Heidi Swapp Minc or How To Have The MIdas Touch

Martha's White Gold

Unless you are living under a rock, you have probably noticed that gorgeous, shiny, metals are  everywhere.  Metals are hot in everything from home decor to fashion to crafting to Infinity-And-Beyond and I couldn't be happier. Ya see, it's about time the rest of the world caught up to ME. I have been  rocking the metals for years. In fact,   a few years ago I literally remember thinking that maybe I should stop using metallics in my projects because at that time NOBODY else was using them and I wondered if they were a wee bit outdated.  Thank God I only listened to myself shades of gold) and got to work creating magic.

Twinkling H20s

for about 2 seconds before I grabbed my Encore Gold ink pad, my Martha Stewart white gold glitter, & some Twinkling H2O (in several shade of gold) and never looked back.

Now that the rest of the world has (finally) caught up to me, I can say that one of the best things to come of it is all of the great metallic products that are coming to market.  From papers to embellishments to pastes, paints and tapes there are so many fun things to play with.  One of the "tools" available is the Minc Machine. First Heidi Swapp released the 12 inch machine (retails for $149), recently both Heidi and Anna Griffin have released 6-in versions (retails for $79.99)

Heidi Swapp 12-inch Minc

So what is a Minc? Let's be honest here, at 150 bucks the Minc is one expensive laminator.  BUT-yes there is a but- it can do things a cheap-o laminator just can't pull off making it worth the splurge?!?!  ProTip: I got my 12-inch machine from Blitsy.com for $112 and they have run that special at least once more.

Anna Griffin Minc

The larger Minc has a 12-inch opening which is much bigger than my cheap-o laminator ($20 Amazon).  Heidi has come out with a 6-inch Mini Minc (retails for $79.99) and Anna Griffith has a 6-in Minc of her own available through HSN that retails for $79.99 but includes a 130 die cuts, 50 sheets of foil, 4 sheets of glitter and 6 toner sheets....HELLO!

So what can the Minc do? The Minc gives you the Midas Touch.  At it's most basic it adds foil to any toner-printed image.  The item to be foiled and the foil is fed through the Minc using a transfer folder. The folders come in 12x12" and 6.25x12" (or the original Minc) so you can use a smaller folder for smaller projects.

 

Heidi has a plethora of products that are all ready for foiling and readily available at JoAnn's and online retailers. You are tasked to pick which of the fun products you want to foil then chose a foil color, Minct hat baby and you have a personalized embellishment.  Some of Heidi's ready-to-foil items include.....

3-D paper flowers $3.99

Chipboard Shapes $4.99

Toner Sheets $3.99

Jumbo Alphabet $9.99

Icon Stickers $2.99

6x6 5th Avenue Paper $5.99

Gallery Wall 5th Avenue $4.99

3D Butterflies $3.99

Mini Treat Bags $6.99

Mini Banner $7.99

This is just a peek into the many products available...there are also letters stickers, cake toppers, pinwheels, labels, cards, cupcakes wrappers and on and on. While I was grabbing the photos for the products from Heidi's website I found she has Christmas products I wasn't aware of and they are really cool. I will post some pics at the bottom of this post.

One of the best parts of the Minc is that it works with any toner (aka laser printer) image meaning you can create your own images.  I have a cheap laser printer my husband bought off of an auction website for $25. Mine came from Biddergy which is local for us, but there are a several websites that liquidate crap that business no longer use or need.  My printer is big and old-and only prints in black-but it works.  Don't have a laser printer? No worries, stores like Fed Ex Office or your local printing shop will print your creations.  Don't want to deal with toner-based images? There are other ways to add foil to your projects and I will talk about those in another post.

Okay, so we know the Minc is wider than your cheap-o laminator but that isn't worth $150? What else ya got? The Minc has 5 heat settings, allowing you to foil a variety of media including vellum and acetate.  You can't do that with your Amazon Laminator ;)'.  ProTip: Heidi Swapp Minc products have the recommended heat setting on the back of the package (I just learned this today). Go to Heidi's blog to read about Using Your Minc On Different Surfaces.

