Couture Creations: Naughty or Nice trio card set with Joanne

Hi there everyone, Joanne here today with my 3 different Christmas Cards all made using the papers and foiling elements in Couture Creations "Naughty Or Nice" Collection..

I've brought these three cards together in one blog post to take a look at how using hot foil stamps compares to cut, foil and emboss dies. I love working with both, but how I plan the elements in my cards is different depending on which type of foiling plate I'm going to use.

Working with cut, foil and emboss dies, is much the same as working with normal die cuts in a design (they just have foil on them) in that you can just add things as you go along or foil and cut lots of elements and then work out how to arrange them.

Working with hot foil stamps is more similar to conventional stamping, in that you need to make sure you've done all the foiling you want to do on the various elements before you start sticking them down. Also like stamping you have to get it in the right place first time - you can't move it afterwards.

Christmas Collage Card

For this card I've really just layered lots of die cut elements, with an arrange of a flower and foliage in the bottom left corner with the end of a lacy die cut strip tucked under it. The Cut/Foil Curling Christmas Tree, Noel Frame and Merry Christmas Cut/Foil sentiment are then layered so that the lace is still just visible below them, so they do not have the appearance of floating in mid air.

Santa Topper Card

This card needed a little more planning for the sections of paper used for topper mat and top layer, but no more that I would have needed if I was just die cutting those panels. I always trim the centre out of the foil I use with the cut, foil and emboss frames. This means I can see exactly how the die and foil are lined up on the patterned paper, and also saves foil - if I cut the foil carefully and start with the largest layer first, I can then use the foil I cut out of the middle, to foil the next smaller size layer, or a sentiment.

All of the die cut elements, including the foiled sentiment and Christmas Tree can be added after the topper has been stuck down.

Three Panel Card

When making this card I had to remember to do all of my foiling before I started sticking anything down. I cut out all of the panels, and their dark red mats (to give the red borders) before foiling anything. The topper is cut from one of the 12x12 sheets and also matted onto some dark red card.

I've used one of the border hot foil stamps on both the left hand panel and also on the strip at the bottom of the topper.

I use a stamp press type magnet (wrapped in masking tape to create a handle) to position the hot foil stamp first on my card or paper, and then transfer it to exactly the right place on my GoPress & Foil hot plate. I line the paper up with the white surround along one edge or in a corner, so that I can leave the hot foil stamp in place, take the card/paper away, add foil and then put the card/paper back in exactly the same place and tape it to the white edge (which doesn't get hot). For the strip at the bottom of the topper, I taped my thin strip of card to a wider piece to make it easier to position and tape to the edge. I'll show how to do this in my video.

I also use my magnet to to position the sentiment hot foil stamp in the topper and the Christmas Tree hot foil stamp used on the right hand panel.