What card stock can I use in New Zealand to foil with???

Hi everyone this is just some experimentation I did with the card stocks I currently own with my new Glimmer Foiling Machine. This is a very long post by the way so grab a coffee or tea and come on my new INKredible Journey further down the rabbit hole of foiling.

I have been thinking about this purchase for a very long time and I can see that cardstock seems to be the most important thing and that everyone in the States seems to love Hammermill - which we do not have in NZ. But everyone seems to comment that it is smooth!

For completeness sake of this experiment I own the original black Sizzix Big Shot that Stampin' Up! sold to me in 2010. I have never ever seen the need to replace something that is perfectly usable and I have all the plates and extender plates for it. For the first 5 years of it's life it was used by me and anyone who did a home class or an extravaganza event that I was teaching at, so it was well used but for the last 5 years it's just me and a few friends but it is still going strong and I am only on my 2nd set of cutting plates (but I also have a set which I use for embossing with).

When I finally bought my Glimmer Hot Foil machine I also purchased Spellbinders Glimmer Specialty Cardstock (76lb) and I was rapt with my first effort; see below. This was just as is, with the 2 plates that came with the machine. My 2nd attempt I tried with a piece of card stock extra but that added a bit of over foiling on the edge of the card stock but not a biggie as I was going to die cut out the images and I probably had too big a piece of foil anyhow. I bought my machine and Spellbinders paper from Krafters Cart. I love this online store as it sells most of the overseas stamp companies I love and use.

This was the card I created and I love it it's very feminine and delicate (this is the link to my original blog post for this card):

I coloured up the images using the coordinating stencils from Pinkfresh Studios using some of their lightest inks BUT I felt the colours were very light in comparison to what I was getting when I ink blended on my normal card stock I routinely use.

I then tried doing a Copic blend on the left-over pieces after die cutting out and it was weird, it was not a blend but more like a wet mess. I'm guessing this is what Copic blending on Yupo would be like.

The package insert for the Glimmer card stock says" create beautiful foil cards and projects with ease! This cardstock is also ideal for alcohol inks." Well this cardstock is not ideal for blending with Copic markers in my books. But it probably does work with alcohol ink.

When I got my machine I only had the Brighter Days hot foil plate and much to my surprise and delight 2 plates that came with the machine but I didn't own a sentiment set so I tried heat embossing with rose gold EP on the left-over paper as well and the paper curled. 

HMMM I was thinking to myself this paper is only going to be used for foiling sentiments when I get a sentiment hot foil set.

I then went off to SENZ (NZ's main papercrafting annual show) in Auckland and  managed to pick up two specialty papers that I did not previously own from Create Lavinia Multifarious Smooth & Supreme (330gm) and House of Paper Smooth White (300gm).

On my return home I decided I would cut up some small pieces of rose gold foil (this was also included with my machine by Spellbinders) and foil one of the foil plates that came with the machine which was a Happy Birthday sentiment. 

When I started blogging many moons ago I used to use a free program called GIMP to do something with White Balance and looking at my photos maybe I should try and remember how I did that but hopefully you see what I see. White does not photo great especially when it's wet and gloomy outside.

I tried foiling the Spellbinders Glimmer paper first as I loved it so much last time and much to my surprise and horror it doesn't actually look that good this time around. It's not horrible it's just not great.

I'm now going to show you what I consider horrible foiling first; starting of with the Lavinia Quality Smooth card stock - it is the worst of all the papers I think for foiling on. Hopefully it's nice for blending or stamping on!

Simon Says Stamp (120lb): a year ago (before Hammermill became the "it" card stock) Yana Smakula said this was her favourite. It's certainly not my favourite. The difference may also be to do with the pressure of our embossing machines but I was not impressed.

Basic White (thin/normal) card stock from Stampin' Up!:

Xpress-IT Blending Card stock - what I use for my Copic colouring:

Shimmery White (Stampin' Up!) what the SU! demos seem to like to blend on as it's smooth:

Thick Whisper White (SU!):

Neenah Classic Crest (Crafters Companion) 216gm - I bought this from England when I first started Copic colouring before I discovered Xpress-IT blending card stock. I think this is the equivalent of what the Americans call 80 1b weight, well it's not as thick as my 110 one I also have.

Thank heavens this was not the order I foiled in or I would have been really, really depressed or ordering Hammermill from SSS ASAP!

House of Paper was actually quite nice (the second half image which I did with a scrap of foil on the desk I used an extra shim and I think it has potential, so it and Spellbinders require some more testing.

Now something I still have 1/2 pack left and my girlfriend says she has a full pack the original thin Whisper White from Stampin' Up! which we were always told had more cotton it which is why SU! said it stamped better, actually foils not too badly.

Last but not least MY TWO FAVOURITES which both foiled beautifully:

Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock that you can buy from Gordon Harris or from Krafters Cart ($20), now this paper is fab for blending on with distress oxides and Zig real color brush markers etc. 

 and Neenah Classic Crest 110 1b which I also bought from Krafters Cart.

You can tell when something foils beautifully as you have this crisp outline from where the foil has been removed. (PS white photos better when it has another colour I can see - it actually looks white).

Well that was a really, really long post and I hope you lasted to the end to see what was good. This is what happened with my machine and my Big Shot so this may not be what happens in your machine but may give you an idea where to start experimenting.

✿ Karen ✿