Tin Foil Relief Photo Box

Materials:

newspaper
3" x 3-1/2" cardstock
pencil
school glue
small bowl
paintbrush
heavy-duty tin foil
black and brown shoe polish
3 sheets of 12" x 12" tan paper
earth tone chalk pastels
cheese grater
spray polyurethane
gel medium
2-3/4" x 3-1/4" leaf
sponge
earth tones acrylic paint
scrap paper
thin chipboard
utility knife
carpenter's square
squeegee or book bone
bookmaker’s glue
power drill
scissors
1/8" leather strips
2 beads
twig from tree
oven
kitchen sink and water
heavy books

1. Preheat oven to the lowest setting in preparation for tin foil leaf relief process.

2. Sketch or trace a leaf on a piece of cardstock, adding detail and veins (figure A). Trace all pencil sketches with a thin line of school glue (figure B) and place in the warm oven to dry until the glue is transparent, usually 10-20 minutes.

3. Fill the kitchen sink with about 1 inch of water and gently grate chalk pastels over the water. Submerge a sheet of tan paper completely into the chalk water. Lift the sheet out of the water depositing the chalk onto the paper (figure C). Repeat the process until the desired color is achieved. Place the sheet in a preheated oven on warm to dry. Continue the same process for a second piece of tan paper (figure D).

4. Once the papers have dried, place them on newspaper in a well-ventilated area (outside) and spray with a thin coat of polyurethane. The polyurethane should dry within a few minutes. Sponge gel medium over the entire surface to seal the paper. Let dry.

• Place a leaf on a piece of scrap paper, apply black paint to the vein side of the leaf with a sponge and place the leaf paint side down on a piece of tan paper.
• Lay a piece of scrap paper over the leaf and gently rub with your fingertips to stamp the leaf onto the tan paper.
• Repeat the process several times on different areas of the paper.
• Paint the leaf with brown paint and press the painted side onto the tan paper filling in between the black leaf stamps.
• Set aside to dry.

7. Rub over the entire surface to etch the lines into the foil, then with a dull pencil, trace around the glue lines adding detail to the veins of the leaf (figure F).

8. Rub a small amount of brown shoe polish over the leaf in several places with your finger. Follow the same process using the black shoe polish (figure G). Apply diluted glue to the back of the cardstock and fold the foil to the back, gluing it to the back of the cardstock (figure H). Set aside.