I am LOVING this foil technique that is popping up on Pinterest and my favorite blogs. It’s actually really easy but the results are so WOW!! All you need is: a laser printer, foil sheets, and a laminator. There are other ways to do this technique, but this is the way I did it.
First, print an image on card stock using your laser printer (I have a HP Laserjet CP1525). Toner is what makes this technique possible, so photo copiers would also work.
Next, lay a sheet of the Thermoweb Deco Foil (I found some at Hobby Lobby) on top of your printed image, shiny side up.
Third, place your card stock and foil into a folded piece of computer paper as a carrier for the laminator.
Then, run your paper through the laminator. (I found that I had to play with the settings on my laminator to get it to work. I chose the 6mil setting on mine.
Lastly, just peel off the foil and voila! It’s foiled!
Here are some cards I made using this technique. I have also experimented with colored card stock. My printer doesn’t accept overly thick card stock, so I used a thinner sheet of brown in the Thank You card below. It’s not a very smooth finish so the foil is a little rough looking, but it still looks very nice.
These are all images printed from My Digital Studio.
Here are 2 cards I made using the Stampin’ UP!Celebrate Today Photopolymer stamp set from the Occasions Catalog. They have the same basic layout and design, but I switched up the colors a bit. The first card uses the Polka Dot Embossing Folder on a Crumb Cake card stock base. TheBalloon Framelitscut out my Coastal Cabana balloon. In keeping with the polka dot theme, I stamped the dots from the stamp set on the balloon and topped them off with Crystal Effects for dimension. The “happy” is from the Hello You Thinlits and the “Birthday” is from Hooray It’s Your Day stamp set. I stamped it on Vellum with Chocolate Chip ink. A strip of Chocolate Chip card stock along the bottom and some Early Espresso Bakers Twine tied in a bow finish off the card.
The second card uses the Lucky Stars Embossing Folder, crumb cake and pink pirouette card stock. I stamped the stars/confetti on the balloon in Gold Encore ink, then added stars punched from Gold Glimmer Paper using the Confetti Stars Border Punch. The sentiment is from Hooray its Your Day, this time stamped in white craft ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The bakers twine is from the January 2015 Paper Pumpkin Kit.
I’ve recently discovered the talented Jennifer McGuire. I love watching her videos and perusing her blog. Her projects inspired me to experiment with Distress Inks, which I have never used before. I bought a small package of spots when they went on sale at Hobby Lobby last week. Tonight I decided to use them and made this card.
Overall, I’m very happy with how it turned out, but I wasn’t sure about the blue/green butterfly. I experimented with some other colors, which you can see below. Please help me finish my card and vote which butterfly looks best here!
So what do you think? Vote below.
 As for how I made the card, I used watercolor paper (Tim Holtz brand), and with the Ranger mini round ink blender, I blended 3 colors of Distress Inks: Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, and Peacock Feathers. Then, I sprayed some shimmer mist (made with 70% alcohol and shimmer paint) onto a craft sheet and using a paint brush, flicked the liquid all over the watercolor paper. I also did the same thing with plain water, which resulted in larger/lighter splotches.
The word “love” was handwritten in my “fake calligraphy” style on white card stock. Using the same 3 Distress Ink colors, I blended around the edges of the white card stock. Then, I matted the white card stock onto a piece of Stampin’ UP! Pool Party card stock, and another layer of white. That panel is attached to the card with foam tape.
For the butterfly, I stamped the image from Papillon Potpourri in Memento black ink. For the blue/green butterfly, I used the same 3 Distress Inks I used for the background. The other two were made with Distress Ink also–Mustard Seed/Picked Raspberry. I cut out the butterfly using the Elegant Butterfly Punch, then attached it to the card with a stampin dimensional.
