Growing up, I’ve always struggled to figure out my place because I love getting dirty & the outdoors but I also enjoy a little pampering & feeling pretty. When I was a kid, I made elaborate mud-pies with my cousins, and I also love to ride ATVs & camp under the stars. I also enjoyed playing with my Barbies as a kid, taking a nice, hot bubble bath & getting a mani/pedi. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I don’t have to choose between those two worlds. I can enjoy both of them equally. I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out the balance of who I am & accepting & embracing each different part of me. This piece is an excellent juxtaposition of bold & beautiful, elegant & rustic, surprising & sparkly. The following tutorial describes how to create a wall-hanging from a painted wooden round with rolled flowers that are foiled on both sides to create all that glimmery shine.
Supplies
For this project, you’ll need the supplies to make the painted wall-hanging, to foil paper and also to make rolled paper flowers. The supplies are as follows:
- Wood slice – I used a medium slice for this project
- Acrylic paint – I used black for the background on this piece
- Copy paper – Copy paper is easier & more natural to roll & foiled better for me
- Heat-activated metallic foil – I used gold, bronze & silver Glaminator foil
- Laminator for foiling
- Laser printer – We have this affordable Brother printer
- Basic art supplies such as paintbrushes, an exacto knife and tweezers
- Rolled flower design – I used these fun, free designs from Pazzles Craft Room!
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The Basics
Of Foiling: A laser printer bonds toner to paper by “melting” the toner as the image is printer. In the same manner, heat transfer foil is a thin metallic layer that adheres to that same “melted” toner when heated. To create a foiled design, you melt the toner onto your paper (aka – print your design) & then subsequently re-melt the toner by passing the design through a laminator, which heats it up, with heat reactive foil on top that adheres to the melted toner.
Of Rolling Flowers: A circular design is cut into paper (either by hand or with a cutting machine such as a Silhouette or Cricut) & then rolled tightly using tweezers or a similar tool. Once the tool is removed, the rolled flower can be glued to keep it in the shape you desire.
Instructions
Here’s a quick video of the whole process!
To create a metallic foiled, rolled flower wood slice, do the following:
- Paint your wood slice in your desired color. Set aside to dry.
- Get your design ready in Silhouette Studio or equivalent software with your desired size. I have mine set up for an 8.5×11″ page to accommodate my printer with registration marks enabled in “Page Setup”.
3. Place a solid black square over your entire design.
4. Print the black square with registration marks enabled on your laser printer directly from the Silhouette software.
Pro Tip: Change your printer settings to ensure you get the best print possible for foiling. I use the following settings: Resolution of 600 DPI, print settings of “text”, media type of “thick” paper. I also have the “improve toner fixing” setting selected. Some printers may also have a “density adjustment” you can increase to improve your print quality & subsequent foiling.
Pro Tip: For the best foil adherence possible, ensure your “toner save” printer setting is turned off.
5. Insert the page back into your printer’s paper feed tray in the appropriate orientation (ours is desired print side down, top of the page at the front of the printer) so the black squares will align on the front & back.
6. Print the same black square again (you can turn registration marks off for this print).
7. You should now have a design with a black square in the same location on the front & back of your paper. Foil both sides of the paper with your desired color of paper.
Pro Tip: Foil both squares at the same time. I tried foiling them separately & the first side got flaky running through multiple times. Use copy paper or the Glaminator transfer sheet to keep the foil in place on both sides when foiling.
Note: Sending the design through your printer twice may reduce how well the foil adheres to the paper. You may have to play with the settings a bit to ensure you get the best foil possible. My designs had minor flaking on one side, but it was unnoticeable once the flowers were rolled.
8. Once your design is foiled on both sides, place it on your cutting mat with the registration marks up.
9. Load into your cutting machine.
10. Ensure the black square is deleted from your design to prevent any extra cuts. Cut the rolled flower design using registration marks into your foiled paper. With registration marks enabled, this should ensure the design is cut exactly where you printed the black square, so the entire flower should be foiled once complete.
11. Carefully remove the cut foiled paper from your cutting mat.
12. Using your tweezers or rolling tool, roll your foiled paper flowers into flower shapes starting from the outside of the circle & working in.
13. Use hot glue or some sort of adhesive to adhere the middle of the flower to the designated “bottom” making sure to get it in exactly the shape you desire prior to the glue drying.
14. Once your flowers are assembled, line them up on your wood slice where you’d like them & glue them on with hot glue or a similar adhesive. & then, voila! Your very own metallic foiled, rolled flower wood slice design!
There are so many possibilities with this method! You can make small or large flowers or even combine sizes! You can put the beautiful, metallic foiled rolled flowers on other objects, too! I’m thinking cakes, shadow boxes, cards, even hair adornments for a wedding! So get out there & get foiling! I would love to see any projects you tackle, so be sure to tag @bysabrinamarie on Instagram on anything you make!