Introducing Heidi Swapp Minc Foil Applicator

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for this post. All opinions shared are 100% my own.

When I find a new craft tool that I absolutely love, I can't wait to share it with all of you.  Foiling was always something I wanted to learn to do, but was timid to try because of the large margin of error. I really hate when I have to waste materials because of personal error, and if something has too many warnings, let's be honest...it's just not going to happen.

The new Minc Machine from Heidi Swapp is seriously amazing, and extremely user friendly. The Minc is a fairly light weight and compact and measures about 19.5” x 5” so it doesn’t take a ton of storage space! The design itself convinced me I needed to have it, but when I also saw that the instruction booklet was only a few pages, I was all in. I'm really excited to foil ALL the things now and am even more excited to show you everything the machine can do!

Now, let's talk about the foils. From what I've seen before, the color range for foiling projects was pretty minimal. For the Minc machine, there are at least 10 brilliant colors including silver and gold!! Seeing all these gorgeous colors lined up makes me so happy and inspired to foil a project for every occasion!!

Before showing the process of how I foiled this card and envelope set, it helps to know how the Minc machine works. The machine heats up similar to a laminator. However, what makes this machine different is that it can fit projects up to 12 inches wide, and it uses four rollers (instead of two on most laminators) to evenly distribute pressure across a 12x12 surface. The machine also contains a heating element that covers the entire 12 inches, as opposed heat focused at the outer edges (also common in every day laminators). The heat activates a reaction in the toner printed on the project that bonds the foil to the surface. To bond the foil to a surface, you must use a pre-printed accessory or a laser printer (you can also visit your local copy shop).

**An inkjet printer does not lay down toner, so unfortunately it will not work with the Minc.

To get started, turn on the Minc machine and set the heat setting to 3. The adjustable heat settings allow you to foil transfer on materials from vellum all the way to chipboard and even thin wood veneer, but I found that the 3 setting has been perfect for most of my projects so far.

Using sharp scissors, cut a piece of foil to fit your project. Dull scissors do not cut the foil well.

Open the protector sleeve and place the project face up. Carefully lay the foil on top of your project (color side up) and lightly press down and make sure none of the black parts of the project are uncovered. Carefully lay the top of the carrier sheet down over your project and smooth it out with your hand.

Tip: Sometimes static on the carrier sheet can cause the foil to shift, so just work slowly and try to keep everything in place as best you can.

Carefully push the carrier sheet into the Minc machine until you feel the rollers grab it. Then just sit back and watch the magic happen! Once the project has completely run through the machine, carefully lift the top of the carrier sheet and you can pull out your project.

Start at one corner and slowly pull up the foil. Your project is now shiny and gorgeous!!

Repeat the same on both the envelope and card, and now your newly foiled project is ready for you to share with everyone you know!! After you get started and see how easy the machine is to use, you will be foiling everything you can!!

Once you’ve run a project with toner through the machine, the toner has been heat activated and will not bond with foil on a second pass. So, make sure you foil your whole project at the same time. However, keep your foil scraps! You can re-use those smaller pieces of foil on smaller accessories and tags!

I laid all the smaller projects inside the carrier sheet and ran them through all at once. They turned out great and will look SO amazing on cards, used as scrapbook embellishments, and more!!

As I mentioned before, if you have a laser printer, you can create your very own custom foil projects! Heidi Swapp and her team generously provided every SNAP! Conference attendee with their very own customized print with their name. The candy pouch was a make and take at the Minc booth, and was so easy to make. I just had to show these so you can see for yourself that the possibilities with this machine are endless!! You can create all kinds of amazing projects from metallic scrapbook pages to party favors and home decor.

Now that you've seen what this machine can do, here are the details so you can get your hands on one and get creating! The Minc Foil Applicator and Starter Kit MSRP is $149.00, and the Minc Foil MSRP is $9.99 (foil is 12”x10’). Minc accessories MSRP from $2.99 to $12.99. You can purchase the Minc Foil Applicator and accessories at Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann, as well as locally owned craft stores and online shops.

I'm so excited to show you through the next few months some more crafts I'll be making using my Heidi Swapp Minc foil applicator. What would you create?