card design

Gemini FoilPress Cheers

I’ve had my head down working on my upcoming release for the Essentials by Ellen line, but I needed to congratulate a young lady on her recent graduation from a dental assistance program and I couldn’t help it—I had to foil the card I wanted to make for her. Used low profile dies and the Gemini FoilPress (you can see a how-to-video HERE).

This Sunburst die set by Hero Arts was perfect for the “popping” visual effect. LOVE!!! •all the heart eyes•

This design also called for more sequins than usual; looks so purdy with the foil, right?!

Thanks for stopping by today and hope your weekend has been splendid!

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DIY FOILED LETTERPRESS

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Letterpress has always been my favorite type of stationery—I adore the clean, white space, elegant simplicity, and the luxurious texture of the paper and the debossed images and text.

I’ve been searching for a long time to find a way to do this at home, without an actual press (which I have no room to store/operate anyway). I’ve tried lots (and LOTS) of different methods, but none of them really ever gave me the professional looking results I was hoping for. This has come the closest, and what I also find exciting is that it didn’t make me tear my hair out with lack-luster results. It’s FUN, I didn’t get frustrated, and holy crow, I wanna foil and letterpress ALL THE THINGS!!!

WIN!!! YASSSSSS!!! MAJOR WIN!!! •fist pump•

Can you hear the monkey clappin’????

Notes and suggestions for what I found worked for me are listed directly beneath the video. All supplies I used are listed at the end of the post.

BASIC INFO:

  • The Gemini FoilPress is designed specifically for use with the Gemini Junior; it is also compatible with the regular Gemini, if you use the Extender Plate (available separately). I don’t know if it works with a manual machine, i.e. the Big Shot because I haven’t tried and am unlikely to—the last thing I want to do is break or void the warranty on either machine.

  • The FoilPress uses THERMAL foil; this foil transfers images using a “hot foil stamping” method that requires heat and pressure. Thermal foils will also transfer with sticky mediums such as double-sided sticky tape, double-sided adhesive foam, sticky embossing powder, dries-tacky types of glues.

  • Toner reactive foils, such as iCraft Decofoil, Minc Foils, etc. perform as described; they require toner and heat to transfer (foil images). Toner foils will also transfer with sticky mediums such as double-sided sticky tape, double-sided adhesive foam, sticky embossing powder, dries-tacky types of glues. HOWEVER, these foils do NOT work with hot foil (metal) stamps (dies). Sidebar: The Minc is a heat laminator type machine and is designed to work with toner images, NOT hot foil stamps. Would I risk it? Nope.

  • The FoilPress comes with pretty much everything you need to get started, however, you may need your Gemini Junior Magnetic Shim and/or the Gemini Junior Metal Cutting Shim in some instances.

  • You can foil using the FoilPress on pretty much any paper surface, including card stock, letterpress paper, and vellum (results may vary; I haven’t tried vellum as of this writing). You can also foil with the FoilPress on other flat materials such as leather, thin wood veneers, acetate, cotton fabrics, ribbon. Non-paper surfaces will require multi-surface thermal foils; multi-surface thermal foils are not suitable for paper, according to Crafter’s Companion. I haven’t tested that personally, but I’ll take their word for it.

  • You can use ANY low profile dies to foil with the Gemini Foil Press and Gemini Junior so long as their maximum depth is no more than 1mm; any thicker could damage your machine and will void the warranty.

  • Crafter’s Companion advises against foiling with embossing folders; doing so will void the warranty.


NOTES & SUGGESTIONS:

  • Download the Material Matrix from Crafter’s Companion and keep it somewhere you can refer to it easily when foiling. The Manual is a good starting point and I encourage you to take a few minutes to read it.

  • Always use foil stamps design side up (when foiling low profile dies, place them blades up on the platform; you do not want to cut into the purple silicone heating pad).

  • Place foil pretty (colored) side against the foil stamp/die; the “ugly” side of the foil goes against your paper.

  • Keep in mind you are working backwards/in reverse order, so you won’t be able to see through the foil when placing your paper on top of it; a template like I show in the video may be helpful. Use the grid lines to help with planning your layout and to align things straightly.

  • Once you remove the heated platform from the base, leave it disconnected or use the top panel power button to shut off the heating element until you are ready to foil your next project; it doesn’t take long to reheat when you reconnect/power on the temp setting. If you keep it connected and constantly heating, you will decrease the longevity of the heating element, as well as end up with inconsistent results from overheating.

