Shaving Cream Marbling with Kids
Shaving Cream Marbling with Kids
If you haven’t tried shaving cream marbling yet, you must! So fun and so beautiful. This was an activity we did recently at playgroup.
Items Needed
- Shaving Cream
- Food colouring or dye ink refills
- Shallow pan or tray
- Cardstock
- Ruler
Step #1. Spray shaving cream
Spray shaving cream into your tray (if your kids are anything like mine, they’ll love doing this step on their own) then smooth the surface a bit with a spatula (or spoon, hands, etc).
Step #2. Drop food colouring or reinkers on shaving cream
Add a few drops of your favourite colours onto the surface of the shaving cream. TIP: select colours that will go nicely together
Step #3. Swirl the colours
You can use a craft stick or wood dowel to swirl the colours together to create a marbled effect. Or use the end of a paint brush (shown here).
Step #4. Press paper on shaving cream
Lay a piece of paper on the surface of the painted shaving cream.
Step #5. Lift paper
Gently lift the paper off of the shaving cream.
Step #6. Scrape shaving cream
Scrape off the shaving cream with a craft stick or a plastic ruler (shown here)
Step #7. Dry
Set paper aside to dry and repeat with more prints!
If your kids are anything like my child, this will be the highlight of the shaving cream marbling experience—shaving cream as a sensory experience.
*5 Tips for Success
- When you buy shaving cream, make sure it’s the foamy stuff. NOT gel. I’ve made that mistake before. We’ve had more success with the traditional men’s shaving creams, such as Homebrand, No Frills brands, plus they can be cheaper. Whenever there is a sensitive skin option, I usually get it.
- You can do shaving cream marbling with just about any paints. We’ve done this with tempera paints, food colouring, liquid watercolours and acrylics. Reinker and food colouring
work especially well, though.
- Scraping the shaving cream off the paper right away is important. You don’t want to let the shaving cream soak into the paper. It’ll get gunky and stain the paper. For scraping, use something with a wide, straight edge. We’ve used everything from a piece of cardboard to the side of the table. This time we used a large plastic ruler.
- Keep a wet washcloth and/or bowl of water handy for washing shaving cream-covered hands.
- To make clean up easier, spray off all the dishes and art trays outside with a hose. Or use a rubber spatula and scrape it all into the trash first, then rinse off.
What to do with your beautiful new shaving cream marbling paper?
- Glue to the front of a blank card and send a note to someone
- Cut into shapes and make a seasonal or holiday display
- Frame your marbled paper and display it on the wall
Have you done shaving cream marbling with your kids yet? If not, it’s a must-try art project!