprising type of paper that works well for marbling, then read on down to the bottom of this post. ***Giveaway is currently closed.***

In this project, I will share ways to make beautiful handmade marbled paper for fine art prints and holidays cards. Eventually, I would like to try gift wrap, but I thought I would practice by starting small.
​
For this project, I used

For this project, I used:

• Suminagashi ink kit
• Jack Richeson Butcher Porcelain Palette Tray, 11 x 15 in, White tray, 11" x 15" -similar version to this one
• Watercolor Announcement Cards (10 Pack) Watercolor cards and envelopes with light textured
  
• Envelopes from my desk and watercolors scraps, the envelopes that we had were left-over from previous year holiday cards and even wedding invites (over 6 years old!) Note: the watercolor paper was slightly textured which created a different effect. 

I set up my tray, inks and envelopes after putting some white paper down to catch drips.

I chose 3 pearlescent acrylic inks b/c I wanted to experiment with a broader palette. They were heavier and would not float on the water as the Suminagashi ink kit did, so I had to mix them with an oil base to allow them to float.  I ended up mixing them vigorously with cooking oil until the color was suspended throughout the oil. You can see the pink acrylic and oil in the round jar above.

While using the acrylic paints for marbling paper is unconventional, it made me think of the creative ways that Frankenthaler and Pollock used a variety of paints, along with their love for dripping the paints struck me as similar to marbling.

Below you can see the acrylic pink paint floating alongside the orange and yellow Suminagashi inks.

Next watching them float on the water and swirling the inks with a flick of a long paintbrush handle or stick.

Over time, as I added additional colors, the surface of water became oily. Below, you can see the oil soak through the watercolor paper as the tiny oily dots appear through the white. In an abstract way, this reminded me of a modern paisley.

After pulling a few prints using all of the acrylic inks and Sumi inks combinedon the surface, I noticed the marbled specks and bubbles create a rock-like texture, which I enjoed.

Later, I decided to switch gears and make prints by using the Suminagashi set of inks alone. 

A surprising surface that I discovered works well for a print is photo paper! Apparently, the smooth texture that is receptive to ink holds the color with little bubbling or smudging once it dries. Below on the right is the print that I made on in blue and red Suminagashi inks. 

Here are the some of best prints below. It felt so good to make these old envelopes into something more attractive and useful. I hope enjoyed this post as a handmade inspo before the holidays.

I feel like a marbled envelope set makes a great gift or could even be used for business holiday cards too! 

Overall these prints came out the best of all the papers that I made. 

Next time, I would like to try my hand at larger pull and prints that could be used as Interior Art. I did one example here and I would love to do more! I will let you see once, I have it framed out and hanging on my wall. 

Now for the giveaway! One lucky reader will the framed print prictured below. To be entered into the giveaway, simply join my mailing list at the top of this page. You wil receive short monthly digest with a DIY and shop updates. I would love to share them with you. If you already subscribe you can still win, simply leave a comment below so that I count you in! 

Lastly, I would love to hear from you. Have you tried marbling? What type of inks did you use and ultimately what did you decide to make?

The winner of this framed marbled print will be announced on Friday, December 23rd!