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Homemade Scratch Art Paper

Posted by Cindy · May 10, 2016 · Last Updated: May 10, 2016

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Scratch Art paper or Scratch Paper is a totally cool paper you can make yourself right at home. No need to buy the scratch paper from the store you can make it! Your kids will be amazed at how cool you are!

How to make Scratch Paper

First color with crayons really hard all over white heavy weight copy paper or card stock. The colored design should be waxy looking with NO white paper showing. This takes some time but the results are worth the effort!

Draw a square on the center of the paper, not too big, and then cut it out when they are finished. This makes it easier for little hands to hold and color without destroying the edges. Younger children will also do better with a thicker paper.

After paper is colored take black tempera paint and mix in a drop of dish detergent. I would say maybe two tablespoons of paint with a good sized drop (like 1/4 to a scant 1/2 tsp) of regular dish detergent. We used a washable kids paint by Plaid.

Paint your entire page with the paint. Allow to dry.

When the paper is completely dry (takes about an hour), start scratching away. We used toothpicks. Here are some of our masterpieces.

There are so many ways to turn off the tablet and TV and turn on creativity. You might enjoy some of these fun things to do with kids!

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42 COMMENTS

Comments

Shane
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
hi, Im doin a technique like this for a project. But Ive seen it done in so many ways with the black cover! Ive heard people used india ink, some people used a blackpastel marker, and now you use tempora paint and dish detergent. Is one better than the other? if so which? please help and many thanks.
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- Cindy Hopper
  Monday, May 9th, 2016
  We have had great luck with crayons and tempera paint.
Amy@theidearoom
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
My kids would love this! Thanks for sharing! Pinned!
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Cindy Hopper
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
The waxy crayon bottom layer keeps the top black layer from sinking in, so it can be carved away. So I am just not sure if markers would work.
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Jeanette
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012
My head is spinning from all the possibilities for this one!...Children's Church, Sunday School, VBS, and don't forget the Nursing Homes, small group projects, cards, cards, cards. Need I say more? Introduce your friends to scratch art and let them "brain-storm" for a while. Watch out for "hidden talent", it's all around us.
Bless you for sharing.
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Lara
Sunday, July 1st, 2012
Can you use acrylic paint instead?
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- Cindy Hopper
  Monday, May 9th, 2016
  I am not sure if acrylic paint would work in place of tempera paint. The tempera paint is less plastic than acrylic paint. It would be work trying.
Briana
Monday, August 8th, 2011
I tried that with my lil sis. If u don't want to wait two hours don't put detergent in. Although it works much better if u just put detergent in and wait a couple of hours. Ur choice. It's so much fun. If ur a babysitter like me, it's a great activity to do with the kids.
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Alex M.
Friday, May 14th, 2010
you can also use black crayon insted of paint!
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angelina
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
This is fun stuff for a rainy day...I just wanted to know if it works the same with different colors?
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Rachel
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
What kind of "dish detergent" do you add? Do you mean hand washing dish soap or powdered dish soap?
Reply
- Cindy Hopper
  Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
  I used liquid dish soap
brenda
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
this is a great site i love all the crafts brenda
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brenda
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
I think this site is great some of this ideas i never thought of. The kids love doing crafts and they cant wait to do thisa one
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Diane
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
Love this, can't wait to try with my granddaughter.
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Jedda
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
Such a fun idea, can't wait to try this "Little Project!"
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sophie
Monday, November 10th, 2008
does anyone know anyway to do the black instead of painting because i need it to dry quick
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Meg
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
I do this with my autistic students! They love it, and its so easy! :-)
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paolo d'amico
Monday, January 14th, 2008
vengan a que les chupe la polla y soy muy pero muy gay
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jazzy j
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007
kids are the true expressionists!
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leslie
Saturday, January 27th, 2007
great idea, i will use this with my camp fire group. thanks!
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c*devotchka
Friday, January 26th, 2007
oh wow! wish we knew of black tempera paint back then! instead of black paint, we used black oil crayon over the coloured bits! that was laborious but the effects were excellent. we were sold.
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kikipotamus
Friday, January 26th, 2007
Thank you for reminding me of this. It was one of my favourite activities 35 years ago. K
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boodely
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
I remember doing this in elementary school! It was so magical when the colors changed in a new area. Thanks for posting this.
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Anne Margaret
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
I've avoided this with my kids because I remember using india ink as the top layer. SO very happy to know we can do this with tempera paint. Thanks! This project is on our to-do list this weekend!!
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Kristin
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
Oh, what a great project! We bought some rather expensive "scratch magic" paper that didn't last long at all because my daughter loved it so much. This will be more fun. Thanks!
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Twinkle
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
This is cool! I don't have black paint, but I have other colors to do this with. Can't wait!!
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Stephanie
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
I just found you through Kiddley and just love this idea! I am always looking forward to creative ways of keeping my almost five year old daughter busy! Thanks for the tutorial.
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Rachel
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
I too remember doing this as a child, though we used black crayon but I can see this being so much easier with paint. Thanks!
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Jessica
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
That looks like a perfect project to try today. Thanks for sharing.
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partnershipmarket
Friday, January 12th, 2007
Wow this is really great. Perfect for those who are child care providers. I also want to try this for my own card making. Thanks for a great pictorial.
Partnership Market
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