Yaaaawn!

Our cat is in the prime of her life; she loves to hunt, guard her territory and lie in the sun.  I caught photos of her early in the summer waking from an afternoon nap; I have tried to snap her yawning dozens of times with no success, but not this time!

The layout is made using Kaisercraft background papers and bits cut from Simple Stories I Am cards.

Title is die cut using Funky Foam, other embellishments are from a Crate chipboard set.

I also die cut a heart using a Sizzix set and ran it through the Minc to foil the heart. My boy has been to the orthodondist today to begin up to 2-3 years of work... I'll be glad when this is over!

Making more of Dies

I treated myself to a Minc foiler a couple of weeks ago, and have been playing with it...If it moves, I want to foil it!
Here are some tips about how to make extra use of any dies you have by foiling them.
The machine is quite low in height, I managed to store mine away in an old kitchen cupboard with an additional shelf added for easy access.

To make use of dies, print a page of light cardstock in black on best quality on a laser print (toner using) printer, or, as I did, photocopy on best quality a sheet of black card.

Select a number of dies that would look good foiled. and cut them out, I used a Big Shot, you could also use an electronic cutter...

 ..and cut them out.  I used polaroid frames, a camera, doily, and this set from Sizzix.. all dies I have used often.

 Set out the die-cut shapes within the plastic carrier sheet. This part proves tricky, you need to make sure they don't touch, and the static of the plastic causes them to move about.

Cut a piece of the foil just big enough to cover the die cut shapes, take care with it, avoid scratching the wrong side of the foil as it allows black on the die cut shapes to show in your final project..  Bigger scissors make it easier to cut the foil without damaging it.

Lay the foil dies inside the carrier over the die cut shapes trying not to move them. The foil needs to be right side up.

Run it through the Minc, I found it gave a better finish using setting 4 with the photocopied card.

Peel away the foil, no need to wait for it to cool!

And admire your handi-work!

Watch out that your die-cuts don't touch, this is what happens if they do! I've kept them as if I tuck the die-cuts under papers on a layout, then I can hide the black marks.

Here's the stack of foiled die cuts I made using the dies and a variety of coloured foils. Dies include X cut, Sizzix, Lawn Fawn, Spellbinders.

...and here is the hexagon background and a foiled feather used as part of a layout.
Next step? I think I will stick the copied card onto thin chipboard and have a go at die cutting and foiling some home-made foiled 'Thickers'.