Glitter is such wonderful material to use in handmade spring crafts, but glitter has a mind of its own. So often it ends up everywhere but where you want it to go. My favorite way of working with glitter is using a technique that I learned many years ago for preparing designs on glass for sandblasting. You cover the entire surface with a resist then progressively peel away parts to expose them for sandblasting. Well, this technique works great with glitter when you use Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Adhesive Sheets! It allows you to control exactly where you apply different colors of glitter while keeping the colors separate and bright.
For this project, I decorated a simple wood-picture frame with the pretty glitters and micro-beads that come in the Kool Tak™ Sparkles packs. I was delighted to find that the micro-beads add an interesting richness to the design because of the mixed color packaging. As a final touch, I added a picture of my mom and myself to the project. Now she’ll have flowers every time she looks at this fun frame!
Materials:
- Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Adhesive Sheet – 8” x 10” (1)
- Kool Tak™ Sparkles Bonus Packs – Pink, Blue, Green, Gold
- Wood picture frame – 8” x 8”
- Acrylic paint – white
- Your favorite photograph
Tools:
- Craft knife, permanent marker, paint brush / plastic dish, cookie sheet with sides and sheet of paper (to catch the glitter)
Instructions:
1. Put a large dollop of the white acrylic paint on the plastic dish. Brush a coat of white paint onto both sides of the wood picture frame. Let dry.
2. One side of the Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Adhesive Sheet is backed with a white release paper and the other side is backed with a pink plastic release liner. Peel the white release paper from the Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Adhesive Sheet. Carefully adhere the sticky sheet to the front of the wood picture frame. Smooth the sheet with your hand firmly to remove any air bubbles. Use the craft knife to trim all the excess adhesive sheet along the outside frame edges and from the inside frame opening. (Tip – put the trimmed pieces of adhesive sheet back on the white release paper and save them for another project.)
3. Use the permanent marker to draw simple flower shapes on the pink release liner.
3. Cut all the flower shape outlines with the craft knife. But don’t peel anything yet!
4. Let’s glitter! I like to work from the darkest color first to the lightest color last to keep all the colors bright. Working in small sections, use the tip of the craft knife to lift and then remove the cut background pieces of the pink release liner to expose the adhesive. With the cookie sheet under the picture frame to catch all the excess, sprinkle the exposed adhesive with blue micro-beads. Press the micro-beads with your finger to ensure that they are adhered well onto the frame and tap to remove all the excess Continue removing the pink release liner pieces until you have glittered all the blue sections. (Tip – before moving onto the next color, carefully tap all the excess micro-beads from the cookie sheet back into the Sparkles plastic tube.)
5. Repeat the same steps for the green sections, the pink sections and the yellow sections using micro-beads. Last of all add the yellow glitter to the flower centers.
(You’ll get a very interesting effect with the glitter because it is very fine and so looks almost embedded when placed next to the thicker micro-beads.)
6. Finish up by adding your favorite photograph to the frame.
This is a fun project that is easy to personalize with different colors and designs. And for another idea, try this technique on surfaces like wood birdhouses and boxes. You’ll find that Kool Tak™ Sparkles and Adhesive sheets are fabulous additions to your creative toolkit!