We will excuse Emma this week since Nora isn’t giving her time to scrapbook!

Instead, this is a technique I have been experimenting with and would like to share.  It’s very easy and cheap, but the results are stunning.  I have used it to cover my new art journal made from a recycled book, but you can also vary this idea to use as the background of a layout, card or ATC, to matte or frame a picture, to create dimensional embellishments,  etc.  It’s very versatile and you can make different textures and shapes with it to suit your purpose.

You will need:

Acrylic paint in 3-5 varying shades

-You can also use spray paint, markers, glimmer mist, or whatever else you have as long as it’s opaque and permanent.  I just used acrylic paint because that’s what I have.

Paint brushes

Glue or Gel Medium

Aluminum foil

A base to work from such as a book cover, cardstock, chipboard, etc

1. Cover your base with glue or gel medium, using a paint brush to ensure equal coverage.

2. Crumple a piece of aluminum foil into the desired texture.  The more you crumple, the smaller the “mountains” will be on the page.

3. Stretch it out as desired and press it firmly onto your glue-covered base, being especially careful that the corners are glued down securely.  Let it dry.

-repeat step 3 if you want additional layers for extra volume and texture.

4. After the glue is dry, cover this with a base coat of paint.    I used white gesso but I figured out too late that I should have used a darker color, because the white kept showing through forevermore.  You want to try and cover all the foil so none of it shows through. Let this dry thoroughly, otherwise it will just come off with the next coat of paint.

5. After the base coat is dry, mix other colors on top to achieve your desired color combination.  I used greens, blues, and a bit of burgandy for this step. Use as many coats as you need. I think it looks best to apply the darkest colors first then work into the lighter colors, because this will show off the texture beautifully.  You will see what I mean. 

You will see in this picture that I’ve added layers of foil even over the base coat.  You can always go back and add more at any stage as long as you paint over it all in the end.

6. Take some gold paint (or white, silver etc….something very light), and very gently brush it over the whole thing, so that the paint only highlights the raised tips of the “mountains.”  Watch as the layers magically pop out under your brush!

Here is my finished book cover using this technique.  I might add some embellishments but I’m not sure.  I don’t want to go overboard again! 

Some other ideas on how to use aluminum foil for papercrafting:

-Use chipboard or other dimensional letters to lay down a title, then stretch the foil over them and paint it.  The sides will slope down interestingly and give kind of a leathery look.

-Completely over chipboard letters or shapes using foil, crumpled or not.

-Mold the foil into shapes (flower, heart, etc) and paint over them.

-Try a light to dark paint sequence instead of dark to light as I have used here.  I’ve never tried it but it should be interesting too!

-Paint black watercolor, watered down acrylic, or ink, then blot it so the foil shows through.  It gives an interesting burnished silver look.

-Scratch doodles or text into the foil before painting it. You can use a pencil or old credit card for this (just be careful not to rip the foil!)

-Check out youtube and other blogs for ideas and inspiration.

Have fun!