Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Gold Foil Wall Art using Laminator

I won a laminator in a scotch brand contest last year for the pendant lamp that I made . From the time I received the prize ,I am constantly brainstorming ideas to use the laminator. You can see one of those ideas here where I used laminator for personalizing cakes. Next I came across this gold foiling technique in Pinterest and I wanted to try this.Because you know , how much I love adding gold to my works (If you are new here, browse through my projects to know me better :)). Let see how.


Materials Required :
Laser Print of your desired wall art
Laminator
A Cardstock
A Paper to use above the print as carrier 
Frame
Craft Knife
Double sided tape 


Step 1: Take a laser print of the wall art you want to add gold foil . I just googled the image I am using.You can also look for some free printable of your favorite quote in Pinterest.



Step 2: Decide the area you want to add gold foil and cut the gold foil to the required size. If you are planning to add the gold foil to the entire page then cut the foil to your paper size and ensure it covers  the entire area. The quality of the golf foil is very important to this experiment. When I was planning for this experiment, I came through "Martha Stewart's foil" in different colors in the clearance aisle and purchased two packs in different colors. When I tried the experiment it was a total fail , the foil did not stick to the print instead the result was as if glitter was sprinkled. (I should have known ,when it was in clearance ,poor me.Anyways lesson learnt! ) I don't want to give up this experiment ,so I ordered a new pack of gold foil in eBay and proceeded with the experiment. 


Step 3: Place the foil above the print in such a way that gold part should facing above. Place a paper (any kind of paper, I used normal blue paper so that you can see clearly but you can use a regular copy paper ) above the foil and switch on the laminator. Once it is ready, pass it through the laminator. The paper acts as a carrier and protect the foil from the heat. 



Step 4: Once the paper comes out, leave it cool for a couple of seconds. Use a card and go above the foil once to ensure the foil sticks nicely to the print and remove the foil. (I was too excited to see whether it is working or not, so I just peeled the foil without smoothing it but I think smoothing will be helpful to avoid the spots of the prints peeking through the foil.) What is your result ? Mine was not perfectly gold foiled because you can see the little spots of the prints through the foil.But for me , thats okay compared to my previous experiment. Because I think when I frame this, the spots will not be noticeable.As I said , when you are trying this technique ,try the smoothing technique before removing the foil and let me know how it worked for you. 



Step 5: I laminated the gold foiled sheet, but this is totally optional. To make it look like a store bought wall art, you need to make some finishing touches. To create a border for the wall art , take a patterned card stock or plain card stock of your choice .Use the sheets inside the frame as template. Measure equal distance from the corner on all four sides and mark it with the pencil. Use craft knife to cut the center part and create a border. Use double sided tape on the back side of the inside corner of the border and stick the wall art.



Step 6: Place the wall art inside the frame and the card board that came with the frame. Use the edge of the scissors to secure the cardboard in its place . The frames I used are from dollar stores. That's it! the Wall art is now ready to hang!! 





For just a couple of dollars , you can make beautiful wall art for any space in your home. These are great even for dorm rooms.There are also other alternatives like adhesives designed specifically for attaching foil to any project. You can try that method if you don't have a laminator . If you don't want to add gold foil, you can simply omit that step and follow the remaining steps to create a wall art of your choice. What do you think ? Have you tried making a wall art or gold foiling before ? Share your comments below. As always I will be happy to hear from you. 


17 comments:

  1. I love this idea! And it's nice that you can do this at home without buying one of those pricey gold foil machines. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. How neat!! Looks easy to do and really makes a difference - I love it!! #HomeMattersParty

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  3. A laminator would be a dangerous thing for me to own. I would find a million things to use it on... and experimenting with the gold foil would be on that list. #HomeMattersParty

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  4. Now there is a toy I don't have! You are giving me ideas! LOL I am co-hosting with you this month the #HomeMattersParty, please visit me too.

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  5. I've wanted a laminator for some time now...this gives me another good reason to just go and get one already! Great project. I love how that gold just pops. Great choice!

    #HomeMattersParty

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  6. This is adorable! Great to be co-hosting the #HomeMattersParty with you!

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  7. That is so cute! I love it! So happy to be co-hosting #HomeMattersParty this month with you!

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  8. Love this idea, I have a laminator and I never really know what to do with it, I've gotta try to gold foil idea! Thanks! It's been great co-hosting with you at the #HomeMattersParty

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  9. I had my first experience with foil prints this past weekend. It was a craft I did with my daughter and we both really enjoyed ourselves! Your artwork turned out great. Really enjoy cohosting with you on #HomeMattersParty!

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  10. I purchased some of the foil and can't wait to use it but I need to get a laminator or I guess I could use my iron. I just love the amazing results this foil brings to a project. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  11. Looks like a fun project.

    It's been a another great #HomeMattersParty weekend co-hosting with you!

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  12. Wow, I've never seen that laminator. Looks cool. #HomeMattersPArty

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  13. I love to find new ways to use my laminator. It's one of my favorite things, but I don't use it nearly often enough. The gold foil wall art you created is very cute. Thanks for teaching us this technique. #HomeMattersParty

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  14. This is so cool! I love gold foil projects! Thanks for sharing at #homemattersparty

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  15. This project seems like great fun! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty
    ~Lorleai
    Life With Lorelai

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  16. Your blogs are really good and interesting. It is very great and informative. Once it is ready, pass it through the laminator. The paper acts as a carrier and protect the foil from the heat bankruptcy lawyers in virginia beach. I got a lots of useful information in your blog. Keeps sharing more useful blogs..

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