ThePowerOfACard: Additional Ways to use the Hot Foil Dies

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Additional Ways to use the Hot Foil Dies

I am so very excited about today's video!! You may have heard that Stampin' Up! released a new line of products for hot foiling - I love the system and all of the dies/stamps they have released. But this video is not about hot foiling - it is about how to use those hot foil dies in alternative ways than foiling! This will make them more useful and valuable in your craft room. I know they are a big investment and I am thrilled to show you how to get more from them.

I have two techniques that I'm demonstrating in the video and I won't be making a card. However, I have twelve (yes, twelve!) cards to show you using these two techniques. The first one is by using the Impressions Plate and the hot foil die and the result is almost like an embossing folder. I normally like to spritz my paper with water before making my sandwich, but I forgot when filming. As you can see, it works fine, but with the addition of a little water spritz, it will make the paper fibers less likely to crack. You will get a deep impression, but it's not as crisp as what you would get from a 3D embossing folder. The second technique is inking the die, either with Versamark (a clear ink most commonly used with heat embossing) or regular ink pads. For this method, I will be using the sandwich used for hot foiling plus an additional paper shim.

Both techniques require the use of the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (SCEM). Here are the layers used for making an impression:

Plate 1 (the thick base plate)
Plate 2
Hot Foil Die with smooth side down
Paper
Impressions Plate (the black rubbery one)
Plate 4 (the gray plate used with 3D embossing folders)

For inking, here are the layers:

Stampin' Hot Foil Platform (not hot!)
Hot Foil Die with inked surface up
Paper
Hot Foil Shim
Hot Foil Spacer
Paper shim (I used some of the white paper that comes in the packs of DSP) - you may not need this depending on the pressure in your SCEM

My first card features the Botanical Glow Bundle, which was my favorite set from the first release of Hot Foil products. I made my impression on Crumb Cake cardstock. Both sides look great an I chose the debossed side. Before adhering it to my card base with Dimensionals, I used a Blending Brush to add some Pecan Pie ink around the edges. I completed the card by stamping some of the leaves from the bundle and a sentiment from Words of Beauty on a circle of Basic White.

This one actually features three Hot Foil sets and a little gold foiling too. The background was done with the Starry Night Bundle on white. My tree is from the Twinkling Tidings Bundle (inked with Garden Green, Granny Apple Green and Pecan Pie), and the star and sentiment are from the Magical Christmas Bundle. After doing the initial gold foiling for these words, I used the Reverse Plate to use the leftover foil sheet, thus getting the gold background around "white" words. This is a fantastic die to have because it allows you to get double the designs from a single piece of foil.

My last impressions sample features the Buffalo Check. This is a large die and it works so well to give the detailed impression of the checked design! I was actually surprised at how well it worked with the Impressions Plate. I used the embossed strip on a card base of Daffodil Delight, then used the Fern & Flora bundle to make the rest of the card elements. I love the black and white pieces on the bright yellow. The dots are from the Adhesive Backed Bats Ghosts & Dots embellishments.

Switching to the second technique, the first batch of cards were done with Versamark ink. This ink will leave a darker shade of the paper it's stamped on as a watermark. I used the Lustrous Leaves Bundle (which also has Decorative Masks to color the leaves) and cut out five leaves in each of Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze, Real Red and Poppy Parade. My sentiment and label are from the Radiant Sunflowers Bundle. I love the subtle look of the veins in each of the leaves. Since I had so many leaves cut out, I've made several other cards using them and still have leftovers!

This next card once again features the Magical Christmas Bundle. For this one, I didn't cut out the words but left them as the focal point of the card. I have to thank my upline, Dena Rekow, for giving me the idea for this in the first place. She made a card with another Hot Foil die and that got me to experimenting with this being my first card. I used Real Red as my card base and the Pretty Poinsettia stamp set for the rest.

The Echoes of Detail Bundle has three Hot Foil dies and six stamps for making cool backgrounds. I used the brick die on Cajun Craze, matted with Early Espresso and placed it on a base of Crushed Curry. The vase of flowers was made using the Radiant Sunflowers dies and the Sunflower Fields DSP pack. My sentiment is from a recent Product of the Month, Begonia Belle. A bow of Linen Thread adds the finishing touch.

To color my wreath, which is from the Wreath & Wonder Dies, I used Watercolor Pencils and a Blender Pen. I added a double Linen Thread bow and mounted it on an arch cut from Cherry Cobbler cardstock using the Everyday Arches dies, then embossed with the Softly Woven 3D embossing folder. The sentiment (from Stitched Stockings) was heat embossed with white (WOW Embossing Powder Basics) and the background of the card was stamped with texture from Gears & Textures.

The Framed & Fabulous Bundle is one of my favorites, mainly because of the sentiments that are in the stamp set. I inked the large scalloped circle with Versamark on Cloud Cover paper. The smaller circle was used without the coordinating hot foil die and stamped in Secret Sea. The DSP is the 2025-2027 In Color 6" DSP and the ribbon is Cloud Cover Textured ribbon.

This card has both inked and Versamark pieces. I used the Starry Night dies with Balmy Blue ink on white, and Versamark on Balmy Blue paper. The letters were cut with the Party Alphabet dies and stamped with the Starry Night stamp. I added a little shine with a sparkle gel pen and tied a bow with the Balmy Blue Gingham ribbon. My inside sentiment came from the Pretty Poinsettia set.

A Christmas Wish has a large snowflake with Christmas Wishes as the center sentiment, which can be cut with the die. For my card, I inked the die with Garden Green on white, which was matted in the same color and popped up on a Crumb Cake base. The inside sentiment was made with the Magical Christmas Bundle, also using Garden Green ink. I also tried this one with inking and the impressions plate - the result was OK but not as good as I would have liked. Still, it made an interesting sample and I may give it a try again to see if my results are any better.

My Buffalo Check with black on Poppy Parade is the traditional color combo for this pattern. I have to give a shout out to my daughter Kristin for the suggestion. I didn't think it would work as well as it did and it has become one of my favorites! I used the Stitched Stockings Bundle for the gift and sentiments and a little Wink of Stella to add a little glimmer to the bow/ribbon on the gift.

My last card features the Butterfly Flight Bundle. This was part of the first release of Hot Foil dies and also comes with Decorative Masks to color the butterflies easily. Since we can never seem to have enough butterflies in our lives, I made mine with black ink (our foils come in Gold, Silver, Light Pink, Copper, Red, Green and Silver Opal, not black (yet)) and colored them with Darling Duckling, Timid Tiger and Strawberry Slush. I added a die cut black body and mounted it on a square cut with the Tile Garden dies. My sentiment is from All Aflutter and the DSP is the Basics Painted Patterns.

There are so many possibilities for using your Hot Foil Dies! My hope is that knowing you can use them for more than just foiling, you will consider the investment to be worth it. I had a ton of fun making these samples for you - which is your favorite? Which will be the first one you want to try? Please enjoy!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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