Multifunctional Aluminium Foil

You've invited half the neighborhood over for dinner, but don't have a bowl big enough to toss that much salad. Don't panic. Just line the kitchen sink with aluminum foil and toss away!

Want to lock in the oven-fresh warmth of your homemade rolls or breads for a dinner party or picnic? Before you load up your basket, wrap your freshly baked goods in a napkin and place a layer of aluminum foil underneath. The foil will reflect the heat and keep your bread warm for quite some time.

Keep youngsters from making a mess of their clothes or your house by wrapping the bottom of an ice-cream cone (or a wedge of water-melon) with a piece of aluminum foil before handing it to them.

Is your silverware looking a bit dull these days? Try an ion exchange, a molecular reaction in which aluminum acts as a catalyst. All you have to do is line a pan with a sheet of aluminum foil, fill it with cold water, and add two teaspoons of salt. Drop your tarnished silverware into the solution, let it sit for two to three minutes, then rinse off and dry.

Don't have a scrub pad? Crumple up a handful of aluminum foil and use it to scrub your pots.

Are you baking a bubbly lasagna or casserole? Keep messy drips off the bottom of the oven by laying a sheet or two of aluminum foil over the rack below. Do not line the bottom of the oven with foil; it could cause a fire.

Here's a simple way to get more heat out of your old cast-iron radiators without spending one cent more on your gas or oil bill: Make a heat reflector to put behind them. Tape heavy-duty aluminum foil to cardboard with the shiny side of the foil facing out. The radiant heat waves will bounce off the foil into the room instead of being absorbed by the wall behind the radiator. If your radiators have covers, it also helps to attach a piece of foil under the cover's top.

As any parent of a potty-trained youngster knows, accidents happen. When they happen in bed, however, you can spare the mattress -- even if you don't have a plastic protector available. First, lay several sheets of aluminum foil across the width of the mattress. Then, cover them with a good-sized beach towel. Finally, attach the mattress pad and bottom sheet.

Sometimes a worn spot adds to the charm of an old mirror; sometimes it's a distraction. You can easily disguise small flaws on a mirror's reflective surface by putting a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side facing out, on the back of the glass. To hold the foil in place, attach it to the backing behind the mirror or to the frame with masking tape. Don't tape it to the mirror itself.

What can you do with those clean pieces of leftover foil you have hanging around? Use them to sharpen up your dull scissors! Smooth them out if necessary, and then fold the strips into several layers and start cutting. Seven or eight passes should do the trick. Pretty simple, huh?

To clean your jewelry, simply line a small bowl with aluminum foil. Fill the bowl with hot water and mix in one tablespoon of bleach-free powdered laundry detergent (not liquid), such as Tide. Put the jewelry in the solution and let it soak for one minute. Rinse well and air-dry. This procedure makes use of the chemical process known as ion exchange, which can also be used to clean silverware.

To slide big pieces of furniture over a smooth floor, place small pieces of aluminum foil under the legs. Put the dull side of the foil down -- the dull side is actually more slippery than the shiny side.

Looking for an easy way to clean the ashes out of your fireplace? Place a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil across the bottom of the fireplace or under the wood grate. The next day -- or once you're sure all the ashes have cooled -- simply fold it up and throw it away.

After the last steak is brought in, and while the coals are still red-hot, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the grill to burn off any remaining foodstuffs. The next time you use your barbecue, crumple up the foil and use it to easily scrub off the burned food before you start cooking.

To keep meat drippings off your barbecue coals, fashion a disposable drip pan out of a couple of layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Shape it freehand, or use an inverted baking pan as a mold (remember to remove the pan once your creation is finished). Also, don't forget to make your drip pan slightly larger than the meat on the grill.

Don't feel like lugging a frying pan along on a camping trip? Form your own by centering a forked stick over two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Wrap the edges of the foil tightly around the forked branches but leave some slack in the foil between the forks. Invert the stick and depress the center to hold food for frying.

Brighten up the electrical lighting in your backyard or campsite by making a foil reflector to put behind the light. Attach the reflector to the fixture with a few strips of electrical tape or duct tape -- do not apply tape directly to the bulb.

When you iron clothing, a lot of the iron's heat is sucked up by the board itself -- requiring you to make several passes to remove wrinkles. To speed things up, put a piece of aluminum foil under your ironing board cover. The foil will reflect the heat back through the clothing, smoothing wrinkles quicker.

An iron-on patch is an easy way to fix small holes in clothing -- but only if it doesn't get stuck onto your ironing board. To avoid this, put a piece of aluminum foil under the hole. It won't stick to the patch, and you can just slip it out when you're finished.

