What Are the Different Uses of Shaving Cream and Glue?

Shaving cream and glue can be combined to make a stiff, sturdy painting medium that dries to form a type of puffy paint and gives a three-dimensional feel to artwork. The shaving cream and glue mixture can be colored using food coloring or paint to creating snowmen, pumpkins, or whatever suits the painter. A layer of shaving cream coated with color can also be used to make marbleized prints, which can be embellished with glitter or jewels using glue. Projects made from shaving cream and glue are great for kids because these crafts provide a creative, tactile experience that is easy to clean up.

To make shaving cream puff paint, add to a disposable bowl equal quantities of shaving cream and glue and stir until the mixture is the consistency of whipped cream. A mixture of about 1 cup (236 ml) of shaving cream and 1 cup (236 ml) of school glue will be enough paint for a few kids. Once mixed, the shaving cream puff paint can then be separated into several different bowls. One or two drops of food coloring or about 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of paint can be added to each bowl to produce different colored puff paint.

The puff paint can be applied to paper or tag board using fingers, cotton applicators, or brushes. It is fairly sturdy, so colors can be combined in swirls or the paint can be mounded or stacked up. Googly eyes, glitter, or small, plastic jewels can be embedded into the medium to adorn the painting. Once the picture is finished, it must be left undisturbed to dry overnight. Shaving cream and glue are both water soluble and will clean up easily in the sink.

Decorative marbleized paper can also be made from shaving cream and glue. For this project, the shaving cream is spread onto a cookie sheet in approximately a 1.5-inch (1-cm) thick layer. Dabs of color are then applied to the surface of the shaving cream using food coloring or liquid water color paint. To create a marbleized pattern, the paint colors can be swirled using a toothpick, a finger, or knife.

Once the pattern is complete, a piece of paper or card stock can be placed on top of the paint so that the color transfers to the paper. After the paper is lifted free from the shaving cream, a ruler or a piece of cardboard can be used to squeegee the shaving cream off the paper. When the paper has dried, the print can be enriched by using glue to apply glitter, plastic jewels, or various shapes cut from scrap-booking paper.