How to Use Foil Sheets in Card Making: The Texture Trick You Haven't Seen
If you make cards, you probably have foil sheets sitting in your stash right now. Laminate foil, hot plate foil, doesn't matter which. And you probably only use them one way: flat, smooth, laid over cardstock. That works, but it also limits you to whatever foil colors happen to be on the market that week.
I wanted more out of the supplies I already had. So I gave myself a challenge. I had featured a bundle that included an embossing folder, a stencil, and foil sheets, and I told my community I'd make a card using all three together. That challenge is where this technique came from.
Here's the process. Start with:
- A die cutting machine
- Foil
- Embossing folder
- Tissue tape (also called double sided adhesive tape or tear tape depending on the brand
- Cardstock
- Non-stick scissors
- Powder tool
Shop the supplies here.
Apply the tissue tape to the front of your cardstock and trim the excess from the edges. Expose the adhesive, then lay your foil over it carefully and smoothly, color side facing up. Trim the foil overhang, then center your foiled panel in the embossing folder. You can choose an embossed or debossed look depending on which side you use. Build the correct plate sandwich based on your machine's manufacturer guide, then roll it through once.
Only once. Running it back and forth more than that breaks down the plastic and pushes adhesive to the front, which leaves you with a sticky panel instead of a clean one.
Once it's through, carefully peel away the embossed cardstock panel, then carefully remove the plastic from the foil. You should be left with a textured foil panel and a nearly clear sheet of plastic.
If any spots of cardstock are exposed or tacky, take a clean piece of leftover foil and burnish it into the adhesive to patch it. If the whole panel feels slightly tacky, a powder tool neutralizes the stick. Use caution with darker or black foil, the powder can show and can be tricky to remove fully.
A 3D embossing folder gives a great result, but I have a feeling a standard or 2D folder might actually work better. The deeper texture of a 3D folder means the double sided tape can occasionally break through the thin foil. If that happens, the powder tool and a burnished patch of clean foil solve it.
The part I like most about this technique is that is gives us more use for our products. Pre-foiled papers only come in so many colors. Foil sheets give you far more options, and now you have a way to add texture on top of that color.
I shared this on a Facebook Live and the response told me it was worth writing up properly. People started sharing their own versions and asking how I got the look. That's usually my sign that something is worth teaching, not just showing once.
The black stripe on the left side of card was made with black foil and an embossing folder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you run foil through an embossing folder on a die cutting machine?
Yes. Apply the foil to prepared cardstock first with double sided tissue tape, then run the foiled panel through an embossing folder once. The result is textured foil instead of flat foil.
Why does my foil get sticky after embossing?
Running the panel through the machine more than once breaks down the plastic and pushes the adhesive to the front. Roll it through once to avoid this. Learn a little more about double sided tape here.
What embossing folder works best for foil texture?
A 3D folder gives strong texture, but a standard or 2D folder may hold up better since the deeper cuts in a 3D folder can push the tape through thinner foil.
How do you fix a sticky or exposed spot on a foiled panel?
Burnish a clean piece of leftover foil into the exposed adhesive to patch it, or use a powder tool to neutralize the tack. Use light pressure with dark or black foil, since the powder can be visible and hard to remove.
If you try this, I would love to see what you make. And if you have a stencil version you have been wanting to try, hold that thought. I have one coming.
Happy Crafting!