Pimp my ride

For Christmas we wanted to give my little sparkle a push bike. We could not find a pink bike anywhere! We had to buy a black one but I still wanted it to be unique.

That is when I came up with the idea to foil it. Let's be honest I'm foiling everything these days it wasn't a big leap to foiling her bike. I can't take credit for doing all of it. My husband took over half way through because well..he is a perfectionist so naturally it would be better.
So to bling your bike you will need: A bike, double sided tape, dark pink sparkle foil,modge podge
First, place double sided tape where ever you would like it to be pink. Next cover with foil, press and peel. Then modge podge.We made an R on the front by cutting the pieces of tape.

How cute is that? Now we always know which bike is hers. Although that won't guarantee the other children won't want to steal it :)

Our Christmas table

I just had to show you my Christmas table. We were at my grandparents in Underberg and my granny loves dark blue and gold. Which is perfect to use foil art with. I just wanted it to be touches of gold so I didn't do loads of foiling. Just on the glass bottles and the wide candle.

I used craft glue and antique foil on the bottom of the bottle. I just painted a fine layer of glue on the bottle and wrapped it in foil and left it to dry for a few days. If you would like to make it permanent you need to seal it with glass sealant.

On the candle and the taller bottle I just wrapped the bottle in double sided tape and rubbed the antique gold foil over it.

It really looks so pretty and subtle.

What did you do for your Christmas table?

Sparkle inspiration

So this weekend I had Louise from foilart capetown come visit me. Wow what an inspiration! She has been foiling for 9 years! You name it she has foiled it! It was amazing! I'd say 'what about this?and she would say 'Oh ja but then try this too!' or 'oh ja we did that for this, look at this picture..' She has given me countless ideas. So stay tuned for many many more posts over the next few days.

A sparkly Christmas word

 So I was fishing through my Christmas box for some inspiration and I found this sign.

Really dull isn't it?
So I decided to add some sparkle!
You will need: A plain sign, double sided tape, super tack glue pen, a craft knife or tiny nail scissors and foil in the colour of your choice. I used the plain metallic red because we are still doing a Christmas theme.
Stick double sided tape in equi-distanced lines across alternating letters. I found it easier to get them even by lining them up with a ruler. Take your craft knife or scissors and trim the edges off. Make sure your blade is sharp otherwise it pulls the tape. If that does happen, you can fix it by filling in the spaces with the glue pen.
Make dots with the super tack glue pen on the other letters. Dont layer it too thickly, otherwise it takes forever to dry and you actually don't need that much. Leave to dry. Peel the double sided tape off.

Take your foil and place and press it over all the sticky parts making sure it is stuck down all around. Then rip! The one thing a friend of mine commented on foil art is that if it doesn't cover it completely you just go over with the foil again to fill in the blanks. Which is really nice. Your project isn't ruined because you didn't get it right the first time. There you have it a sparkly sign. Soo much cuter than before.

 A picture of it on the wall with all my Christmas decorations. I love a sparkly Christmas don't you?

Oh christmas tree tag

I like to think of this one as a Christmas tag because it is more effective when it is smaller. If you do want to do this on a card maybe mat it first and place it on a bigger card that has more sparkle on it to.
I have received a lot of compliments on this one. Which just goes to show simple can still be gorgeous.
You will need: card in a colour of your choice (I used dark blue because I think it looks elegant), scissors, a punch, super tack glue pen, green foilart foil.
Cut your tag (I did 9cm x 6cm) chop the corners off and punch a hole in the top ( I know, I know I forgot to punch mine.)
Starting with your glue pen, where you want the top of your tree to be, draw a zigzag that gradually gets wider to the base. I find the quicker you go the better it looks.Then draw and fill-in a little square below, for the trunk. Leave to dry, about 10-15minutes. See here in this picture you can see dark blue and white patches. The dark blue is ready the white isn't. Wait until it has all gone clear then wait an extra 5 minutes for good measure.

Place and press the green foil over the glue. Rip it off, to reveal your sparkly Christmas tree.

You can if you like go back with your glue pen and draw a star above and dots for baubles on your tree and then foil in other colours. All depends on how much you love to 'add some sparkle.' What are you making with your foilart?

Flashy baubles on a card

I was a bit skeptical about the rainbow foil when I first tried it but after this project I can understand why it is so popular. I've seen plenty of Christmas bauble cards around which inspired me to make my very own foil art bauble card. Once again simple, quick but effective.

