Foiled Baby Frame

Ever since the Minc from Heidi Swapp was announced this year, foiling has been all the rage.  In fact, I bought one (after trying for weeks to use a regular laminator and not liking the results) and love mine…but that’s a post for another time.  Today, I wanted to share a way to foil both 3D objects as well as regular paper using just your Silhouette, some Double-Sided Adhesive, and any of the reactive foils available at your local big box store (Minc brand or Deco Foil used here).

Let’s start with the frame though.  This small wooden frame was just $1 at Michael’s before Mother’s Day, and I thought it would be the perfect way to send my mom a picture of her soon-to-be grandson for the holiday.

I started by painting the entire frame black with Martha Stewart Craft Paint in satin finish.  Once dry, I mixed “Gray Wolf” with some of the Antique Effect media, painted the entire frame with the mixture, and wiped any excess off with a paper towel while it was still wet.  This created a distressed look for my frame that would match my mom’s decor.

To cut my photo to the perfect size for my piece, I decided to scan the chipboard heart insert that came in the frame into my Silhouette Studio software.  Start by opening the “Scan” option found under the File Menu.

To scan an object directly into your software, place the object on your scanner, select your scanner from the “Source” option in the Scanning Menu (arrow 1), click on “Start Scan” (arrow 2), and watch as the scan magically appears on your workspace (arrow 3).

I needed to trace my heart in order to create a cut file for my photo, so I opened the Trace Menu (arrow 1), clicked on “Select Trace Area” (arrow 2), and drew a box around the scanned shape (arrow 3).  After unchecking the box for “High Pass Filter” (arrow 4) and increasing the Threshold a bit, I clicked “Trace Outer Edge” (arrow 5).

I always like to clean up the cut files I create by tracing images because they can often have jagged edges or excess points in some areas.  To do this, I open up the Point Editing Menu (arrow 1) and click “Simplify” (arrow 2) to start.  This will remove some of the excess points.  To delete others or change the curve at a certain point, just click on the individual point in your design and use the additional commands in this window.

Next, I opened my ultrasound photo onto my workspace (using the Open command under the File Menu), placed my heart cut file over top, and then used the cut file as a template to resize my photo to fit within the heart.

To crop the photo to the perfect heart shape, I opened the Modify Menu (arrow 1), selected both my photo and the heart (arrow 2), and clicked on “Crop” (arrow 3).

This was my resulting cropped photo…ready to be printed on photo paper and cut using my CAMEO.

Since my printer can sometimes be finicky with photos (I didn’t use my “good printer” for this project because switching to photo ink from matte wastes a ton of ink in priming the printer head…), I decided to print three copies just in case.  So, I turned on the registration marks and sent the job to my printer.

As it turned out, all three of my photos printed out just fine…but now I have extras!  I adhered my photo sheet to my Silhouette mat, and cut each photo out using the settings for “heavy cardstock” in the software.

Next, I cut this “Baby Boy” title from some Double-Sided Adhesive.  After peeling off the yellow backing, I pressed the title firmly onto my frame.

Remove the white backing to reveal your adhesive.

Cut a piece of reactive foil (here I’ve used Minc Reactive Foil in Teal) slightly larger than your design.  Burnish it well into the adhesive using just your fingers or a teflon bone folder.

Then, simply pull the foil away from your design!

Clean up any stray specks of foil by just brushing them away with your finger (static or damp areas of the frame can grab onto the foil as well).

I was pretty impressed with how smooth the foiling was…even the edges came out perfectly!

Just add your photo and display proudly…

I also tested out the double-sided adhesive with a few designs on paper…and this technique works just as well!  But remember, if you have a laser printer and a Minc/laminator, you can also turn any of the designs in your library into a foiled design simply by printing & foiling.  More on that next time maybe…

I hope you enjoyed this project…if you have any questions or comments, please leave me a note below.  Thanks for stopping by!