Bigger, 5 temps, different  paper surfaces are all good but what else? The Minc isn't limited to just different paper surfaces. What, what? Because the height of the opening is (slightly) taller than a regular laminator, you can foil chipboard and even the wood-veneer embellishments that are all the rage right now.  Heidi has a ton of projects on her blog with all different items at HeidiSwapp.com, on her Instagram. She has a Pinterest board for Minc Projects where she Pins not only projects, but also free digital downloads suitable for foiling.

You can also check out her channel Create To Remember on My Craft Channel. (If you haven't ever been to My Craft Channel I suggest you check it out. The site offers free how-to videos from a variety of bloggers in many different media over 15 "seasons". Heidi's projects are ALL amazing and she has quite a few Minc tutorials. Heidi has done all 15 seasons so check some of her older stuff out while you are there. AS for the other shows....they run from great to bleeeech to seriously? You have been warned!)

Want to do some of your own projects but don't have the images?

1.  The Graphics Fairy is a great source of free digital images in a wide variety of styles. She also offers amazing bundled images available with a Premium Membership ($6.98/monthly or $69.88/yearly). You can read more about her terms here.  
2. Rhonna Designs has long been one of my favorite sources for digital images and fonts.  
3. Kerri Bradford offers images for sale as well as freebies.  Keep in mind that line images are what you want; shaded images with just be a big blur...ask how I know that.
4. Heidi Swapp has freebies on her website 
5. Snap Click Supply has a variety of brushes and images 

The final advantage of hte Minc over my el cheap-o laminator is the REVERSE switch- more about that below.

I've been a foiling fool so I have a lot of projects to share, but first I wanted to show the basics of what the Minc can do but please bear in mind it is very difficult to photograph just how shiny and beautiful the foiling really is.

Print a page of toner- or buy one of Heidi's packages of toner papers- chose your color and make a gorgeous mesmerizing metallic paper than use this paper to make beautiful die cuts.

Looks it's like a fun house mirror....fat arm....skinny arm.....

 Below is a tag I made using one of Heidi's tags that says "smile" and I added sequins and a few other embellishments and inked the edges.  How did I make the bigger tag? Oh....Bwahahaha stay tuned.

6x6 5th Ave. Paper in Gold and Pink foil

I will confess that I have jumped on the planner trend and have been making a lot of fun bits and bobs for my family to add to their planners. Most of my Minc projects are for planners but could easily be adapted for scrapbooking, Pocket Letters, or cards. I will posting those projects soon but the group of fun tags below is a tiny little sneak peak

The projects in this picture were foiled using gold, rose gold, pink and silver foils.  Heidi just came out with several new color and Deco Foils makes a ton of colors. I have an order coming from Blitsy that includes iridescent, opal, pumpkin, pink melon and two satin colors-turquoise and magenta.  Ranger has small packages of foils including an interesting "Vintage" color set.

My Minc ate my homework:  My foray into foiling hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies. My first Minc machine kept pulling the cover sheet into itself crooked and when that happens the machine eats the project. After every single project I sent into it was eaten up I contacted Blitsy and they sent me a new machine.  I used the new one for quite awhile before it got hungry and ate a project. I don't know what it means when the same day my cheap-o laminator ate a project as well.  WTH?  It is crazy to send something into the Minc and look away for a moment and your project is just *POOF* gone.  But soon the smell of burning plastic hits your nostrils and you know right away where that baby is.  After I had 3 laminators with plastic constipation, I decided to open them up and (possibly) clean them out. After I opened the cheap-o laminator I decided it wasn't worth the time and effort to fix it and it was tossed. The insides were cheap and electronic chippy-looking things were easily pulled apart so I had little faith it would ever work. Plus I couldn't get the rollers back into alignment.

