blog thumbnail

Crystal Geode Flower Water Marble I

Posted by DecoArt on Apr 10th 2022

Make your own whimsical water marbling flowers with the Crystal Geode Water Marbling Set.

SUPPLIES

  • paper towels
  • iron
  • paper
  • plastic tub or tray
  • water marbling paper
  • water marbling cleaning paper
  • water marbling sizing
  • water marbling pan
  • water marbling stick

INSTRUCTIONS

NOTES:

Before you begin be sure to set up your water marbling station. You should have your supplies set up and easily accessible. Following directions on bottle, mix the Magic Medium Water Prep with the appropriate amount of water in the water marbling tray or separate container. You should also have a t

Plan to create several unique prints at one time. Some of the drops of paint will sink and you may begin to see drops of paint gathering on the bottom of the tray, this is normal and will not effect the surface where the print is pulled.

For this project use the Crystal Geode Water Marbling Set, which includes the following colors: Aquamarine, Blue, Pink, Violet

  1. Prepare your size. Follow the easy instructions on the Magic Medium bottle to prepare the size (water) mixture. (TIP: Prepare mixture in a plastic tub with a lid and fill/refill the water marbling tray as needed. Cover unused size to keep it fresh for up to ) Now you are ready to add paint.
  2. Instruction #1
  3. Start by filling the entire surface of the size (Magic Medium prepped water) with an even coat of Aquamarine. Do this by dripping the paint down the middle of the tray in a horizontal line. (TIP: place the paint drops close together as to not allow space, which will leave a white spot on the print.)
  4. Instruction #2
  5. Slowly add some evenly spaced drops of Blue. These drops are called stones.
  6. Instruction #3
  7. Add a drop of Violet to each blue stone. Once each drop dissolves, add another drop of Blue to each stone. This is building the layers of paint within the design. This will make your print brighter and more vibrant. (TIP: to create a print with a softer palette, just decrease the amount of paint used). Add a few drops of Blue to add more stones (refer to photo).
  8. Instruction #4
  9. Use a Premium Water Marbling Stick to create horizontal lines by dragging the tip across the surface of the size. Do not overwork the surface. (TIP: Only the tip of the marbling stick needs to be submerged in the bath to gently draw a line to make a pattern.)
  10. Instruction #5
  11. To make your flowers, add two stones (or as many as you'd like) by adding a drop of Lavender first. Once that dissolves, add a drop of Pink to the center of the stones. Let that dissolve and then add a drop of Violet to the center of the stones.
  12. Instruction #6
  13. Continue the same process until you have several layers of Pink and Lavender.
  14. Instruction #7
  15. To create the look of flower petals, gently glide the marbling stick from the outside of the stone towards the center. Repeat several times around the stone until you have a flower petal shape.
  16. Instruction #8
  17. Once your petals are complete, add a tiny drop of lavender to the middle of the flowers. You can do this by dipping your Premium Water Marbling Stick into the Water Marbling Paint and slowly touching the tip of the stick to the surface of the size.
  18. Instruction #9
  19. When your tray is ready to transfer the design onto the paper, use a piece of DecoArt's Premium Water Marbling Paper to get maximum absorbency of the paint. (TIP: Keep paper very dry! If the surface is wet prior to dipping into the size, it won't absorb the paint, which will result in a white spot.) A good technique to minimize bubbles in your print is to hold your paper on opposing corners to allow the center of the paper to touch the surface first. Then, slowly lay your corners down onto the surface. Make sure the paper is in full contact with the surface.
  20. Instruction #10
  21. Place print face down in a clean tray of water to rinse off extra sizing. This step is optional, but rinsing off extra sizing allows for cleaner, more vibrant colors to shine through! Also, the paper will be less stiff and dry flatter.
  22. Instruction #11
  23. Allow prints to completely dry. You can do this by laying the wet paper on top of paper towels. Flip them over and iron on cotton (high) setting to flatten. (TIP: I used a piece of watercolor paper to place between the paint and the table surface to protect the print. If you you have steam, add a paper towel between the water color paper and the table's surface.)
  24. Instruction #12
  25. The print is beautiful to frame as is! But, the possibilities for use of the paper prints are endless! Use in a multitude of project ideas such as collages, journaling, mixed media painting, etc. Use this Stone technique and hydro-dip a scarf, pair of shoes or anything you want to try!
  26. Instruction #13