(Click on the pics to enbiggan)
Foiling--super hot, and I am not...
Well, let me explain a little more... It's a trend I am hot for, but not hot at. When the whole idea of foiling hand-stamped images hit the scene, I must admit, I was elated! I don't have a laser printer and the nearest FedEx/Kinko's was 20-25 min. away Besides, who wouldn't want to achieve that gorgeous look in a hand-made card? WITH STAMPS?! GIMME GIMME!!!
I've had a small 6" "pouch" laminator for years, and before I plunged too deep into foiling, I just bought two rolls of foil and tried the heat embossing method with my little, and "old" machine. It does not have controls so one heat temp is all ya' get.
I burned through an entire roll of foil, various clear embossing powders of different grinds and several days trying to make it work. Yes, days. When I get fixated on something, that's what I do. But, each time, no matter what trouble-shooting strategies I tried (typing paper carrier, no carrier at all, card stock layer, finer grind of embossing powder, even sticky embossing powder!), all I got was a hot mess of embossing powder and foil. No stunning, beautifully foiled images.
Thinking that perhaps my old machine just ran waaaaay too hot for the technique, I decided to order the Royal Sovereign Laminator. But, by the time it arrived, I had moved on to other methods of foiling, and the RSL went into the closet...
I satisfied my foiling desires with all the easy methods: Double-sided sticky tapes, die cutting double-sided adhesive foam, doodling and scribbling with a Zig Two Way Glue Pen--these all worked AWESOME for me and no machine was necessary.
Still, the idea of foiling my stamped images, sans laser printer/toner, beckoned to me... I recently broke open the seal on the RSL, got out my sticky embossing powder, and decided to give it another go.
The Royal Sovereign has two temperature settings and comes in two sizes (9" and 12"); with my machine, the lowest setting didn't seem to do the job, and the higher setting yielded results similar to my experiences with my old 6" machine--the one without any temperature controls.
I tried different types/thicknesses of paper, making different carriers out of copy paper, copy paper + parchment paper, scrapbook paper + parchment paper... Switched the heat setting and tried no carrier at all... Ultimately, I just couldn't get the look I was hoping for--either the foil wouldn't stick or the embossing powder combo just spread/smooshed too much and obliterated the details...
In a last ditch attempt to see if there was any other way conceivably possible to foil my stamped images, I decided to try this, because I happened to have it:
Cosmic Shimmer Flake & Glitter Glue. It works very well for adhering Gilding Flakes because it remains sticky/tacky once it dries--my hope was that it would hold the foil to the paper just enough to keep it from shifting/slipping and fuse the foil to the paper surface while going through the laminator.
NOTE: Whenever stamping with glue, be sure to wash/clean the stamps thoroughly immediately after use; it's much harder to clean off--sometimes impossible- if you leave the glue on the stamp for an extended period of time.
I usually scrub them first with Ultra Clean, and then also wash both the stamps and the acrylic mounts into a bowl of warm, soapy water, to remove any remaining residual glue. An old toothbrush works well for getting into the nooks and crannies.
My glue applicator tools get sealed in a ziploc bag and I mark them with washi tape so I know not to use them for ink.
As you'll see on the video, I used an ink blending tool and squeezed the glue onto the foam, spreading it evenly with the nozzle tip of the glue bottle, and then pounced it onto my stamp and then pressed it to my paper surface. I didn't worry about hurrying because I needed the glue to be completely dry so it would be tacky.
Then, I applied the foil transfer sheets, sandwiched it into a copy paper carrier and inserted into the laminator.
Through trial and error, I found that sending it through the laminator with the foil on top didn't stick nearly as well as flipping it over so the the foil was on the bottom and the card stock was on top.
The photo above is a comparison of results between using sticky embossing powder (left), and the Cosmic Shimmer Flake & Glitter Glue (right). While it's not "perfect", I was personally much happier with the results using the Glue method.
I did try foiling just with the glue, after allowing it to dry without sending it thru the laminator, but it seemed I got more even/consistent pressure, and better adhesion of the foil when I did use it.
There are several other glues that also dry "sticky/tacky" that I don't have yet but would like to try with this method, including:
- US ArtQuest Duo Embellishment Adhesive
- iCraft Deco Foil Liquid Transfer Adhesive (I tend to think this one might not require the laminator at all, as long as you allow it 30 min. to dry completely?)
- Indigo Blu Flitter Glue
I did try stamping with the Essential Glue Pad, carefully applying the foil transfer sheets and running it through the laminator. After stamping, however, the Essentials Glue Pad didn't seem to dry tacky like the Cosmic Shimmer Glue, so I had to be very careful not to shift/move the foil sheet once I placed it over the image. I liked this method for doing just a single small to medium sized image and working fairly quickly. It didn't work nearly as well if I was stamping the image repeatedly, across larger surfaces, like the side of my card below; the Glue Pad seemed to absorb down into the paper or dry "un-tacky" and by the time I got the whole thing ready and into the laminator, it was really hit and miss as to where the foil would actually bond to the card stock. The Cosmic Shimmer Glue performed much better in that regard.
For any areas that didn't get foiled, I used the Quickie Glue Pen to touch up those spots. It goes on blue, but dries clear and you do need to be patient and allow it to dry. And, yes, it does dry tacky so you can apply scrap pieces of foil to those areas.
Through all my experimenting, I ended up with a lot of leftover negative foil pieces; not wanting them to go to waste, I applied Xyron adhesive over the top of some water-colored paper scraps I had in my bin and then mounted the negative foil pieces over top, trimming off any overhang. As you can see, the watercolor shows through nicely--makes for a quick/easy card!
I used the glue method to foil this medium sized butterfly stamp in melon--I did fussy cut it after foiling, since I don't have the matching dies.
Now that there is a 6" Minc Foiling Machine available, and it has a variety of temperatures, I'm very curious to try my glue method with it to see if I can achieve even better foiling results!
Enjoy the video here in HD on our YouTube Channel!
Thanks for joining me today!
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