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Transparent Paper

Tamara and Geri both wrote in to tell us what she did to make some coloring pages look transparent.

Have the kids color a picture with crayons. They can color dark or light - it doesn't matter but darker tends to look better. Coloring pages with heavy black lines also come out a little better.

Use crayons, NOT markers or colored pencils.
Have a few bowls with a VERY small amount of cooking oil and a couple of cotton balls in them.
Have the kids flip the pages over and slowly and thoroughly rub the cotton balls on the paper. (You'll see the paper turn transparent and the colors come through).
Put them aside to dry (usually doesn't take long)!
Cut them out and either hang them as is with a hole punched in them or frame them with construction paper.

I am experimenting away with oil, etc to see what I can do. The oil looks good, but I cannot get it to dry....

...after I left the cooking oil on for awhile it dried fine, so that is what we used. You can make colors transparent with a VERY thin coat of cooking oil. I applied with a paintbrush, and taped to the window to dry. I would not recommend taping to a wall in case it discolors the paint, but its perfect for on windows.

Thanks guys!