Crafting around: Modpodge glue

I have just discovered and love Modpodge glue. It sticks virtually any paper material onto any surface: ceramic, glass, etc., and dries clear. For mothers' day, we stuck photos of ourselves onto tiny glass bottles, decorated with coloured paper and smeared Modpodge all over. Voila! 

Another time, I Modpodged shiny Japanese print paper onto a plain glass bottle. The result's not bad either.

Crafting around: painting on foil

Crayola manufactures wonderful felt-tip pens and papers that produce all sorts of special colour effects. My old favourite were the "Over-writers" that let you write one colour over another. There are colourless pens that magically colour in a picture in all different colors when rubbed against the picture. Our latest purchase 'Colour Explosion Metallic' create metallic colors on special black paper.

I don't know the chemistry behind the special effects but have found a fun and (cheaper) way to approximate the effect by painting on foil. Simply paint a thin layer of poster paint on the foil, wait till it is semi-dried, then use a cotton bud to scratch out a picture! You can also use toothpicks or more pointy objects so long as you are careful not to puncture the foil.