Is starch building up on your clothes iron and causing it to stick? To get rid of it, run your hot iron over a piece of aluminum foil.

To keep hungry insects and slugs away from your cucumbers and other vegetables, mix strips of aluminum foil in with your garden mulch. As a bonus benefit, the foil will reflect light back up onto your plants.

Mice, rabbits, and other animals often feed on the bark of young trees during winter. A cheap and effective deterrent is to wrap the tree trunks with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil in late fall. Be sure to remove the foil in spring.

Are the birds eating the fruit on your trees? To foil them, dangle strips of aluminum foil from the branches using monofilament fishing line. Even better, hang some foil-wrapped seashells, which will add a bit of noise to further startle your fine-feathered thieves.

To give plants grown from seeds a healthy head start, line a shoe box with aluminum foil, shiny side up, allowing about two inches of foil to extend out over the sides. Poke several drainage holes in the bottom -- penetrating the foil -- then fill the box slightly more than halfway with potting soil, and plant the seeds. The foil inside the box will absorb heat to keep the seeds warm as they germinate, while the foil outside the box will reflect light onto the young sprouts. Place the box near a sunny window, keep the soil moist, and watch 'em grow!

Help plant cuttings grow strong and uncluttered by starting them in a container covered with a sheet of aluminum foil. Simply poke a few holes in the foil and insert the cuttings through the holes. There's even an added bonus: The foil slows water evaporation, so you'll need to add water less frequently.

Tear off a length of heavy-duty aluminum foil, crimp up the edges, and you've got a ready-to-use palette for mixing paints. If you want to get a little fancier, cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of a palette, complete with thumb hole, and cover it with foil. Or if you already have a wooden palette, cover it with foil before each use and then just strip off the foil instead of cleaning the palette.

Paper punches are a common tool used by scrappers there are many different ways you can use a craft punch. Scrapbook craft punches come in many shapes and sizes. These little tools often become dull or may get stuck when you are trying to punch through certain papers. Here is how to sharpen your scrapbook craft punches in order to keep them in working condition so you can use them for all of your decorating needs.... Instructions

It is a cheap medium to work with, supplies being obtained freely from the wrappers of sweets, chocolates, biscuits, cigarettes, and other articles. If one prefers to use new foil, it may be obtained quite cheaply, and there is no waste at all.

Pictures of your own design, calendars, trays, advertising signs and firescreens are but a few of the articles that can be made in a wide range of patterns and colors. Materials required are few, and consist of a piece of glass, the size of the article being made, cardboard, Indian ink, photographic paste, and passe partout binding..... Read more

Cut tin foil into strips about 4-5" long and 2-3" wide. Fold lengthwise, or just crinkle and twist. Make a loop and twist ends together. Link the next strip through and twist ends together. Continue linking until the garland is long enough to drape nicely on your tree. For added sparkle, attach lightweight decorations or colored paper to links.

The Liberty Bell is one of our country's patriotic symbols that stand the test of time. Preschoolers are eager learners so why not encourage them to learn about our wonderful country while making a fun, educational preschool craft! Gather up a few supplies, read the definition of 'liberty' and make this Liberty Bell educational craft... Instructions

This unusual fishing game is simple to assemble and great fun to play. And you won't have to worry about pulling poor live fish out of the water.... Instructions

Celebrate Father's Day by making your dad feel like royalty! Your father can be a king for the day with this easy, fun project... Instructions

Unlike your average tin men, these foil characters have plenty of heart. All it takes is a pinch here and there to make them strike any pose your child likes... Instructions

Rainsticks are ceremonial musical instruments used to invoke the rain spirits. They are made by people who live in the deserts of northern Chile. In Chile, rainsticks are traditionally made from dead cactus tubes with hundreds of cactus spines hammered into the tube. Tiny lava pebbles cascade gently through the tube, sounding much like rain.... Instructions

Brighten dark corners with a holiday tree made from foil-wrapped chocolate kiss candies. Pretty to look at and simple to make, chocolate kiss trees are an easy, kid-friendly holiday craft. Toothpicks anchor shiny Hersheys-brand kisses to styrofoam cones, while bright-colored foil makes it easy to create stripes or patterns... Instructions

Make the Magic Wand Craft with your kids, and then watch them play as if they have magic powers. With a wave of the magic wand you can become a magician or even a fairy godmother.... Instructions

This is SUCH a fun craft for young children to do. There's something about shiny little scales that just cheer my 2 year old daughter right up! Our rainbow fish has a permanent place of honor on the refrigerator... Instructions