Creating With Foil, Stamps and Glue....No Fancy Machine Required!

 If you've spent any amount of time in the crafty world, you've probably heard all about the new foil adhering machines such as Minc.  Heidi Swapp came out with one last year,

( Heidi Swapp - MINC Collection - Starter Kit - 12 Inch Foil Applicator With Transfer Folder, Foil and Tags )

and Anna Griffin just released one in her line of products as well.  Many of these inventive tools are designed to make our crafty lives easier, but they can be pricey.

Today, I'm going to share with you how to achieve similar results, but on a budget friendly scale that won't break your bank account. 

First, let me share this video with you from my super awesome crafty friend, Rachel Kleinman.

She shared this technique which inspired me to give it a try, and I know it will inspire you as well.  I'll be adding a couple things that you won't find on the video so be sure and scroll down for all the tips and technique.  Be sure and show Rachel a little love by giving her a thumbs up or comment on her YouTube video, as well.

 

Now that you've seen Rachel's techniques, let me share my experience.

What you need:

- a stamp (leaf stamp from So Suzy Stamps)

- pasty glue (not clear)

- a bowl with warm water and soap

- soft toothbrush *optional

-Ranger Ink - Foil Sheets - Brights - 10 Sheets

-bone folder knife

- We R Memory Keepers - Crafter's Art Knife or flat blade tool

- 

American Crafts - 12 x 12 Cardstock Pack - 60 Sheets - White

- Ranger Ink - Inkssentials - Ink Blending Tool - For Ink Application and Blending

- craft hand wipes *optional (Crafter's Essentials)

To begin, I chose to stamp my image onto cardstock that I had already watercolored, which adds additional coloring under the foil stamped image. 

I tried to use clear glue.  Epic fail.  First, I applied way too much, directly onto the stamp.  You need a pasty glue which gives more texture, so I chose The Rubber Café Scrap Happy Glue which I picked up at the Scrapbook Expo last year.

For me, it worked better to squirt glue onto my craft mat, get it into my blender pad, then apply it directly to my stamp.  Work quickly so the glue doesn't dry before stamping and also, so that the cardstock doesn't come off on your stamp.

**Get that stamp into the warm, soapy water immediately after you've stamped!  I went ahead and stamped 2 of the leaf images, before soaking.  You don't want to ruin your stamp so let it soak immediately, along with your blending pad and tool.  Take the pad off your tool for soaking.

I used some good quality cardstock (American Craft) and didn't have any problems with paper peeling.  It looked like the image didn't properly stamp but it did so don't let appearances fool you.  Go ahead and lay your craft foil down and begin applying with your bone folder tool.

 

Keep scraping until you're satisfied that you've gotten all of your image transferred.  Lift your foil to peek at it, if you need to.  This process takes just a few minutes.  Use your craft knife to gently remove/scrape any stray pieces of foil from your cardstock.  (Isn't this gorgeous?!)

Now, it's super important to get your stamp clean.   Take your soaked stamps and go wash them some more with warm, soapy water.  Use a soft tooth brush if you need to.  I swear by the Crafter's Essentials Easy Clean hand wipes.  I use these all the time to not only clean my ink stained hands, but my craft mat and stamps as well.  It cleans my stamps like a dream, so I went ahead and used these as an extra pre-caution to make sure my stamps were like new again.  Of course, they work like a charm!  (Bonus tip - tear in half for smaller jobs and extend your supply.)

 You can find out more about the Crafter's Essentials Hand Wipes, here:

http://www.craftersessentials.com/index.html

or purchase/locate dealer here:

http://www.leeproducts.com/Crafts_Easy-Clean.aspx

As you can see, you can absolutely create foil images without the aid of an expensive tool.  It does take a little extra time and elbow grease, but we crafters are built on creativity and inventiveness, right?  Get busy and give this a try.  I'd love to hear about your experience. 

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#foil #minc #annagriffin #heidiswapp #leeproducts #craftersessentials #easyclean #americancrafts #wermemorykeepers #wrmk #ranger #sosuzystamps