SANDWICHES:

Hot Foil Stamps/Low Profile Dies (as listed in the manual)-

  1. Stamp/Die design (or blades) UP

  2. Foil, pretty side down against the stamp/die

  3. Paper

  4. Top Plate (heat resistant plate)

Cut n’ Foil Stamps (Dies)* - Heat setting LOW, Timer 10 seconds

  1. Cut n’ Foil stamp (die) design UP

  2. Foil, pretty side down against the stamp/die

  3. Paper

  4. Gemini Junior Metal Cutting Pad

  5. One (1) card stock shim (I used 60# card stock; you can try 80#, but I will admit when I tried 2 shims, it was too much pressure for a crisp clean foil and cut.)

  6. Top Plate (heat resistant plate)

*With the Cut n’ Foil stamp I happened to be using in the video, I couldn’t get good results with the manual’s suggested sandwich nor the timing. Experiment to find your sweet spot, as every machine is calibrated slightly differently.

Hope you found this helpful and that it has you excited about the possibilities now available! This is not intended to be a fully comprehensive guide to the FoilPress—I’m just sharing what worked for me during my play time. OK? OK.

Let me know down below in the comments, if you’d like to see more FoilPress videos from me!

Cheers!

YOU WON MY HEART

I love the copper spot foiling on these X’s and O’s—I used my Zig Two Way Glue Pen to coat only parts of the letters to create a really modern/graphic kind of look. This only works if you allow the two-way glue to dry completely—if it’s “wet”, this doesn’t work. When the glue totally dries, it will be tacky to the touch; I just applied copper foil over the top, burnishing the ugly side of the foil sheets against the tacky adhesive with the pads of my fingertips and then 3D mounted the letters to my card front.

Customized the sentiment by using the Letterboard Alphabet Die Set—this works pretty spiffy if you bulk cut the letters ahead. I did a Hello, Monday video about that on the Ellen Hutson Channel; you can check that out HERE.

The wheels are turning with ideas for 3D mounting all kinds of different images within that stitched Tic Tac Toe grid—how fun is that?!

Happy New Year!

HANG ON

I’m such a tactile individual—I think that’s why the theme of hands really resonates with me. I talk with my hands, I have a tendency to hug people—even people I just met, which is not always a good thing if you don’t know what their personal space zone is—I love to reach out and touch fabrics, shiny and smooth surfaces… I do have my limits, as you well know: Inks/paints and anything gooey/messy. Raw meat. That last one is probably the hardest for me. The Mister, however, has no such aversion and will gladly fire up the grill when there’s meat around here. So, when I don’t feel like cooking dinner, you better believe I have some meat in the fridge to woo the Grill Master.

I digress…

Finished card measures 3.5 x 5” (a.k.a. 4-bar Note)

After die-cutting the hand from kraft card stock, I painted the nails with a Copic Marker and then folded the fingers around some knotted twine, using tiny pieces of foam adhesive to anchor the finger tips and the twine into place before gluing to my card front. The other end of the rope is secured on the inside with a piece of washi tape, but if you wanted to conceal the end, you can always make a “front”, then glue that down to a base card, sandwiching the twine in between.

I just had a thought, tho…. hmmmmmm. I will have to make it real and come back and share it. Sound like a good idea? •grin•

BTW, why, whY, WHY is that good ideas come when you’re supposed to be working on something else??? Happens to me every single time… •sigh•

Anyhoo, I also have a quick tip:

If your cutting pads are all marked up and leaving etch marks on the back side of your die cuts, try placing a piece of typing paper in between the card stock and the cutting pad before running your die through your machine; it can reduce or eliminate those dang etch marks, so you don’t have to grab a fresh cutting pad.


Hope your Christmas was peaceful, joyous, and found you in the company of family and friends. I had all that + meat. •wink• Good times.

LETTERBOARD BIRTHDAY

You know me. A card that makes me laugh is always going to be my favorite. Always!!! I figured out some fun hacks (a.k.a. tips & tricks) for this awesome Letterboard Die set—be sure to stop by the Ellen Hutson Blog on Dec. 24th because I have a video highlightin’ m’ trusty dusty hacks! LOL!

And, all that glorious rainbow confetti? I DIY’d it. •cheeky grin• Here’s a link to my video on YouTube: DIY Rainbow Tissue Paper Confetti. It works so awesome with the Confetti Flinger Die. Seriously, you gotta try it! Too much fun!!!

I’m really glad you stopped by today. Really, really.

:)