After coming across the gorgeous rainbow paper from The Science Kiddo, we were excited to give this activity a go. At the time, we didn’t have any clear nail polish, so we experimented with what we did have on hand, which was coloured nail polish and plain white paper. This marbling technique has now become a popular activity in our home.
We started by covering the bottom of a container with about 3cm of water. Then let the fun begin by dropping, or pouring, coloured nail polish onto the water.
Then use some sort of implement (a kebab stick in our case) to stir through the colours and create patterns.
Now it’s time to place water colour paper (or thick paper) onto the water. Gently pat the paper to ensure all the colour from the nail polish is transferred to the paper.
Now it’s time to carefully lift the paper to reveal the print.
The nail polish can then be scooped off the top of the water (it leaves a coloured film on top of the water) and then you are ready to start the process again.
Some of our favourite prints:
Miss Eight titled this print “Summer” as she said the bright colours remind her of Summer days.
We called this print “Dreamy”:
Miss Eight came up with the name for this print. She called it “Celebrate”.
Master Six called the print below “Swirls”.
The print below has quite a lot of texture in it and we all thought this made it an interesting creation.
This marbling technique (like all marbling techniques) is exciting to try as each piece is highly anticipated as you carefully lift your paper from the water. This activity is guaranteed to bring about lots of “wows”, “oooohs” and “aaahs” as each unique and beautiful piece is revealed.
