This is a sponsored post on behalf of American Crafts. All opinions and squeals of joy are my own.
Eeee, I’m so excited to share the Anna Griffin edition of American Craft’s Minc machine with you all! I play with a fair amount of new craft products every month but rarely am I so absolutely addicted to them straight out of the box. Thanks to Minc, adding foil to free printables is crazy easy and fun!
So, first things first, you’re going to have to get your hands on the Minc machine. No worries, I got your back! The Anna Griffin 6″ Minc is going to be available on HSN at midnight on Monday, May 11th (get there quick because these deals always sell out!) It’s going to be chock-full of supplies and accessories so that even if you don’t have access to a laser printer, you can start “Minc-ing” right away. The kit retails for $150 but since it’ll be Today’s Special on HSN, you can get it for just a fraction of the cost!
The second I pulled out my Minc (after hugging and squeezing it, of course!) I knew I wanted to experiment with adding foil to my free printables. Since they’re mostly outlines, I had to go back into photoshop and fill most of the shapes. Easy peasy!
Honestly, the hardest part of this whole process was having to go get copies at a store with two crazy little monkeys in tow. Since the Minc only works with toner ink, I’m totally looking into buying a laser printer. My neighbors will think I’m totally crazy for getting my Minc on at 2 in the morning!
After your prints are ready, all you have to do is sandwich the print and a foil sheet in between a plastic carrier sheet (included in kit) and run it through the machine on the right heat setting. I found the suggested “4” setting to be a bit high and had better results at “3.” Once out of the machine, just pull back the plastic and foil sheet to reveal your gorgeous gilded image!
You can add multiple colors as long as you can cut the foil sheets to fit. Make sure to use sharp scissors for cutting!
Exposed toner is activated as it runs through the machine. I tried running a print through a number of times with different colors but the foil didn’t stick so well on the lower letters because the toner had been compromised with the first run-throughs. Another reason to make sure you have large enough foil sheets!
You can also add glitter to your projects with the glitter sheets included in the HSN Today’s Special kit. The instructions warn that the glitter sheets don’t work as well with detail so I used one of my free printables with a bold font and loved the look! The black letters are a bit visible through the glitter so I probably should have run it through a second time. Live and learn, right?
My absolute favorite was the “Love You Forever” coloring page! I love how bold the gold letters look next to the delicate arrows. Honestly, I think I like this print better with foil than I do as a coloring page! How sweet would this look framed for a baby?! Hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial on adding foil to free printables. Just think of all the options!
I'm so jealous, I seriously want to try out a Minc!
This is absolutely amazing - I need one!
Beautiful Vanessa! Your prints are perfect for foiling, and thanks for all your tips. It's really fun to sue, isn't it!
where did you get minc foil that is pink, purple, and teal On that circus & monkeys one?
It's actually just pink and blue. The reflection picked up the crazy colors in my room!