This is the amazing gift that Leil made me for Mother’s Day. Her teacher, Mr. E. (that’s what they call him because his name is so hard to pronounce), actually helped his students create 26 of these beautiful little books! The cover is marbled paper handmade by the kids. Each page features a poetic sentence the kids wrote themselves.
I actually assisted in the classroom on the day Mr. E’s father came in to lead the marbling effort. I usually do math but this activity was going on instead, how lucky is that. I had no idea how marbling was done. We used large plastic storage containers (big enough for a piece of 11 x 14 paper to fit in flat) filled about 4 inches full of water, Photo Flo and something else I don’t recall. The kids used eye-droppers to methodically drop in different colors in a grid pattern. They did this multiple times in the same place. The color just sits on top of the water mixture. The colors generate a marble pattern by gently trailing a chopstick through the mixture. The paper is placed on top of the paint to transfer the design. Very cool. I’d like to do try this with fabric.
For my Mom and those of you that like details, here are close up shots of the book and the pages. I’m sure there’s a technically more efficient way to collage this. After spending the weekend loading an Apache server and downloading a copy of my blog database to my PC so I can somehow figure out how to modify my WordPress templates to look the way I want them to look (like a banner would be nice and a background color other than grayish white) I’m not really in the mood to learn any new technical tricks!
Leil, you are following in your Mother’s footsteps. What a beautiful treasure for her to keep forever. Grandma
What a fabulous Mother’s Day gift! Mr. E is a brave man to endeavor such aproject with the kids. I have taught book forms to kids and though they always love it and make wonderful things, it’s a lot of work and coordination. Kudos to him! I have also marbled on fabric and it is way fun! Dharma Trading Co. has all the supplies and good books on the subject too. The process is basically the same as you witnessed on paper. Float fabric paints on thickened water (wallpaper paste or powdered algea) and lay prepared fabric over the top. They say the fabric needs to be preepared with alum to make the paints stick. I had teh best results with silks, but cottons are good too. try it on colored fabric, not just white!
SO SWEET. E (the letter, not the teacher) is my favorite.
Wow! Thanks Kristin. That totally gives me the info I need to do this with fabric. This is Mr. E’s first year of teaching which explains why he would undertake such a crazy project. Lucky for all of us moms. I’m working on a wall hanging quilt for him right now. He has one of the most generous teacher spirits I’ve ever seen.
such a beatiful card!
Your son is so fortunate to have such a wonderful teacher! (and your post has inspired me to get cracking on a father’s day gift–it’s my husband’s first fathers day)
That is such a lovely Mother’s day gift.
i wish i was a mom and got a present like this. most wonderful! were you in tears or just tickled? or both?
Tears of course! I love sappy stuff from my kids. Leil is my youngest and I wish she could just stay sweet and little like this forever. I will definitely cherish this present while I try and figure out a way to freeze her in time.
That is so beautiful, made so special because of how he wrote the words herself. What a great teacher your little guy has, and a precious little guy you have!
wow…I am so impressed with that project – you know me and little, tiny books! I love the color chices Leil made, too, on the marbling. Thanks for sending me the link…and it was wondeful to talk to you today! xoxox