Tooling Foil Rubbing Plates - Project #150

Time: 1-2 Class Periods
Difficulty: Moderate
Cleanup: Soap & Water

Materials:

Tooling Foil

Wonderfoam or Foam Board Sheets

Graphite Crayons

Tracing Paper

Baren

Scissors

Pencil

Ball Point Pen

Tape

White Paper

Crayons or Colored Pencils

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Use tooling foil to make a customized rubbing plate! This project also has an instructional video available!

Step 1
Draw a 6x9" design on 9x12" sheet of tracing paper.
Step 2
Cut out a 6x9" piece of ArtEmboss tooling foil and tape it on top of your design on the tracing paper, so that the foil can't move. Flip over, and place the two sheets, tooling foil side down, on top of a sheet of WonderFoam, foam board or other craft foam. Trace the drawing with a ball point pen. Press firmly, but don't poke holes. The foam will allow the pen to tool the metal. Remove the tape and separate the tracing paper and tooling foil.
Step 3
Tape the finished toiling foil plate, raised side down, to a 9x12" sheet of white paper, then flip over so the tooling foil is on the back. Generously cover a baren with graphite crayon. Use the baren to print the design by moving it in a circular pattern across the surface of the paper. The baren allows the design to become visible without making the background dirty.
Step 4
With the foil still taped to the back of the paper, enhanced the raised lines by rubbing them with a graphite stick to make them darker. Then remove the tape and tooling foil, and fill in the background. You can continue with graphite for a black and white print, or add colored details with crayons. Optional: Skip using a baren in Step 3, and rub with crayons instead of graphite. Then remove the tape and tooling foil, and fill in the background with more colors for a vibrant print.