I opened the first Minc and I will tell you that the price difference comes with a much better made machine.  The inside of that thing is STURDY and the rollers are very well made and heavy...aka too much for me to deal with.  Soooo I laid it aside until my husband came home and then I tasked him to fix them both....and he did.  Armed with my WORKING machines I set about making more projects and everything went well until the first machine ate another project. I haven't told the hubby yet :D (I love you). I will say that if you sit and watch the project go in you can hear a funny crinkling noise when it is about to be eaten. Now is the time to use that Reverse. The problem comes in that watching a laminator is about as fun as watching paint dry and after 10 projects go through with no problem I start to get antsy and decide that I can cut some die cuts on my Vagabond while I foil.  I get distracted and BAM that thing is eating not foiling.

So, that is everything that I think, know, feel and wanted to share about the Minc. I have two projects coming up that I am so excited to share I just about can't stand it so come back soon.

Danee

Some Minc Christmas Fun:

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Everyone Deserves a Little Sussie...

Growing up my dad would occasionally give me or my sister a "sussie"- as he called the little unexpected surprise gifts he occasional would give.  This type of gift was usually just from my dad himself which made it that much more special.  Like most dads of that era, he took a hands-off approach to gift-giving for his children instead he let my mom chose the majority of our gifts.

Last month two of my friend were down in the dumps.  One is struggling to find her place at college.  She just can't seem to connect to other students and find that group of friends that make college seem a little smaller and a lot more manageable.  The perfect time to send a little sussie.

The other is someone I met on Tumblr...or "stalked down is on Tumblr" is probably a more accurate description of how we met but it is safe to say we are now real friends.  Unfortunately, she has had some MAJOR crap to deal with recently and is feeling overwhelmed and stressed out.  Another perfect time for a sussie.

I spent a few days shopping at a different stores, picking up little things here and there and I forced my daughter's artistically-talented boyfriend to make an incredibly cool cup (below).  I could have just boxed everything up and sent them on their way... but what fun would that be?  Instead, I did some very simple embellishing and with a little time, a few sheets of paper, and some ribbon scraps I had two gifts that cost little but looked expensive and full of love.

I started with these Whisker Graphics kraft with polka-dots bags (available http://www.amazon.com/Whisker-Graphics-Stripes-Honeycomb-Chevron/dp/B00JXZQVN8).  I filled them with some of everyone's favorite candies-Kisses, M&M's, Recess etc.  Then I simply added strips of decorative paper, a few die cuts, a little ribbon and Voila. Such simple additions to a kraft bag- even one without the fun polka-dots- make a darling presentation that feels really special but is something anyone can do.

The paper pad that I used contained a sheet of journaling tags and ephemera.  I simply either cut them out-if the sides were straight (like the ticket)- or used a punch that best fit the circles.  Then it just takes a second to grab 2 or 3 and staple them in a little cluster.  Add a piece of velvet ric-rak glued on using tiny dots of hot glue.  The bags were all stapled shut using a Tiny Attacher but if you don't have one you can also use a regular stapler. .  

Pi

The two thin strips of paper embellishing the top of this bag were cut using Alterations Off the Edge Scallop and Pinking.  They were stapled using a Tiny Attacher and I added a pink seam-binding bow.  My favorite embellishment? The feathers.  I cut two feathers using Alterations Writing Desk and embellished the tops using a mixture of Martha Stewart White Gold glitter and Sterling Silver glitter. Feather are big right now so there are lots of options-Jenni Bowlin sells the paper feathers already to add to your design, many companies are offering feather dies, you can get a single SVG image and cut them using your Cricut or Silhouette.  Finally, you can easily hand cut them either a hand drawing or an image you find online.  

