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!






The original idea for this came from this website: Artapotamus

Comments

  1. Holly V.April 25, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ClemenciaApril 25, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    I love this idea, is there a way to share this through google blogger? thanks

    ReplyDelete
  3. mrspicassoApril 25, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    Great tip, Holly!
    Clemencia, 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?

    ReplyDelete
  4. AngieApril 25, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    Love this! Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  5. RenApril 25, 2011 at 6:24 PM

    I am going to try this, thanks for the idea!

    ReplyDelete
  6. PhylApril 25, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    Ha 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?

    ReplyDelete
  7. JillApril 25, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    what 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)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mr. EApril 26, 2011 at 4:23 AM

    What do you store it in afterwards? Does the color seperate from the water after it sets for awhile? hmmm...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anna Pietrolungo, Essendon North Primary SchoolApril 26, 2011 at 4:26 AM

    What a fabulous idea. Thank you so much! Anna:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. mrspicassoApril 26, 2011 at 3:18 PM

    Mr. E-
    I 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.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Modern Art SmockApril 26, 2011 at 4:36 PM

    Hi there! I am sending you the Versatile Blogger Award! Congrats & Thank you for all your amazing ideas and lessons!
    Check my website out for more details!

    Candice ( www.modernartsmock.blogspot.com )

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousMay 15, 2011 at 6:55 AM

    Awesome idea!! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Emily LandryJune 22, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    Love 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?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Mary BrobinskyAugust 8, 2012 at 3:52 PM

    Thanks so much for all the wonderful tips. We teachers need all the help we can get!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. JanisDecember 15, 2012 at 7:43 PM

    I'm going to try this as liquid water colors are so expensive. Wish I had saved all those old markers!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Billedkunst direktørenApril 1, 2013 at 10:20 AM

    What 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.

    ReplyDelete

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