Caroline
A few months ago I discovered the amazingness of using black glue for art projects. The black glue almost gives the appearance of stained glass against the bright liquid watercolors when the art project is complete and it’s absolutely stunning!
This seahorse black glue craft we are sharing today is a fabulous ocean themed craft that is perfect for the summer season. Since I know you’ll be obsessed with this technique after you try it, we’ve included links to more ocean themed black glue crafts at the bottom of this post for you to swoon over!
This post contains affiliate links to the products mentioned. Read our disclosure policy for more information.
Supplies Needed:
- seahorse black glue template ←Download the Seahorse Template
- mixed media paper (or watercolor paper)
- Elmer’s School Glue, 4 oz. bottle
- black acrylic paint
- food skewer (or stick for stirring)
- liquid watercolors
- paintbrush
- napkins
Instructions:
1. Make black glue
Start by mixing together your black glue. To do this, use a bottle of Elmer’s School Glue that is about 75% full. Open the lid and squeeze in a generous amount of black acrylic paint. Put the lid back onto the school glue and then shake, shake, shake the bottle of glue for several minutes to incorporate as much of the black paint as possible.
2. Mix the glue mixture
After shaking the bottle for several minutes, open the lid back up and use a food skewer or a stick to continue to mix and incorporate the black paint into the glue. When you look inside the bottle and see that all of the glue is now a black color put the lid back onto the glue bottle.
3. Print out template
Download the seahorse black glue template and print it out on mixed media (or watercolor) paper. We had to trim down our paper to fit into our printer but it didn’t take long at all. Before beginning to trace the seahorse template with your black glue, test out the glue on a napkin. There will most likely be some white glue residue in the lid so you’ll need to squeeze it before you reach the black glue in the bottle.
4. Trace the lines
Trace all of the lines on the seahorse template with your black glue then allow your black glue craft to dry overnight.
To ensure I get smooth lines with no black glue build up, I keep a napkin next to me when I work and regularly wipe the tip of the glue bottle onto the napkin. This removes any build up on the tip to ensure those smooth lines when tracing.
5. Paint with watercolors
When your black glue is completely dry, get your liquid watercolors ready for use. Using a paintbrush, paint inside all the spaces in your seahorse black glue craft. To make a mixed watercolor look, paint the outside of each section with one color and then paint the inside of the section with a different color. If you’d like, paint a section outside of the seahorse blue to look like it is in the ocean.
6. Cut out your seahorse
Optional: When your watercolors have finished drying you can cut out around your seahorse. Or you can leave it on your mixed media paper and put it in a frame as a pretty piece of artwork in your home.
