Alcohol Ink and Foil Charms

A few years ago, I used a batch of Tim Holtz acrylic charms that I picked up on sale somewhere and made some necklaces using alcohol ink. The charms worked great with the ink, but like most alcohol ink projects on glass or plastic, the ink remains translucent. This is really pretty in a candle holder or vase, but in jewelry it means that whatever shirt you're wearing suddenly becomes part of the pattern. I found a pretty easy solution for this issue with alcohol ink decorated glass gems: aluminum foil tape (it's the tape that's actually used on duct work and is available at most hardware stores). Adding foil tape to the back turns the gem both opaque and shimmery and it covers and protects the ink. And, the foil comes in rolls with a sticky back with paper--it's basically a tinfoil sticker. You can cut it with a scissors, and it's pretty easy to work with. So, when I found my stash of acrylic charms, I knew exactly what project to try with them next.

So I got out my alcohol inks, craft mat, and applicator with felt. I chose Valencia orange, Raspberry pink, and Mermaid teal to start.

I put a couple drops of the teal color on one side of my applicator and stamped it across my plastic charms. Then I put a couple drops of the orange and pink on the other side of the felt and stamped it on the charm to fill it in. There was enough blue in the green that the colors didn't turn too brown when they mixed.

I kept stamping and filled a bunch of charms with color. I set them aside to dry for a few minutes. They needed to be dry enough to handle--so at least 10 or 15 minutes of dry time is needed. Then I got out my foil tape and a small sharp scissors.

The square charms could pretty much just be cut to size and trimmed along the rounded edges afterward, but it worked better for the round charms to trace the shape onto the foil with a toothpick or skewer. Then cut the shape out, peel the tape off, and stick it onto the charm.

It's hard to get the shape exactly right and even harder to get the sticky (and fairly thin) foil on there straight, so you may have some overlap or general crookedness. I carefully trimmed off as much excess foil as I could with a scissors.

Then I used my toothpick to poke through the hole in the charm. Then I used the other end of the toothpick to smooth the foil into the hole. I finished the whole thing off by rubbing the foil tape down along all of the edges and burnishing with my fingernail if necessary.

I was really pleased with how shiny they turned out. The hardest part of the project was trimming the tape and getting it on straight.

The foil will indent a bit if you scratch it with the edge of your nail or something similar, but seems pretty sturdy. It might tear if caught/scratched with something very hard or pointy, so wear with care. I strung them up with some simple hemp cord. I made them long enough to slip over my head so I could just tie the cording in a knot.

It's hard to see in the photos just how silver these appear in person--they really shine! I can't wait to wear these!