You will need. White card (14cm x 18cm), circle stencil of various sizes, black pen, ruler, super tack glue pen and rainbow foil art.

Draw varying sized circles in a random line across the card. Then rule parallel lines from the edge of the circles to the edge of the page. Fill in the circles with glue. Leave 10-15 minutes to dry. Can you see in this picture how some of the glue has gone clear yet parts are still blue? Leave the card until all the glue is clear.

  Place the rainbow foil on the glue and press firmly.

 Then rip off to reveal a little more 'bling' for your Christmas.

I drew little bows at the top of my baubles so that they can 'hang'. Don't you wish you could hang them from your tree? Hmm perhaps I'll do a series on Christmas decorations too! What do you think?

Rudolph the fingerprint reindeer and his very shiny nose.

I've been looking forward to doing this card because I can get my Little Sparkle involved. She is nearly 2 years old so painting a reindeer is a bit beyond her at the moment (maybe next year after she starts university). So this is perfect for her because it only involves a thumbprints worth of participation.

You will need: white card, brown acrylic paint, your families thumbs, super tack glue pen, red foil art, gold foil art and a black pen.
Cut and fold your card (I did 10cmx15cm, but if you have a bigger family maybe make it a little wider). If you bought the foil art extreme kit. The cards in the pack are perfect for this project.
Paint your thumbprint and press it onto your card (warning: this step may cause flashbacks of the home affairs department).

When you have the families prints and they have dried. Draw on your antlers, if you are brave you can do this step with the glue pen. Otherwise draw the antlers with a pencil then follow over them with the glue pen. Also do a nice big glue dot for the nose. Leave to dry until it goes tacky.

Place and press the gold foil over the antlers, making sure you don't lay the foil over the nose.Can you see in the picture how the foil is pressed down, even the sides of the glue?The rounded shape of the glue means you really need to press it down on all sides. Then rip it off firmly.

Place and press the red foil over the noses. Rip it off.
Draw some eyes, ears and a cute little mouth with your black pen.

There you have it a cute little Rudolph (and family) with a very shiny nose. This will definetly bring a smile to the face of my aunt when she opens her mail this year. Who are you going to be sending your reindeer cards to this year?

Twinkle twinkle christmas star

So Christmas is just around the corner. Who doesn't love getting a card in the post? Old school is definetly cooler in this regard. If you are planning on sending your loved ones, overseas, a little something something in the post. We had better get cracking!
I'm going to do a series of Christmas cards leading up to Christmas. All very simple yet beautiful! I hope they inspire you to make your own.

You will need: a star template (I used a star from my little sparkles shape sorter) dark card, super tack glue, silver or gold foil art foil.
Cut your card to the size you wish (I did 9cm x 18cm ), fold in half. I drew around my star and cut out the template.

Place your star template in the middle of your card. Then dot glue around the outside of the template. Be careful not to get too close to the template, or the glue can bleed. How pretty does that look all on it's own? I think I'll do another one just like that and glue the star in the middle.

Then continue outwards in a randomised pattern.

Leave to dry 10-15minutes. The glue will turn from blue to clear and feel tacky. Remove the template.
Place foil over the glue. Press with your fist until the glue is completely covered. Then rip it off.

There you have it. A beautiful star. How simple was that?
Now the biggest challenge, remembering to take them to the post office!
Until next time, keep adding some sparkle to your life!

The beginning of something amazing!

I am a hairdresser by trade and I come across people on a daily basis, who just seem to work, eat, clean and sleep. I can see it is stressing them out. People need to create. It is part of our nature. It gives us a different kind of grarification that no paycheck can. Nothing is more satisfying than being able to say, 'I made this!' I for myself have felt something is missing from my life. I love teaching people new things, helping them tweak their ideas to get more out of their project. I love being part of that creative process. Helping teach people that you don't need to be an amazing artist to be creative! So when I was offered the opportunity to join the foil art team I jumped at it. I'm so excited for this new chapter in my life. For the first time in my life I have literally dreamt up ideas! I wake up in the morning and have to grab a piece of paper and just write down all the inspiration. Foil art is an amazing product and so versatile. It can be used in scrapping, card making, decopauge, nail art even fishing lures! Because it can be used in so many ways, it can become a little overwhelming, where do I start? That is where this blog comes in. I'm going to show you different ways you can add more sparkle to your life! From simple projects to elborate ones and everything between. My wish is that this inspires you to try something new and have more creative gratification. So add some sparkle today!