Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Easy DIY Art With Food Coloring

All week I imagined a big office stencil reveal post here. Sadly, it’s not done yet. Oh DIY, why do you take such pleasure in toying with my emotions? Quit playing games with my heart, home improvement. But regardless of the fact that it’s not exactly a quick project, it’s looking awesome and totally going to be worth the blood, sweat, and tears (all three of which have occurred, incidentally). So hopefully by this weekend I’ll be doing some celebratory Rocky laps around the house (yes, with music blaring and fists in the air) and I can share photos & deets of the whole shebang on Monday. Woot! Until then, here’s a still-needs-to-be-finished wall (the bottom edge above the chair rail is still on the agenda):

Stencil16

In the meantime, how about a bloodless-sweatless-and-tearless project in the “quick, easy, and free” vein? See, John had this genius idea that we should try to get an ombre effect on paper (that we could then frame) using food coloring. Namely soaking it in food-colored water and waiting for it to travel up the page and potentially upping the intensity by adding more color to the water and letting it soak a bit less for a two-toned effect.

Food Coloring Hanging Paper

Yeah… that didn’t work at all. Zero travel-age back up the paper. Just wetness. Haha. So…

Food Coloring Hanging Close

… fail!

But we had some fun messing around with drips and drops, just to see what we liked. First I made an ode to Dexter with a few drops of red food coloring.

Food Coloring Blood Spatter

How fun would stuff like this look framed all over the house for a Halloween party? You could even take regular family photos and splash “blood” (aka: red food coloring spatters) over them to weird the observant people out at your little shindig (or use a red sharpie to create the effect on clear transparency paper and place it over them so as not to ruin the original prints/photos).

Anyway, then we started messing around with drips down the page but we really fell in love when we hit on this simple collection of dots (we were using regular old card stock by the way):

Food Coloring Wet Dots

All we did was make three dots of each color next to each other (squeezing a bit harder on the middle one so it was a wee bit larger).  Then we just waited for it to dry…

Food Coloring Close Up

… and framed it…

Food Color Close Up 2

Bam, an instant zero dolla (holla!) “food coloring masterpiece” for our always-changing gallery frame wall:

Food Coloring On Wall

I actually love how it picks up on the circles in the fabric that we framed a few feet up (in the middle). And it’s so fun to tell people who come over (and just stand in front of that wall for twenty minutes) that it’s just drops of food coloring. I can’t really explain why, but it looks kind of exotic and collector-ish. So it’s always fun to see the look on their faces when they realize it was done in five minutes with cupcake baking supplies.

Anyone else going to try their hand at some food coloring art? Or throw a Dexter-themed Halloween party? If so, I would LOVE to see pics of any and all faux blood spatter that you use as decor! Geek for life.

In other news, that might be the shortest post I’ve written in about a year. Hootie hoo for trying to meet some recently mentioned goals. We’ve definitely had our share of long beefy posts this week, so sometimes a quickie here or there feels nice too. Wait, that didn’t come out right.

Comments

  2. Azar says

    Looks like you were trying to do chromatography, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatography_paper). I just skimmed the comments and people are right, watercolor paper will probably be high quality enough to make that work. Also you will want to try to use a solution that is a little more complex than food coloring. Ink will have more components in it that will travel up the paper at different rates and give a more exiting effect than food coloring.

    Reply

  3. Lindsey d. says

    Sherry, I’m a little disappointed.. I completely expected a link to a Backstreet Boys video in that first graph. :)

    Reply

  5. Sarah in Indiana says

    Hey, clever idea for some fun free art. As to stenciling–man, so time consuming. It is kind of a downer. But I think using a mini roller instead of dabbing the paint on with the stencil dabber made it go quicker for me than it is for you. I just off-loaded the paint onto a paper sack before I rolled it on, so it would go thin and even. You’d probably still have to do the grellow with the dabber, but it might save you some time!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah I’ve seen other folks using a roller I’m just such a chicken! The stencil company’s instructions said dab with a brush so I’m so scared to deviate. Haha. So lame.

      xo,
      s

    • Sarah in Indiana says

      I was scared it wouldn’t work, too! I bought some of those dabbers as a back up, but I tried it with the roller first. I figured if it didn’t work I’d just paint over it and start over. But it worked like a charm, so I just returned the dabbers. It might not work so well to switch horses mid-stream, though. Good luck with finishing it! Maybe you’ll get sculpted arms out of the deal, too. :)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, yeah I’m hoping for Madonna arms. Just used to this method so I figure I can finish ‘er off and try a roller next time. If there is a next time… haha.

      xo,
      s

  8. Chaucea says

    Seeing your food coloring project made me think of a really fun and easy-to-do tie-dye technique using Sharpies and rubbing alcohol that creates some pretty cool, multicolored results. This technique can also be done on paper.

