For this fun speed challenge, I tried thinking outside the tinfoil box. I love
using tinfoil for art projects and everyday hacks, but I’ve always wondered if I could create a 3D cursive banner with it. My daughter's birthday is just a round the corner, so I thought I'd give it a try. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! So whatever event you have coming up, consider trying this easy and inexpensive process to create your very own tinfoil banner!

Step 1: You Will Need

2 rolls of tinfoil 75 ft each (You need approx 115 ft total)
Silver Duct tape
Scissors
Printed words/letters
Clear fishing line (Optional for hanging)

Step 2: Measure Up

This banner is about 7 ft across, and each letter is roughly 8 inches tall. For each letter, you need 2 ft of tinfoil, multiplied by 4 (because you will be layering 4 times)
This means you need 8 ft of tinfoil per letter. This includes spaces between letters.
Happy Birthday contains 13 letters. 8ft X 13 = 104ft plus 10 ft for wiggle room
You will use roughly 114ft of tinfoil for this project.

Step 3: Create Tinfoil Rods

The idea of this cursive banner is for it to be a continuous, flowing piece of word art. This is best achieved if at least three letters at a time are made out of the same piece of tinfoil. To do this, create 4, 7ft rods of twisted foil, and make roughly 3 letters with each piece.

For each rod:

Roll out 7 ft of tin foil, shiny side down on a flat surface
Lay an additional three layers on top
Roll tightly inward, up and down the length of the tinfoil, until you have a rod
The rod will be about an inch and 1/2 thick in diameter

Step 4: Pattern

Print out an image of the cursive lettering for reference.
Print at least the first letter as a starting point as well
Print the first letter about 8 inches tall
Optionally, you could print all of the letters for an exact pattern to follow. I preferred eyeballing it.

Step 5: Follow the Pattern

Follow along the lettering, bending and twisting to achieve the right look.

Wherever there is a connection, turn the lettering over, and duct tape the connection together.

Step 6: Complete Your Words

Each rod used will make about three letters. This banner was made up of:

1st rod : hap

2nd rod: py-b

3rd rod: irth

4th rod: day

Connect your word fragments together with silver duct tape, to create the entire banner. Cut off any additional foil.

Step 7: Hang Your Banner

I chose to hang my banner with fishing line from the ceiling, but it could be hung in many other ways as well.

Attach the line to the banner in at least 4 spots, to create balance.

Attach the line to the ceiling using eye hooks.

Step 8: Add Tinfoil Decor Elements

To tie the tinfoil banner into your party decor, you can use tinfoil as a wrapping for gifts, as well as a beautiful confetti!

To make confetti:

layer 8X10 sheets of tinfoil, between alternating pieces of paper (this is to avoid sticking)
cut 1 inch wide strips
Cut each strip into small squares
From here you can pick out the foil bits, or keep them mixed with the paper

Step 9: Enjoy Your Creation!

I can't wait to use this banner for my daughter's birthday! It turned out better than I could have imagined. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much I enjoyed sharing it.

Keep making makers!