Hi there, it’s Seeka here and today I’m sharing a tropical card featuring a foil-pressed background.  Before we get started with how I made this card, don’t forget that the July challenge is going on. This month’s theme is Christmas in July!

For my card today I got out my Gemini Foilpress machine which uses a combination of heat and pressure to transfer foil onto cardstock.  This machine is specifically made to be used with the Gemini Junior die cutting machine, but there are other foiling machines available that don’t require having a Gemini Junior.  The GoPress and Foil machine is the other option I’m aware of.

With the Foilpress plugged in and prepped at the Medium setting, I centered the Leaves & Vines Fancy Die over an A2-sized piece of navy cardstock.  Holding the die and cardstock together, I flipped them over and paced them onto the heating plate, making sure to place them aligned to the grid.  Note that the cutting side of the die was facing UP.  Then I removed the cardstock, set the timer for 15 seconds, pressed the start button, and waited for the beep.  At the beep, I placed a piece of Gemini Rose Gold Papercraft Foil over the die, dull finish facing up.  Then I used the grid as a guide to replace the cardstock in the exact same location it started in.  I placed the top plate over the cardstock and ran the sandwhich through my Gemini Junior.

When I removed the foil, the beautiful pattern of the die was pressed and foiled into the cardstock.  It’s so fun to peel away the foil and see the magic revealed!

I used a Misti to stamp a toucan from the Hello Toucan stamp set in Unicorn pigment ink onto a scrap piece of the same navy cardstock. I used this white ink simply so I could see the lines on the navy cardstock while I colored. Using  Polychromos colored pencils, I colored in the bird.  The colors I used were White, Chrome Yellow, Naples Yellow, Orange Glaze, Scarlet Red, and Black.

I replaced the toucan back into the Misti and stamped it again in embossing ink.  I poured a rose gold embossing powder over the bird, tapped off the excess, and hit it with a heat gun.  The heat embossing completely hid the white pigment ink. Then I backed the bird with foam tape.

For the sentiment, which is from the same stamp set, I used the same embossing process and cardstock.

To assemble the card, I adhered the background to an A2-sized card base, adhered the sentiment flush to the card, and then adhered the toucan partially over the sentiment.

There are so many other Hero Arts background and Paper Layering dies that I plan to foil with, I can’t wait!

Thank you so much for visiting!