Favorite sayings: “Never give up.” “Keep Calm and Carry On.” “Dream Big.”
Everyone has favorite sayings or quotes that give them a little boost of confidence or encouragement. One of mine is “Run, Leap, Fly.” It reminds me that sometimes we just have to take a deep breath and jump to get to that next level. So for this month’s Kool Tak™ project, I decided to combine the phrase with some fun techniques using Kool Tak™ Shiny Foil Transfer sheets, Foam Pads and 3D Glue. This is a really easy and quick project that you can customize to your liking with different colors and text. It’s basically a stack of chipboard rectangles joined together with Kool Tak™ Foam Pads which give the stack a great dimensionality by making the center rectangle with the text pop forward. The text was just something I typed into a text document in a pretty font and then printed out so you can change it up to feature your own favorite quote or sentiment. And if you’ve never played with Kool Tak™ Shiny Foil Transfer sheets before, I promise after this you will be hooked at how versatile and fun they are to work with!
Materials:
- Black chipboard – 12” x 12”
- Kool Tak™ Foam Pads 3D Effect – 1/2″ x 1/2″ x 1/4″ thick
- Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Double Sided Tape – 1/8″
- Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Double Sided Tape – 1/4″
- Kool Tak™ 3D Glue for Embossing Effect with ultra-fine metal nib
- Kool Tak™ Shiny Transfer Foil Sheets – Sea Tones
- Printout of your your favorite quote or phrase – 2 1/2” x 4 1/2”
- Decorative picture frame – 5”x7” interior
Tools:
- Kool Tak™ Layer Plus
- kraft knife, carbon paper, paper tape, pencil, scissors, stiff bristle brush
Instructions:
1. Use the Kool Tak™ Layer Plus and kraft knife to cut the chipboard into three pieces: 5”x 7”, 3 1/2” x 5 1/2”, 2 1/2” x 4 1/2”.
Decorating the small rectangle:
2. Cut a 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” piece of carbon paper and sandwich it between the printout of your quote and the small piece of chipboard. Hold everything together with a little paper tape. Trace the quote onto the chipboard with a pencil. Remove the carbon paper and printout when finished.
3. Fit the ultra-fine metal nib onto the bottle of Kool Tak ™ 3D Glue according to the manufacturer’s directions. Outline and fill the traced letters with the glue. Set the chipboard piece aside to dry until the glue turns clear. (In the meantime, remove the metal nib from the bottle and rinse it out with water. Use a pin or fine piece of wire to make sure all the glue is cleaned out of the tip.)
4. Apply the foil to the now dried glued letters by placing a piece of foil, shiny side up, on top of the chipboard. Rub the foil with your finger and peel the plastic sheet off. You’ll see that the actual foil sticks to the glue leaving just the clear plastic backing. Use the seafoam colored foil for “Run” and “Leap” and silver for “Fly” until all the letters are covered with foil. (I love how the silver foil looks like metal solder on the black chipboard!)
Decorating the medium rectangle:
5. Run strips of 1/4” Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Double Sided Tape along the top and bottom edges of the medium rectangle. Trim to fit with the scissors. Peel off the red backing layer to expose the adhesive. Repeat for the remaining two sides. Apply medium blue foil to the strips.
6. Create a second inner set of foiled lines by repeating with the 1/8” Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Double Sided Tape. Apply dark blue foil to the strips.
Decorating the large rectangle:
7. Use the stiff bristle brush to scrub Kool Tak ™ 3D Glue along the outside 2” of the large rectangle. You want to create a textured background with lots of visible brush marks. Set aside to dry. When dry apply silver foil.
Assembling:
8. Put four Kool Tak™ 3D Foam Pads on the back of the small chipboard rectangle. Peel off the release papers to expose the adhesive on each pad.
9. Use the Kool Tak™ Layer Plus to help center the small rectangle onto the medium rectangle. When you are happy with the positioning, press firmly to adhere the rectangles together. Do the same to adhere the medium rectangle onto the large rectangle.
For the finishing touch, add the decorative picture frame and sit back and enjoy!
This was such a fun project and it is easily customizable to your own preferences. Here’s a variation using neutral colored chipboard and Kool Tak™ Shiny Transfer Foil Sheets in the Spring Blossoms colors.
Have fun turning your favorite sayings into works of art!!