It's that time of year when you begin going through your supplies & getting rid of the bad...preparing for the next school year(well..at least for me it is....neat freak/o.c.d.ish). I actually enjoy going through markers...I find it relaxing. Anyways..I've seen several people leaching dried out markers to make a liquid watercolor. I have never heard, seen, or tried this before?!?! I just had to give it a go!!
(I love the AS SEEN ON TV products too!!!)
As I was checking the markers, I placed the dried out ones in a bowl of water. Some of which I mixed...yellow & green, black/blue/purple/grey, pink & purple..etc. I also decided to keep the lids...because I know I can come up with a 3-D project to use them(just haven't thought of one yet). I did this one Friday, and let them set over the weekend.
I removed the markers(threw them away...didn't want to wash them off and dry them..how ungreen of me I know?!?!). Kind of looks like Kool-Aid?!?! Glad I don't have Life Skills students coming in today!!
This is my test piece. The colors are not super vibrant. Maybe I used too much water? I'm thinking about letting them set out for a few more days & seeing if through evaperation the remaining color becomes more concentrated? Any suggestions from those of you who have tried this before?? Also...how do you store it?
never tried that before, but i will, I never know what to do with all those markers and now seems like you gave me the solution, I guess is better starting with less water, store it in pet plastic bottles like coke or something.
ReplyDeleteCan you recycle markers? I was unaware that you can. I always go through the kids art supplies after summer when I buy new at back to school sales. Though in cleaning my studio yesterday I discovered 15 Crayola 24 pack crayons! Not quite enough to give a whole class new ones...
ReplyDeleteOne of the Kindergarten teachers at my school drills holes in marker lids to use as beads. The kids practice naming their colors and make necklaces!
ReplyDeleteI am dying to try this also. I heard something about adding vinegar...but I HATE the smell so I am just going to try less water. Also, I have been thinking about storing them in little plastic containers with lids, like the kind you get at restaurants for to go food. A friend told me you can get them at restaurant supply places or you can order them at from SAX, they are pretty inexpensive.
ReplyDeleteI use less water- about an inch or to just above the tips. But, I resoak the markers twice.
ReplyDeleteYou really have to try the gel markers sometime!
Denise
I've been doing this too. I used a small amount of water (just enough to cover the felt ends) and the color is pretty intense. I'm mixing colors like you- a green/gray, blue/violet, amber/orange, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs for using the caps, I made them into a sign that I posted here: http://plbrown.blogspot.com/2011/05/excuse-mess.html
Oh and I store the resulting "ink" or liquid watercolor in glass baby food jars.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should post this... I just tried this today. The kids were so excited to see the outcome. Did you know that the black markers turned NAVY!!
ReplyDeleteI have done this before, I did it at the beginning of the year (the teacher that was there before had left dried out markers) I had actually pulled out the spongy insides and threw away the plastic. It worked great especially because green and blue seem to run out more than any other color. The only problem I had was it got moldy after a few months, perhaps adding a bit of vinegar may help.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely trying this! Students will love it!
ReplyDeleteI keep my old marker caps in a basket in the back of the room. When a marker turns up "topless" (LOL) the kids know to go get another. When the bucket is too full, I use some in found object projects, etc. They make great robot parts.
ReplyDeleteI love it I never thought of doing something like that. Oh and you should check out http://plbrown.blogspot.com/ she has a great project to do with marker caps or maybe it will spark an idea for another project.
ReplyDeleteI recently tried this also. Maybe, because I used less water, the colors were pretty intense and vibrant. Now to find a creative way to use those caps!
ReplyDeleteWish i would have read this a week ago! I just threw out a TON of old markers!
ReplyDeleteI keep the caps also, and I use them for parts on paper mache projects as well as tools for making circles on clay projects. also good for object printing.
I've been using old markers for the last couple of years, especially when I would run out of certain colors of my liquid watercolors ( yellow usually.) I read somewhere that you can pull the guts out of the markers with a pair of pliers ( take off the end first and pull out the felt insides.) It works better than just soaking the whole marker in water. Cut the felt piece into pieces and soak in about an inch of water. I use 5-6 markers per glass jar. I left some soaking all summer. The colors aren't super intense but will work in a pinch. I like the idea of mixing colors together!
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