I just got to use my foil pens from We R Memory Keepers. My hubby bought them for me for an anniversary present and they are a game changer! I drew candy canes on the pop out of this Pop Out Christmas Card and it looks amazing. You have to get these! They use the heat applied foil.
Amazon has these foil pens for about $40 and they are great! Get them at the link. I am not associated in any way with We R Memory Keepers but I do get a small commission from Amazon if you buy through my link. This doesn’t add to your price. I got mine at Joanns with a 60% off coupon for that price too, but at Amazon you don’t need to wait for the coupon.
You will need:
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- Heavy cardstock for the base (red)
- The We R Memory Keepers Foil Pens starter set
- Regular Pen
- Glue
- Printer
- Tape (some comes in the starter kit)
- A place to plug in the USB plug on the foil pen
- Download File
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Paper Choice
I used red paper but and color will do, just be sure it is heavy enough to support the card (65 lb or heavier). Patterned paper doesn’t really work unless it is a small and light pattern. A busy pattern interferes with the writing.
Getting the Foiling Pen Ready
Load your paper on the mat and load your mat in the machine. Plug in the thinnest foil quill. The maker has a USB port right on it. The Air machines don’t so you will need somewhere to plug in the USB plug. I use a desktop so there are plenty of USB ports on it but you can buy a battery pack to plug it into too. Put the foil pen in the pen holder with the provided adapter and let it warm up for 5 minutes. The rest of the prep work takes about that long. Be sure to put the heat shield between the mat and the pen while it is warming.
Preparing to Drawing on The Card
Next cut off the foil about the length of the drawing. For this project that is about 8 inches. In Design Space, I lined the rectangles up close together on the bottom of my mat and the candy canes are a little larger than the rectangles.
Tape the foil down with the tape in the kit. Painters tape or masking tape also work. Use just a thin amount around the two vertical edges. Make sure the foil is smooth across where it will be writing.
Foiling the Card
I am not going to lie to you, this takes awhile. The candy cane design is intricate and takes a while to draw.
Take the heat shield out. (Yes I forgot this step once, not good) and start foiling just like you would start writing with the pen. Be sure to watch this process the first or second time. You need to be at the machine when the foil pens are done foiling. When it is done foiling, press the pause button (looks like this ll and is next to the C start button) on your machine before it starts cutting! This is very important. Once paused remove the tape and the foil. You can see the beautiful work. Unpause the machine and let it cut out the rectangles.
The foiling part is done. You can remove and unplug your foil pen.
Cutting the Rest of the Card
Go back to the project page in Design Space and hide the rectangles that are already done and unhide everything else. Cut out the rest of the pieces.
Once the base card is cut, re-score the folds with a Popsicle stick. Fold the base card so it looks like this:
Glue the foiled rectangles back to back. Then insert them through the slot and attach it at the base between the two ends of the base card like this:
Glue the ends of the base card to the bottom of the pull tab with liquid glue and work the card a few times to make sure it works properly. It should stand on its own with the base card forming a box at the bottom.
Finishing The Card
With liquid glue, attach the embellishments to the base card and pop up. Make sure to spread the liquid glue to all the edges. (You will need to have the pull tab pulled out to attach its parts.) Then work the card several times to make sure it doesn’t catch on the embellishments. Once sure the slider won’t catch, close the card flat.
The finished card is approximately 4.5 inches by 5 inches and fits in an A2 envelope nicely.
Your card is ready to send. As you can see the foil pens make all the difference!
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