Make your own scratch art paper

When it comes to kids' arts and crafts, the shop aisles are stocked up with enough items to make you go crazy with ideas. Or just make your wallet go crazy empty! One such art I have always had my eye on was the scratch art paper. Those sheets are expensive, when you look at them as just coloring sheets...but the effect is super cool.

So, instead of shelling out a few bucks and go the easy way, we decided to shell out a few minutes and make our own. The homemade ones are not as professionally finished as the store brought ones, but it is way more satisfying. And when you make your own scratch art paper at home, the paper you choose is what you choose....not what's available.

Ready to make some scratch art paper? Get your kiddo, and get ready...

Have your kid color the paper or card stock with a thick coating of various color crayons. How tightly you pack in the various colors will determine the end effect of your scratch art. If you make wide and big segments of color, then the small shapes you scratch out will probably be unicolor. But if you make small segments of colors, then the shape you scratch out will be multicolor.

This was the best part for Big Sister as this how her coloring book looks anyway. She wants absolutely no white on the page....even borders.

Now if you try to paint over the crayon layer, your paint is not going to adhere...

So, add a couple of drops of liquid hand/dish soap to the paint in a bowl and mix well. I used poster paint. 

Evenly coat the crayon covered paper with the paint-soap mixture and let dry.

Let the scratching begin! You can use a wood stick, tooth pick, sharp stylus, or a microtip pen that has run out of ink.

As this is a layer you can scratch out, watch out for your fingers or nails accidentally scratching it out. (Like, near Big Sister's thumb below)

Here's her favorite aunt and uncle floating around in a flower garden under the sun! :)

And here's one of mine...just couldn't resist...

Here are some variations I would like to try soon...

1. Paint over the crayon with white paint. (or any other color)
2. Print or write a secret message. Cover it with clear tape. Then paint over the tape with the paint-soap mix. (Like how you scratch off behind a gift card to look at the pin number, or a lottery.) If this works, it will make for a sweet valentine card...."scratch off here for a message from your valentine..."

I will try these and update, whenever. Do let me know if any of these worked out for you...