How to Create Your Own Marble Dust Chalk

You can use marble dust chalk to write on a chalk board or sidewalk.

Chalk used to write on chalkboards and sidewalks is created from powdered minerals, such as talc and calcium carbonate. You can make chalk from powdered marble, which itself is calcium carbonate. If you live in a mountainous region, you can collect loose marble rocks and transform them into chalk sticks. Once finished, you can use the marble dust chalk to write or draw with on a standard chalkboard or sidewalk.

Things You'll Need

• Marble rocks
• Rough-grain sandpaper
• Sanding wheel (optional)
• Hand drill (optional)
• Bowl
• Plaster of Paris
• Water
• Fork
• Toilet paper tube
• Tape
• Glass baking dish

Instructions

1. Hold a marble rock over a bowl, and rub it with rough-grain sandpaper; or, hold the rocks against a sanding wheel attached to a hand drill. This grind the marble into dust. Repeat this process with as many marble rocks as it takes to make 2 cups of marble dust in the bowl.

2. Add 1 cup of plaster of Paris into the bowl, and mix well.

3. Pour 1 and 1/2-cups of water into the bowl, and stir the mixture well with a fork.

4. Tape a toilet paper tube vertically onto a glass baking dish.

5. Pour the mixture into the toilet paper tube until it fills the tube up to the top.

6. Allow the mixture to harden completely, which can take three hours or more. You may speed up drying by placing the baking dish in the sun.

7. Peel the toilet paper tube away from the chalk. You can now use it on a chalkboard or sidewalk.

Tips & Warnings

• Monitor children if you allow them to use a hand drill and sanding wheel, and be sure that they wear eye protection.

References

• Mormon Chic: Craft Recipes for Kids