Today I’m sharing a typography print design which would make great kitchen or dining decor. I’ve made a hot foil print design and I’m going to show the step by step instructions for that, but it would look equally as good in a solid colour like black or anything to match your decor if the metallic look isn’t your thing. But first…………
Never a truer word was spoken…
Have you seen this meme that’s been doing the rounds of the web? It made me laugh when I first saw it because it was so spot on! So I recreated it in this little graphic because…well I identified with this
Is this your reality? Well it became my reality. (I think it always was!) After getting in on the Reactive foil trend and purchasing up a storm with supplies like Laminators and Reactive foil I was pretty chuffed when I made my first typography foil print. Damn the expense – I loved it! (actually the supplies were Birthdays gifts, so technically it wasn’t my money that was spent….but you get the idea!)
So I couldn’t help feeling a tad deflated when I saw that K Mart had beaten me to the Foil Typography Trend …… And all available at the bargain price of $7 …………. just like the meme said. So I laughed and my day wasn’t wasted LOL!
Back to the How to….
Disclosure: Some of the links to the supplies I’ve used are affiliate links and if you purchase after clicking through, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. It helps me support this site and I’m very thankful if you choose to purchase using my links.
- Download my free design (links below) or make your own – you can use any graphic program you have: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop or Elements or the free online programs like Canva or PicMonkey too. I think Publisher would work well too. Pretty much any program you can move your type around in. I used the Silhouette Studio Software.
- First I drew a box on my page which was the same size as my frame: 20 x 25cm or 8 x 10 inches. I used this as a guide and made my design to fit within that space. I checked the Line setting option > print lines of selected shapes. I wanted to use this as my cutting guide when I cut the print to fit the frame.
- I used the Fonts: Ruhistly and Ruhistly Extra Ornaments. I typed each word separately and moved them around until I was happy with the layout. When I wanted to resize them, I grouped them all together first. To make it easier to visualize as I was working, I set the fill colour and line colour to Black.
- Print out. If you intend to use the foil then it must be with a laser printer. It’s the toner that will make the foil adhere to the print when heated. I have a Brother HL2270DW and changed the settings to the highest quality (1200 dpi) (see below for Alternative suggestions)
- Pre heat your laminator. I have a $30 A4 laminator from Kmart. It’s Office One brand (in Australia). I preheat for at least 6 minutes on the highest setting.
- Pop the print out in a Transfer Folder
- Cover the design with the Reactive foil, shiny side up, fold the top of the folder over it all and smooth down. The folders are transparent which is handy to check to ensure everything is in place.
- Feed the sandwich into the laminator folded side first. It will grip it and slowly draw it through the machine and out the other side.
- Open the Transfer folder and gently peel back the foil to reveal your brilliant metallic design.
- Now in the interests of disclosure I’ll show you a close up. You can see some specs of toner showing through, so the result isn’t totally perfect but when viewed from a normal distance it’s not noticeable and the overall effect is bright and shimmery, so I’m happy!
- Trim, Frame and Enjoy!
Alternative Alerts:
- If you’re not using the foil technique you can print away in any colour you like on your regular inkjet printer.
- If you don’t have a laser printer and want to try the foil, then it’s an added step of taking it into the copy or print shop to have them do it. Or maybe your boss won’t mind if you use the fancy laser printer or copier at work.
- My El cheapo laminator works reasonably well, but there is a 12 inch wide Laminator made especially to work with the foil. I haven’t tried it out, but it’s a lot prettier than mine! I have also heard that you can use a dry Iron (no steam) but I haven’t tried that out to see how and if that works. Let me know if you try it!
- Instead of the Transfer Folder you can use regular folded copy paper.
- On the PDF there are no cutting guides. When printed, use the glass from the frame as your template to mark and cut the page to fit your frame.
The Files
- You may notice my files have no registration marks. I opted to cut along the guide lines with a scalpel and metal ruler instead of using the cutting machine. You can add them if you want to “print and Cut” instead.
- You can change the size of the Silhouette Studio Designs to suit any size frame – be sure to group everything together first.
Here’s the Silhouette Studio Typography Print File for Version 3 (Tested in this)
Here’s the Silhouette Studio Typography Print File for Version 2
Here’s a Printable Eat Drink & Be Merry PDF File. It’s big enough to fit a 20 x 25cm (8 x 10 in) Frame. Use the frame glass as template for cutting as explained above. Here it is printed in regular black ink.
Pam, Thank you for sharing your humor about K-Mart item. Is this case of of penny wise or dollar (pound) foolish. I too had been looking for supplies to make something, had not purchased yet, but trying to see all the supplies I needed for my project. I stopped in out local Dollar Tree, only to find the item I was going to make for about $6-8 plus shipping and there it was only $1. It was not the same colors I had planned on, but it just blew me away.
The satisfaction is knowing that we made the efforts and made something ourselves rather than buy it.
So, I guess we shouldn’t waste our days and laugh it off as you did.
Ha Ha Nelly, I can completely identify with your dollar Tree story. Glad I’m not the only one.
But you are right, the satisfaction is in us making the effort to make something, so the rewards make up for the cost of materials!
SADLY, NEITHER THE VERSION 3 CUT FILE OR THE PDF WOULD DOWNLOAD. BUT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR DANDY PROJECT IDEAS, AND HONEST EVALUATION OF THEM. SOMETIMES, I CAN DOWNLOAD YOUR STUFF, SO IT MAKES THE EFFORT WORTHWHILE !
-LBB
Hi Laura,
Sorry you are having trouble. Can’t be sure what the problem is as the files are downloading fine for me, but I’ve emailed you the files instead.
Cheers
Pam
Thank you so much for sharing your ideas, talent, and tutorials with us. I always enjoy your posts, and your sense of humor…you always make me smile! I enjoy getting your email and excitedly rush to open and read it. every. single. time. Blessings!
Thanks Patti, That is such a lovely comment. You made my day 🙂
This is brilliant (literally and figuratively)! I’m adding this to my to do list – will be trying the iron method as I don’t have a fancy laminator 🙂 Thanks for joining the #GoodFriendsFriday linky party, our next post will be live shortly!
Thanks Heather. Glad you like it. If you try the Iron Method, do let know how it goes.
This is lovely! I think the printable is so perfect for the upcoming holidays too. 😀 Thank you for sharing!!
If you have any interest, I’d love to have you come by and link up at my Friday Frivolity blog party — it just went live a bit ago! 🙂
Hi Sarah Eliza,
Thanks for your kind words and the invite – I’ll definitely stop by.
What exactly do you mean when you say “print it out” in your instructions?? TIA
Hi Andrea,
The tutorial Shows how I apply hot foil to a printed out design with Hot Foil and a laminating machine.
By print it out I mean Print the design out (mine or your own design) on a Printer. If you intend to “hot Foil” the design once printed, you will require a Laser Printer for this. If you don’t have a laser printer – then print it out in black ink and take it to a photocopy store to get a copy done which used toner ink)
If you wish your printable to be in ordinary ink of any colour at all an inkjet printer will do fine. Change the colour in the software program you are using. Howeverm doing it this way won’t have the metallic look.
This is not so much a cutting project for your cutting machine but rather a Printable Hot Foil project. I happen to have created it using my Silhouette Software. (which by the way, I find is a terrific graphics program)