Bookmarks for Mother's Day

I suppose I should post about what we made for Mother's Day before that holiday is only a distant memory in everyone's minds.  Not that it would really matter since this project isn't actually holiday specific, but since we made it as part of our Mother's Day preparations, it counts as a Mother's Day project.  So, without further delay, we used poster board, Sharpie markers, and rubbing alcohol to make fancy bookmarks to give to all the Grandmas.

I got the idea for this project from another blog (Happy Hooligans), but as usual I didn't have the exact materials to replicate the photo I found on Pinterest, so this is my own version.  

First I cut out bookmark shapes from poster board.  

Then I gave the kids smocks and Sharpie markers and told them to color them as brightly at possible.  Experience taught us that this project works best if you color on the matte side of the poster board and not the glossy side.

Each child exhibited their own unique style as they colored.

After the entire bookmark was decorated, I spread the pieces on paper toweling and then dripped rubbing alcohol all over them.  The alcohol caused the ink to run and it was pretty neat to see the colors swirl, mix, and fill in the little gaps.  There is probably a science lesson hidden somewhere in this project, but we'll save that for a different day.  We also discovered that the alcohol caused the ink to seep through the poster board and make the colors visible on the back as well.

Helpful hint: Do not move the bookmarks until they have completely dried or the ink will puddle and get muddy or even drain off the poster board.

Once the alcohol was dry, I sprayed each bookmark with several coats of sealant.  I discovered that the sealer could also reactivate the ink, so the first coat was just a mist.  Once that coat was dry, I could do a more thorough job.

The final step was to punch a hole and thread through some ribbon (we also used rick-rack, which the kids thought was really cool).

The bookmarks turned out quite pretty and I have a feeling I will find more uses for this coloring technique.

In the mean time, I "borrowed" one of the bookmarks for my own use.

Happy coloring everyone!