I promised to share some tips for using the new foil products such as those from Deco-Foil and Heidi Swapp.
Just to recap, these foils are very thin material. The colour is on top and the back is a flat silver finish. You always want the coloured side UP when adhering to a project.
One of the ways you can use foil is with toner ink and a laminator or even an iron. Toner ink is the type of ink you'll find in a laser printer. An ink-jet printer will not work for this. If you're not sure what type of printer you have, you might be able to tell by your ink refills. If you're replacing small cartridges of ink, it's inkjet. A laser printer uses toner cartridges which are generally 8 or so inches long.
To use toner ink, simply print out the image you want to foil. Cut out the image, place foil on top, then set into your laminator's protective folder (or between a folded sheet of paper) and run through the laminator. If you don't have a laminator, carefully iron over the protective paper. This will work but you may need to experiment a bit with using the right amount of even pressure.
Now, cutting out images can be a "royal pain" so you can also print out entire sheets of toner, then punch/cut your images as desired. You can also buy sheets pre-filled with toner ink for this purpose. Both of these methods can get a little costly but there's another solution: make your own toner sheets!
I haven't tried these methods but I can't see any reason they wouldn't work.
There are links to two videos below. I've watched them both and it looks pretty easy. I think the method in the second video looks more promising. At least, that's the one I'd try first.
Here's the first video by Youtube member biblescraps:
This second video is by scrapinmaniac corner.
I looked for the ink on Amazon and it sells for less than $10 a bottle. I'm sure you can probably find it at Staples as well.
Both videos offer some ideas for foiling projects so do take a look. Then go play!
Don't be afraid to experiment. And if something doesn't work, remember; it's not the end of the world. Just start over and try again.
If you're just learning about the new Deco-Art Foil products, there are different ways to apply the foil to your projects. Basically, the thing to remember is that you need something that will "grab" your foil.
The easiest method is using a tacky surface. Scor-tape works wonderfully. So do glue pens like the Ziggy and Quickie brands. With the glues, you'll need to apply the product to your surface and let it dry. It will remain tacky to the touch. Then simply rub your foil (coloured side UP!) with your finger to adhere to the sticky surface.
Another product that will work for this is Elmer's rubber cement. This stuff smells STRONG so beware of that. It works nicely over a stencil and you'll need to wash your stencil off as soon as you remove it (and do that before the cement dries!).
I'm sure there are plenty of other adhesives that will work too. I just haven't played with them.
Why not take a day and play? Experiment with your products. Once you find what works for you, something like this is a great way to extend the use of the products you already have.
Some possibilities I see are using up different coloured chipboard letters (add glue or the toner paint you make to them, then add foil!), colouring diecuts, and just adding small decorative strips to pages that need a little more. Use different widths of tape to add interest to a border.
There are so many things you could do.
Do let me know if you make your own toner paint. And please share how YOU are using foil!