DIY Antiqued Foil Monograms

My parents still have this framed at their house. When I was 6, I did a DIY foil project, and I didn’t even know it. I remember putting the thin copper foil over a stencil, and the teacher told us to rub every little nook until we could see the entire stencil.  Fast forward 18 years later, and a little phenomenon called Pinterest brought my attention to this craft.  I decided to take a stab at it because (1) how hard could it be?! and (2) the Pinterest example was an H, it must be fate.  I’ve also apparently downgraded my crafting skills over the years, because I’m pretty certain the 1992 version looks cooler than my 2012 version. Regardless, it’s a neat technique, and if you’re a better glue-drawer than me, you could make something pretty cool! This would also be a neat project to do with kids. So read on…

I did two projects at the same time.  One was just a simple monogram letter, and the other was a letter in a frame.  At the bare minimum, here’s what you’ll need:

• “Object” – What ever it is you’re going to apply your effect to.
• Tacky glue or puffy paint (Elmer’s glue will NOT work, it flattens out as it dries. The Tacky glue will hold it’s shape and dry raised.)
• Aluminum foil.
• Mod podge.

Start by drawing your design with tacky glue or puffy paint on your object. I’d recommend either practicing first, or at least drawing it with a pencil and tracing over it with glue. It tuned out that I wasn’t as good of a glue-drawer as I had hoped. Regardless, I crafted on… The one on the right below is simply the back of the picture frame.

Let the glue dry overnight. Then, lay a piece of tin foil (shiny side down, dull side up) over the object and fold the corners over the edges to hold it in place. Use a cloth (don’t use your fingers, the foil rips easily and a nail could rip it) to rub at all of the nooks and crannies to display the design. Once all the design is showing, glue the excess tin foil down to the back of the object.  For the letter, I cut the inside edges at an angle and then was able to wrap it almost like a present.Next, use a cloth to rub shoe polish over your object. This will give it the antiqued look (it will look better after you mod podge it, I swear!). Don’t be afraid to put too much on, it wipes off easily if you think it’s too dark.

Lastly, paint a thick layer of mod podge over your project. This will take away the “tin-foil-y” look. Let it dry overnight.

Once it dried, my H was done!

And all I had to do was hot glue the little black H I had found on clearance at Marshalls onto the picture frame (sans glass), and this project was complete, too!