Over the weekend, we received several inches of really powdery, sparkly snow. It is one of my favorite kinds of snow. It sparkles in the sun light, the moon light and the yard lights. I really enjoy looking at it. I also felt like crafting, but you can’t see snow from our bonus room. So I decided that I would foil some backgrounds in the kitchen, so I could enjoy the beautiful view. I don’t use my laminator anywhere else, I am worried I will damage something. FYI, my other favorite kind of snow is the melting kind.
I used Deco Foil Transfer Gel and Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo. In all the photos, the left background is the Duo and the right background is the transfer gel. I wanted to see which gel worked best. They both worked great, I just needed to figure out my process to get the best results. All of the backgrounds are from Catherine Pooler. I used some Deco Foil, Gina K and Heidi Swapp foils for these backgrounds.
To apply the mediums, I used the very inexpensive and disposable make up sponge. I pounced the make up sponge in the jar and then pounced the medium inside the lid. I then took my Scrapbook.com applicator and pounced it in the lid to get the gel onto the applicator.
To apply, I would pounce the applicator on the background. Depending on what kind of look I wanted, I would also smooth it across. If I wanted a more distressed/not perfect look, I just pounced (diagonal stripes – Catherine Pooler’s Peppermint Stick and cable knit sweater Catherine Pooler’s Sweater Weather backgrounds). If I wanted a smoother, more completely foiled look, I would pounce the product on then smooth it across (Love Note and Music Notes backgrounds). I had my cardstock in my Misti and stamped each background using my Misti. It worked beautifully!
I learned the the Transfer Gel Duo gets sticky quickly. A couple of backgrounds stuck to the stamps if I did not use a nice amount of product or if I did not work quickly. I was really happy with Deco Foil and Gina K foil results using my Royal Sovereign laminator. Heidi Swapp foil was not made for that laminator. All foils worked great with the Transfer Gel Duo and running them through my 12 year old Big Shot. I washed my backgrounds in warm, soapy water and they cleaned up beautifully.
To finish off some of the backgrounds, I inked over them. I have to say, the foil stood up to my inking. There were a few, tiny flakes that came off, but it did not ruin how the foil looked at all. Below are the inked backgrounds.
As you can see, the foil is still intact. On the firstcard panel, the cardstock was already red. I added Catherine Poolers Rockin’ Red ink in the middle and Cranberry Fizz around the edges. For the pink, I used It’s A Girl in the middle and Pucker Up around the edges.
For the rainbows, I used Cathing Rays, Pucker Up, Flirty Fuchsia, Grape Crush and Suede shoes on the stripes and Cathching Rays, In The Park, All That Jazz and Suede Shoes on the dots.
I used blue cardstock and left it as is on the first cable knit sweater and added It’s A Girl for the pink. I love how they look!
I do recommend the Transfer Gel Duo over the regular Transfer Gel, if you need to pick one. The foil adherence was about the same, but you can use any foil with the Duo and you do not need heat.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy your week!
Patty
The Quiet Sister 