Hello card: Gold foiled

What:

I made myself wait before getting a Minc foiling machine. Firstly, to avoid just getting the latest toy because… toy! And secondly, I’m only ever likely to use it for card making and I’m a bit short of space, so the smaller version would suit my needs better. Of course, being in the UK means that we have to wait for things like this to make it over here, especially with electricals. The mini version of the Minc is now available and I have one and this is my first attempt at creating something with it.

How:

The first step was to find a font I liked for my hello. Trying to pick a font for anything is something that I can end up spending far too much time on, kind of like going into a bookshop, but far more frustrating. Luckily I quickly found Lobster, which is a great bold joined-up font, perfect for simple sentiments.

I printed it out on our laser printer — inkjet prints won’t work — and trimmed it down to size. The more solid a covering of toner you can get, the better the result will be when you apply the foil. I need to experiment with the printer to see how I can improve the quality of the print; the default settings are okay, but could be better.

The Minc is utter simplicity to use. Turn it on, choose the appropriate setting for the paper or cardstock you’re using (the instructions include a handy chart for the settings) and wait for it to heat up. Cut a piece of foil slightly larger than the area that you want to foil and lay it over the toner shiny side up, then place it inside the transfer folder (making sure that all the toner is covered by the foil otherwise the toner will end up on the transfer folder). All that’s left to do is run the folder, folded edge first, through the Minc.

I’m fairly happy with my first attempt. It’s not perfect, but I think that’s down to the quality of the print — I suspect that the default print settings don’t use as much toner as the foil needs for a completely smooth coverage. More experimentation is called for. I have just tracked down the manufacturer’s own driver for the printer (Brother HL-L2360DW), rather than the one the Mac has, and that seems to give more control over the print density, which will hopefully improve the results.

Not wanting to let a pretty foiled piece go to waste, I decided to see how well it would hold up to having Distress ink blended over it. And the answer is that it works really rather well.

I rounded the corners, mounted it onto a black card base and rounded those corners as well, and finished it off with a diagonal scattering of clear gems.

Now to try to resist the temptation to buy ALL THE FOIL!

Challenges:

Day 22 of The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Supplies:

• font:
  Impallari – Lobster
• colour:
  Distress ink pads – abandoned coral, festive berries
• foil:
  Heidi Swapp – Minc foil – gold
• embellishments:
  Kars – pearl adhesive stones – clear
• paper and card:
  Ryman – bright white card – 160gsm
  Papermill Direct – plain – black
• tools:
  Heidi Swapp – Minc mini
  We R Memory Keepers – ½″ corner chomper