During the first week of bookmaking camp, our class produced lots of decorative papers to use for our pages and covers for our books that we will assemble during the second week of camp. On the first day, our group focused on the technique of “marbling”, which is a way to decorate the paper with a marbled effect. The first technique we used for marbling was the “shaving cream method”. We used a pan of shaving cream, and colored dyes to create patterns on the surface of the shaving cream. Then we placed a blank piece of paper on top of the shaving cream and dye and pressed the paper into the shaving cream. Another way that we achieved the marbled finish was by shaving chalk into water and created patterns with the colors in the water. We then pressed our paper into the water and the design reflected onto the paper. This marbled look was a bit less vibrant than the shaving cream method, but the result produced beautiful, pastel, understated colors in a marbled design. The next day, our class worked on a technique called “blocking”. Using the blocking technique we were able to create stamps that created unique patterns. We then carefully painted bright colored paint onto our stamp using a brayer and we stamped our stamps into a pattern on our papers. Each child’s stamp was unique and one child referred this style of artwork as our “paint signatures”. Later that day we made another stamp, using leftover pieces of foam and sticking them onto our brayers into geometric patterns. We then carefully painted our stamps, but this time we rolled our stamps onto our papers creating a very cool and different effect. On the last day of week one we focused on watercolor painting. The group started with just three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, and soon learned what amazing colors they could create by mixing those three colors. The group began, with basic designs, but as the day progressed and they became more and more comfortable, they began to create beautiful abstract paintings, paintings of their favorite characters, and even paintings for loved ones. By the end of the day some of the children even used salt on top of the paintings which added even more pizzazz to their art. By the end of the week, each child had a portfolio full of wonderfully creative pages that they had created throughout the week, and they are all well equipped with designs that they can use when constructing their books next week.