When I started scrapbooking 10 years ago metal embellishments were quite the trend, but then they almost totally disappeared from the scene … only to return again now! I really love adding metal embellishments to my pages, but often I can’t find the right ones. The solution is simple: create your own (faux) metal embellishments using simple kitchen aluminium foil, chipboard shapes and an die-cut machine!
Kitchen foil can be quite fragile to use, but when you adhere it to a piece of chipboard you’ll have a nice sturdy base to work with. There are many chipboard shapes to choose from: small shapes like arrows, flowers, swirls etc. to add subtle embellishments to your scrapbook pages, or one large shape like a monogram to act as the main embellishment on your page. You can also use a large square or rectangle to act as the base for a card. The possibilities are endless! For my page I used star shaped chipboard as my page is about “Star”bucks.
Step by step:
1. Choose a chipboard shape and cut a piece of kitchen tinfoil a little bigger than the size of the chipboard. Carefully flatten your foil (I used a brayer).
2. Apply a thin layer of adhesive on your chipboard and decide which side of the aluminiumfoil you want to show on your page, the shiny side or the duller side. Place the sticky side of the chipboard on the side of the foil you don’t want to show on your page and carefully cut around the shape, leaving small strip of foil which you then fold around the edges.
3. Choose an embossing folder (I used one with a herring bone pattern) and place your chipboard shape inside. Roll through your die cut machine.
4. Now you’ll have created the perfect (faux) metal embellishment!
5. If you want to give your metal shape a bit of color there’s one more step. Choose a solvent kind of ink that dries on non-pourous surfaces as you don’t want to end up with the color smeared over the rest of your page. I chose a StazOn ink pad as this is an ink that will dry on clear shiny surfaces in no time at all.
Materials: Little Yellow Bicycle (Just Because) patterned paper, cardstock stickers, journaling cards, clear cut shapes; American Crafts kraft cardstock; Maya Road chipboard shapes (Supernova); Scraptastic Club stamps; Studio Calico wood veneer bubbles; Dymo word sticker; StazOn ink pad; Archival ink pad; K&Company Smash pen; Hema ribbon; V&D staples; Tim Holtz tiny staples; Bien Vu! kitchen foil;
Tools: Sizzix Big Shot; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Silhouette Cameo; Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and Brayer; V&D long-arm stapler; Aigger sewing machine.
And here are a few tips:
Tip 1: To adhere your kitchen foil to the chipboard shape use adhesive not only on the topside of the shape, but also along the edges on the backside so the foil will stay neatly in place when folded to the back.
Tip 2: use a solvent ink to color your metal embellishment as that will dry very quickly and won’t rub off on your page.
Tip 3: instead of using StazOn ink pads to color your metal shapes, Ranger’s alcohol inks will work nicely too! Try using a q-tip to apply the ink.
Tip 4: When using small chipboard shapes choose an embossing folder with a “small” pattern/design like dots or herringbone.
This is it! Maybe you've seen it already in Scrapbook Magazine UK, but if not then I hope you like it!
Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!
Hugs,
