Diana Trout's blog

Hot Foiling with Thermoweb

Oh Joy. A new computer. I still have lots of odds and ends to attend to. I'll worry about that tomorrow (or the next day). After spilling a full cup of (perfectly good!) tea into my computer last week, I was forced to deal with getting a new computer set up. Luckily, I had a hand me down Mac. Newer than the wet one.

For now, let's have a little Foiling Fun. Check out the video for some details.  

Thermoweb asked if they could send me some product. This was an easy question to answer, their products are top drawer. Ever since I opened my first jar of glitter a couple of years ago, I haven't looked back and foiling is just delicious. I have a Royal Sovereign laminator (geek) and that's the laminator Thermoweb uses to test their products.

These are some of Gina K's products (above) I was really in love with the bright happy colors. The Rebekah Meir line is more subdued - perhaps a bit more to my tastes but since I make cards for so many friends and family members, it's really nice to have stuff that's out of my box. 

Things you need to hot foil:

Toner Photocopy Prints. The toner heats up and that's what the foil sticks to. 
Foil
Parchment Paper or printer paper
Laminator - I would try whatever you have (or have access to). If it laminates, it should foil. (Ways to justify buying a laminator are numerous. I actually use it a fair amount for my little business and things around the house. They aren't very expensive.)

You can get toner copies made at Fed Ex, Kinko's, etc. And they have nice heavy cardstock. 

Watch video on YouTube

I didn't show the laminator in the video. It's a simple process 

Preheat your Laminator for about 15 minutes.

Fold the carrier sheet in half and open
Lay the toner copy (art) to be foiled on the right side of the fold
Lay the foil on top of the art with the PRETTY side UP, yes. Pretty side up, because you want the pretty side up when it's stuck to your artwork.
Refold the paper. 
Now you have a sandwich with a folded on the left.

(Wow, LOOK! A bonus shot of my beautiful toes.)

 

Insert the folded edge into the laminator. It will suck the sandwich and roll it out the other end. 

Let it cool for a moment and open your package!!! Oh my. All ready to be colored in with markers. 

Here's a card I made using one of Gina K's Foil Mates. They are a pretty cool product that has loads of papers and sentiments, etc. You'll see more in the video. 


I think my Aunt Betty will really like this card. 

Here are a couple of drawings that you can print out on cardstock and either print or copy with toner.

View this photo Single Flower

View this photo Acorn

I hope you enjoyed this project today. You can use these images but, naturally, they are not for resale. I know that I should have some copyright info but darn PicMonkey isn't working. So, right. Don't sell them, OK? Thanks

Check out my online foiling class here. None of the techniques in the class need a laminator. 

Here are some affiliate links. If you do any holiday crafts, this is a good time to try some foiling. I'm making placecards for Thanksgiving with the acorn. (Love acorns).

Affiliate Links (I get a percentage of the sale and thank you.)

 

A Covey of Cards

For Valentine's Day, I decided to challenge myself by making 12 cards; one for each household in my family. This is a re-post from last year. There is another fun Pop Up Woven Heart card video linked down below. 

I designed the card in a thumbnail and then prepared all of the pieces of my card.

 I chose a piece of art, reduced it in size, and printed a bunch onto good paper.

Found a quote and printed it on vellum (Download With love.text).

I piled all of the pieces into a basket so that I could put it in a central location and put everything together in snippets of time. I'm not very good on follow through on these things. But that's the challenge.

 Here's the video ... 

Let's see if they get mailed *by Feb 8 or 9. Can I do it? What are you betting?  Are you making cards for Valentine's Day? How do you go about making multiples? This is a re-post from last year. There is another fun Pop Up Woven Heart card video linked down below. I made the deadline on this card :)

Related articles

Reorganizing My Space: Reclamation Part 2

Acorns All Around

Hey gang, I've been busy settling the odds and ends of business and home before my surgery tomorrow. Recovery is about two weeks, though I'm sure to be up and around before then. I wanted to share these sweet acorns as a free digital stamp. Find them at the bottom of the post. 

Coloring these is super fun and the tips in the video apply to any dye inks such as Tombow and Distress. I use colored pencils in the same way. You can also print the acorns on a laser printer or toner copier and send them through the Minc machine (or laminator). See this post. 

I hope that you'll draw lots of acorns and take artistic license with theses little gems! Enjoy

download:

Curvy Acorn
Shingled Roof
Loop Lines

I hope this works ok. This is the first time I've done it. Fingers Crossed :)

Here's some supplies mentioned 

 

 

Zig CLEAN COLOR 12 set Real Brush RB-6000AT	Tombow Dual Brush Pens	Tim Holtz Distress Markers CLUTTERED CELLAR Set Ranger TDMK34919	Tim Holtz Distress Markers COUNTY FAIR Set Ranger TDMK33219	Heidi Swapp - MINC Collection - Christmas - 6 x 6 - Foil Transfer Folder
Heidi Swapp - MINC Collection - Starter Kit - 6 Inch Mini Foil Applicator	Therm O Web - iCraft - Deco Foil - 6 x 12 Transfer Sheet - Pink Melon - 5 Pack	Therm O Web - iCraft - Deco Foil - 6 x 12 Transfer Sheet - Rose Gold - 5 Pack	Therm O Web - iCraft - Deco Foil - 6 x 12 Transfer Sheet - Rose Gold - 5 Pack	Therm O Web - iCraft - Deco Foil - 6 x 12 Transfer Sheet - Rainbow - 5 Pack
Prismacolor Colored Pencils

InLinkz.com

Related articles

Doodle Flowers #Love Summer Art

Fake Out Painting (with Distress Inks) Tutorial

About Nothin' in Particular

Taming the Critic with Clouds

This month's Taming the Critic post is about free writing (and yes, I can hear y'all groaning out there.) 

Here's your mission: print out a few copies of the Clouds picture (pdf is linked below). Sit down with your favorite pen and write. Whatever is on your mind can be your starting point. *Nothing* could also be just fine. Write for 20 minutes straight through, no thinking. Just spill the beans. Julia Cameron suggests starting with "I don't know what to write." Thoughts will tumble into your mind. Write big and sloppy. Pay no attention to grammar or spelling

Here's what your printout will look like

For instance: I've been thinking about altering some clothes. I just can't seem to let go of my fear of messing them up so I'm procrastinating. Our minds get clouded and it's time for clarity.  

 Why Am I Procastinating?

Free writing is theraputic. Fold those papers up, put them in an envelope marked "PERSONAL and PRIVATE." Although people rarely take the time to read someone's writing, especially when it is sloppy.

If you like origami, here is a little video that shows how to make an envelope from a single sheet of paper. I wrote on the back of my papers and folded them into an envelope. Like Fort Knox. 

I wrote on the front of my papers too. I folded them all up and put them into a bowl. You could put them in your journal.

Face your critic. He/she is probably very familiar and less scary than you think. Have a great weekend.
xo - Diana 
Download Clouds journal page

Self Care; Finish This Journal Page

A journal page for you to print out and finish. 

After reading your responses to the Self-Care post, I wonder... how do you think we can slowly change our ways and give better messages to our daughters?

So for your journaling enjoyment, here is a journal page for you to download and print.  There is space to write and finish in anyway that you'd like. Perhaps on the topic of self-care? Write, color with markers, tear into pieces and glue back together. 

PS: the word "bloom" at the side is from one of Keri Smith's books. 

Download Bloom, Printable, DianaTrout