How To Hot Foil & Color Cherry Blossoms

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial with you using the Cherry Blossoms BetterPress Plate & Die Set from the Spring in Kyoto Collection by Alex Syberia Designs. There is lots that can be done with this set – the plates can be pressed or hot foiled, and they can also be coloured in lots of different ways. Today I am hot foiling and colouring with alcohol markers.

STEP 1 – HOT FOILING THE IMAGE

First, prepare your materials:

1. Turn on Glimmer Hot Foil System and let it heat up (red power light will show).
2. Cut a piece of Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock to size.
3. Cut Opaque Black Glimmer Hot Foil to size (just slightly bigger than the plate).

4. Place foil, shiny side up, onto cardstock.
5. Place Cherry Blossoms BetterPress Plate on top, design side down.
6. Hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.

7. Once the Glimmer Hot Foil System platform ready light is showing green, place plate/foil/cardstock sandwich onto platform plate side down.
8. Press timer button. This will flash green.

9. Once timer button is on continuous green, remove platform from base and place both spacer shims on top.

10. Run through Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine.
11. Place platform back into base.
12. Carefully remove plate/foil/cardstock sandwich from platform, being careful not to touch the plate.

13. Carefully peel back tape, and using it as a handle, remove foil and plate from the cardstock to reveal foiled image.
14. If you have any foil in places where you do not want it, carefully scrape away with a craft knife.

STEP 2 – COLOURING THE IMAGE

1. Using a midtone pink Copic Marker (RV55) colour around the centres of the flowers.

2. Using a dark pink Copic Marker (RV66) colour over where you coloured with the midtone shade but closer to the flower centres only.

3. Blend both shades together with a light pink Copic Marker (RV52).

4. Go over the edges of the light pink with Colorless Blender Pen (0) to fade the color to white of cardstock.

5. Using a midtone green shade Copic Marker (YR17) add colour to the base of the leaves.
6. Using a dark green Copic Marker (G29) add the darker colour towards the base of the leaves but do not bring it up as far as the midtone green.

7. Blend the colours together using a lighter midtone Copic Marker (YG23).
8. Colour the rest of the leaves with a light green Copic Marker (YG01).

STEP 3 – DIE CUTTING THE IMAGE

1. Place coordinating die over image and secure in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
2. Run through Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine using the following die cutting plate sandwich (bottom to top) – A Platform Base, B Platform Top, C Cutting Plate, cardstock, die, C Cutting Plate.
3. If die cut is stuck in die, pop out and set aside.

STEP 4 – CREATING THE BACKGROUND

1. Cut panel of Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock to 3.5” x 4.75”.
2. Place on Sticky Mat.
3. Take a Large Blending Brush and swipe into Hero Arts Berry Smoothie Reactive Ink.
4. Using circular motions and starting the top right-hand corner, blend the ink onto the panel.
5. Lighten the pressure as you move away from the corner to fade the ink to the white of the cardstock.

6. Wet a paintbrush and dip into Splatter White Opaque Watercolor
7. Tap brush to splatter paint onto the panel, focussing where the ink blending is.
8. Set panel aside to dry.

STEP 5 – ADHERING THE CARD TOGETHER

1. Once dry, add thin foam tape to the back of the panel.
2. Remove backings off foam tape and adhere to A2 sized (4.25” x 5.5”) white card base.

3. Add thin foam tape to the back of image.
4. Remove backings off foam tape and adhere to card.

STEP 6 – ADDING A SENTIMENT

1. Using the same method as you used in step 1, hot foil Making Me Smile Glimmer Hot Foil Plate onto Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock using Opaque Black Glimmer Hot Foil Roll.
2. Die cut out using coordinating die.

3. Add thin foam tape to the back of the sentiment and remove backings off foam tape.
4. Adhere to card.

STEP 7 – EMBELLISHING THE CARD

To finish, embellish with Berry Color Essentials Gems, using a Tool ‘n One to help place them down. Whilst this card does have many steps to it, the card is easy to create if you take each step at a time. If you don’t have alcohol markers, you can colour the image using any colouring medium you prefer. You can also miss out the splatter to make the card simpler, I just like the added interest it brings to a clean and simple card. Thank you so much for stopping by today, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Other supplies

Copic Markers, AF430 Hero Arts Berry Smoothie Reactive Ink, thin foam tape, paintbrush.