    Some tutorials I’ve found on this subject:

    http://www.crapivemade.com/2010/08/sharpie-tie-dye-t-shirts.html

    http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/sharpiepenscience

    http://www.doliferight.com/2008/04/15/how-to-tie-dye-with-sharpies/

    Reply

  9. Kayleigh says

    Where did you get that peacock print? I love it and need one! lol. I love you guys and your home. Its so great to see people’s houses as labors of love. Im in the process of doing so in mine, but I feel it neverending.

    Kayleigh
    @ The Gotta Have It Girl Blog

    Reply

  10. kathy from ct says

    Don’t hate me but there is a MUCH faster way to stencil. Make a glaze with some watered down paint and cheap glaze from Home Depot. Practice a little. Then use an almost dry roller and you’ll be done licketty split. You are killing yourself – and taking up much valuable blogging time:) Really, you can do it.

    Reply

  11. Katie says

    Ummm…if you’re really going to do the whole running around the house-Rocky-victory music thing…I totally want video…not just pictures. Haha. Can’t wait for the big reveal!

    Reply

  12. Ashley says

    Hi guys! Do you just collect picture frames here and there from places like IKEA? Have been trying to find good white frames with mats and such, but they always seem a bit pricey. We have a huge wall in our hallway that I’d like to decorate with frames like yours. Thanks! :)

    Reply

  16. Kimberly says

    The food coloring art looks great! And I love a short post every now and then. Some of my favorites from the archives are super-short.

    Reply

  17. Abbie P. says

    Wow! First off, I LOVE the office wall. You’re doing an awesome job! I may have to add it to my pinterest collection when you post the finale. :) Secondly, that print of the peacock feather on your hallway wall…I have the exact same thing! I found it somewhere online and saved it onto my computer and then had it printed somewhere. I’ve been thinking of getting a bigger version of it. I love it! Craziness that you guys have the same thing. :) and the food coloring is genius…Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  18. Jenn says

    I’m sure some have probably suggested it, but I would try using a damp rag paper like rives BFK (you can probably get a sheet at michael’s and it’s oh-so-soft). Let it soak for about 5-10 min and then blot between a few paper towels. I would think that may help (then again, you may just have the same result with 8$ worth of paper…). Hmm, worth a try!

    Reply

  19. Dani says

    Another zero dollars project?! Wow, creativity to you guys is just like a bird, like a friendly bird that embraces all ideas and shoots out of its eyes all kinds of beauty.

    You guys watch 30 Rock, right?…

    Right?

    Okay, in case you don’t, Liz and Jack decide to exchange zero dollars gifts for Christmas, and this happens:

    Reply

  21. Di says

    Your food coloring project made me laugh out loud… Circa 1986, I won the citywide science fair (in my age group) for my Color of Ink project. If I remember correctly, I believe I used paper towel colored at the bottom with various colored sharpie markers, dipped in a variety of solutions. I vividly remember the beautiful rainbow colors inching up the sheet. Most colorful introduction to science ever!

    Reply

  22. Arianna says

    Great idea – incidentally if you go to ritdye.com and go under “dyeing techniques” they tell you how to do all sorts of different stuff including the Ombre technique you wanted. I was wanting to try it on some pillowcases!

    Reply

  27. Sarah says

    so clever and simple!:) I think that would look great as a little gift card. Maybe green and red for the holidays? Can’t wait to see the stenciled walls! I’m hhmming and hawing over whether to stencil the floors in my girls rooms but blood sweat and tears doesn’t sound too fun…

    Reply

  30. Donna Jean says

    What kind of paper did you use? I love the dots and would like to try something like it. Sorry if you’ve already answered this question, but I didn’t have time to read through all the comments :o(

    Reply

  31. Haley says

    Just wanted to stop by and tell you that I absolutely LOVE the stenciled walls! I stenciled a focal wall in my old bedroom with a similar stencil. Four hours plus two people working at it! Stenciling is no joke! Keep up the good work!

