Make Your Own Liquid Watercolors
Can you guess what is going on in the photo above? I am recycling old dried out markers to make liquid watercolor! And look how gorgeous it turns out:
To do this, all you have to do is soak your old markers, head down, in a cup of water. I left these over the weekend and they are nice and bright. I had some old gel markers and they worked really well. I especially liked the white gel markers mixed with the purple and blue to make a cornflower blue. Have fun, experiment, save money, and recycle all at the same time!
I haven't done this before, but I have done the opposite. I will sometimes soak old markers in liquid watercolors to make them work again. I especially do this with my black markers, which always seem to dry out first.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea, is there a way to share this through google blogger? thanks
ReplyDeleteGreat tip, Holly!
ReplyDeleteClemencia, I am not sure. If you are a follower and have your own Blogger account, you can have this appear on your blog roll. Or, you can link to it.
Does that help?
Love this! Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteI am going to try this, thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I saw that same post at Artapotamus and immediately tried it out. I took pictures and never posted, but they looked a LOT like yours. I didn't think of trying the gel markers though, and now I'm kicking myself that I threw them out. I've been mixing colors so I have a gray-green, a gorgeous blue-violet, and an amber brown with an orange glow among others. It works so great! Why didn't I think of this years ago?
ReplyDeletewhat a good idea! I didn't know you could do this. Mama Winger is also a preschool art teacher, and I'm going to share this tip with her! I'm going to share you on our facebook page- you've got so much good stuff going on! jill (Things With Wings)
ReplyDeleteWhat do you store it in afterwards? Does the color seperate from the water after it sets for awhile? hmmm...
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous idea. Thank you so much! Anna:)
ReplyDeleteMr. E-
ReplyDeleteI store it in old liquid watercolor bottles. Since it is the end of the year, I was able to condense what I already have and put the new in the empties.
The only separation I have seen is with the gel markers- the heavier material that makes it a "gel" marker sinks to the bottom and looks milky. But, once you shake it up, it is fine again.
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Candice ( www.modernartsmock.blogspot.com )
Awesome idea!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea!! I will definitely be doing this with my classroom's old markers!! I wish I had kept all my old baby food jars because they would be perfect for storing....How do you know the water to marker ratio?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all the wonderful tips. We teachers need all the help we can get!!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this as liquid water colors are so expensive. Wish I had saved all those old markers!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I am always looking for new ways to recycle things in the art room. I have to try this out soon. :-) Thanks a lot for sharing.
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