Underwater Notebooks: Correction Pen Resists

Kids seem to gravitate to little notebooks and we wanted to experiment with a few different techniques to create some underwater-like covers.

Materials

• Watercolour paper
• Copy paper
• Watercolour paint (we went with liquid watercolour)
• Water to dilute your paint, or to apply over top
• Container (for diluting your paint)
• Sponges
• White out pen
• Paper tape
• Scissors
• Stapler (sorry- it seems to have migrated out of the photograph!)
• Alternatives: Acrylic paint (the kids selected this shimmery, sparkly version), glue pen

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Don your smock.

• Lie your watercolour paper into your craft tray.  Sketch out your underwater scene using a whiteout (correction) pen.  A glue pen or a glue bottle (with a nozzle tip) will also provide a resist, but the pens provide finer detail.  Our son had a suggestion for younger children of making simple bubbles with a round sponge and acrylic paint, which also worked as a resist.

• Allow to dry.

• Dilute your watercolour paint and apply it to your project like a wash.  You could add undiluted paint over top in spots or water to create various effects.  Additionally you can apply your acrylic paint to accent certain areas while it is wet or dry.  Our son also experimented with absorbing some of the paint with a paper towel.

• Allow to dry overnight.

• Fold your paper in half.  Fold a small pile of copy paper in half.  Insert your copy paper into your cover, staple and then trim the edges.  We used a bit of paper tape to cover the staples to prevent any scratches.

• Draw away!  (Our booklets were for a car trip, but these would be great for sketching beach finds, recording aquarium observations etc.)

Purpose

• Exploring various resists for painting
• Creating child-made sketch books

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a stapler with care and adult supervision.
• Follow product directions.