    P.S. I’m trying to grow my blog and was wondering about when you guys first started Young House Love how you asked people to guest post?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We actually have never had guest posters (so all 2,000 posts are written by me or John). Why? Because we’re crazy. Haha. And we love to “do it ourselves” – haha. We actually just didn’t figure out a format for others to post and write (and we’re bad at asking people for stuff- haha). But we’re kind of oddly happy to have this be our little diary. So I guess that’s of no help whatsoever! Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • Haley says

      Thats okay! I have been going back and forth with the “to have guest posts to not have guest posts” debate for a little bit now. I’m also bad at asking people for stuff so I thought I would just check and see if you guys had a method that worked for you. As a new blogger I loved reading about how you guys run your blog and would love to read some more!!

  32. ashlee says

    you should see the ‘sneak peek’ preview of my kids’ playroom. you would LOVE LOVE LOVE all the artwork i’ve framed. unfortunately, something went weird with my camera and i can’t upload the pics :( but you gosh, you should see them! they are absolutely adorable representations of their imaginations.

    Reply

  35. Kymberly says

    Ok, I really wanted to ask questions for your big Q&A, but life got in the way (that pesky life). I do want to say #1: I read you guys every day and your perkiness is appreciated and really does rub off (at least a little) so thanks for that from my whole family. #2: I love the redesign and think it fits your style and tone really, really well. Feeling you even more now. Questions: #1: Any chance there is a reason we haven’t seen any pictures of $herdog from the waist down in a lonnng time? Strategically placed stencil/chair etc… or am I crazy? Ok, maybe you can’t answer that one (I’m headed for deletion aren’t I?), I’m just throwing it out there, been wondering for a while…#2 What happens (to the blog) when your house is perfect and adorable? At the rate you’re going it can’t me more than a few years off…What then? Remodel, move, come do my house? That’s it, love you guys!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sorry, not prego!!! Not allowed to be for another year (doctor’s orders!). Maybe I’m just shy about how my middle looks post baby? Haha. Or we just shoot pics of projects in process, most of which involve arms and faces instead of bellies and legs. Haha. As for what we’ll do when our house is done, well, our last house took us 4.5 years to “complete” and it smaller so we figure we have a few more years! Haha. Who know what we’ll do then. Maybe we’ll go in on a rental house or beach house with some family members. We always say we didn’t know we’d be doing this five years ago so we have no idea where we’ll be in five more!

      xo,
      s

  37. Tonya A. Howard says

    Expanding on what Lynette said, regarding the chromatograph, put the water, rubbing alcohol, food coloring solution and paper in a container with a lid. It will mimic a TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography) development chamber. Science rocks!

    Reply

  39. Christine says

    Even thinking about doing that narrow strip above the chair rail scares me! How are you going to do that? I think you should frame the stencil and hang it on your gallery wall when you are done!

    Reply

  40. Catherine G says

    This is totally off subject, but I caught your segment about radon on America Now this afternoon — I was like I “know” them! Anyway, it reminded me that I should get a test too! BTW, in case you didn’t know– Clara is absolutely adorable! Love your site — tons of inspiration!

    Reply

  41. Callie says

    Chem nerd alert – you can use markers (not permanent ones) on coffee filters for a cool chromatography demo – draw on the filter and then dip an edge so the water wicks up the filter. The various colors used in a certain marker color with “flow” at different rates for a very cool effect. Use the wick…

    Reply

  44. Erin says

    I think that the food coloring travelling up the paper will work – but the paper has to be saturated, first. Don’t ask me how I think that would work, but just figuring…LOL.

    Reply

  46. Michelle Morgan says

    I love the dots and the Ombre thing would have been awesome if it worked out. Did you ever think of using a painting tray for the ombre look? It’s got that nice slant, maybe that would help give that effect. Start with very diluted colored water then gradually add more color and pulling the paper out at the same time… just a thought.. oh and watercolor paper might work the best for it.

    Ps, I have know idea if someone has already mentioned doing that. I didn’t want to read through all the comments.

    Reply

  47. Phoebe says

    I’d definitely suggest getting a thicker paper and wetting the entire page first. Just so it’s damp. A thick weave would help, too. Then stick it bottom first in the food coloring!

    Reply

  48. Lauren says

    I happened across this page the other day and if you decided to have Dexter Party here are some good ideas http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/35987 ! I love Dexter, but I cannot watch it before bed…nightmares galore :) Thanks for the great blog! I love reading about the things you do! It gives me confidence to try to make things on my own! Next stop…curtains………..!

    Reply

  49. Delia says

    I teach chemistry camp for kids in the summer and we do something similar. We use a marker (not permanent) and draw a line on a paper towel then you dip it in water below the line. The capillary effect on the paper towel pulls the water up and separates the colors as it does. If you do use sharpie you have to do it with rubbing acohol to get the same effect. Don’t know if this will give an ombre stripe but worth experimenting with.

    Reply

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