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Marker Watercolor Art

By Kali Slusser - Woodland- Davis, CA March 15, 2017

As a mom of three and a kindergarten teacher who is married to a teacher, I do all that I can to upcycle or reuse materials for my classroom. I nearly die inside when I discover a marker that has lost its cap and is ALL dried out! Since I hate tossing anything without thinking of a new purpose, I was thrilled when I figured out how to reuse the markers!

It is as easy as 1, 2, 3, and PAINT!

1. Remove the tip of a dried out marker by pulling with some type of pliers. I used JUMBO plastic tweezers that my students use to pick up small objects to sort them, while strengthening their hand for a better pencil grip!

2. Drop the marker tip in a cup of water!

3. Wait for the tip to bleed. Some will even turn WHITE!

PAINT! It's so simple!

While my kids were painting two teachers came into my classroom inquiring about the white things floating in the watercolors. They were both amazed and impressed that removing the tip could be so easy! 

My plan is to store this water (as long as my kids don't mix the colors) in mason jars with lids and add marker tips and water as needed! 

Happy painting, thrifty friends!