To mix things up a bit I added some Washi tape to the top and bottom of this bag.  Then I used a large circle punch to cut the large circle from a pretty area of my decorative cardstock. By putting the circle punch on the paper upside-down you can move it around until you find the perfect spot to cut.  Since everything looks better with a little sparkle I added self-adhesive rhinestones to the center of the flowers.  The paper running across the top of the bag is actually the off cut of the pennant Sizzlet Ribbon Flag.  I used a similar piece of off-cut waste on the bag below along the bottom...so look at  your scraps, you might find pieces that are still very usable.  The tiny tags were cut using Alterations Tiny Tabs and Tags and stamped using some small word stamps.

For the final bag design I used Alterations Ribbon Flags that were simply grouped and stapled in place. I added a larger tag cut using Tiny Tabs and Tags that I labeled with black letter stickers and a blue seam binding bow. The top was adorned with a single row of iridescent sequin ribbon (I honestly don't know what this is called....what do we call sequins on a string?). I added a label to this bag as it was the only bag that contained candies that didn't have wrappers and since they weren't regular M&M's I thought a heads up was a good idea. 

The candies were split between the 2 boxes, so I made two everything.  I used cellophane bags to hold several candies and I made two of each of these as well.

Then I gave each a bar of handmade soap. I am ADDICTED to handmade cold process soap and will probably share a few of the incredible soapers I have found recently. While the soaps came in their own boxes, I wanted to add another layer of protection so the other items in the box didn't end up smelling-and testing-like soap.  To the front of the soap bags I add a simple price ribbon I made using Tim's Rosette Sizzlet, a die-cut flower from a Martha Stewart punch and two of the ribbon flags from Tim's die as the ribbon tails.

While the candies were divided between the boxes but everything else was personalized to the individuals.  To the college student I tried to remember things that I used to keep my sanity among the stress of college.  Things like weed, whisky, and wine.  No...I am just kidding.  I went to the University of Michigan people...there was no time for fun....I studied all the time.  No, I am not kidding.  

Pay attention and get serious now....ok? ok.  So one thing I remember doing to pamper myself-on a college student's budget- was to always use a special cup to drink tea or coffee.  

Starbucks Create-Your-Own
2013 Mug 

I found this cup at Starbucks ($14.95). You can see the black band along the bottom;  most of the area under the green cardboard label is plain white.  The cup comes with a double-ended black and white marker allowing you to draw your own permanent design on the cup.  I will post more about the cup as well as the finished item in a separate post. 

Old Fashioned Potpourri Warmer

Another thing I remember using to pamper myself while I was studying was to burn potpourri...remember how I just told you that about all I did in college was study?  I had a little ceramic potpourri warmer that was similar to this one I found on Ebay.  The potpourri goes in the top dish along with water. A tea candle placed in the base heats the water to a simmer which releases the fragrance into the room.  My favorite potpourri was a Christmas blend from Crabtree and Evelyn called Noel.  I remembered barely having any extra cash but splurging on what at that time seemed like a lot of money for a small bag of the potpourri.  This was my go-to fragrance all year I loved it so much.  You can still buy the fragrance and I recommend you give it a whiff if you ever have the chance because it is divine.  Like all good things potpourri has passed its heyday meaning Noel, is no longer available as that chunky mix of dried flower petals, tiny pinecones and whole spices I loved so much.  However, it is available as Fragrance Oil ($9), Fragrance Spray ($19), a gorgeous Porcelain Diffuser ($45) or candles available in several sizes ($12-45)

Crabtree and Eveyln Noel Porcelain Diffuser

Today the warmers are mostly electric and the scent comes from wax melts- really an improvement all around.

A lot of things I included in the boxes didn't get wrapped- I am just not that ambitious and honestly it isn't necessary.  The packaging should be a fun touch... not overkill and I was shipping these boxes.  I fit a lot of stuff in a small space and that would have been more difficult if everything was wrapped and it also would mean a lot of the embellishments would get smashed in the transit.  But, keep in mind that my sussies were for grown women, if your gift is for a child or even a teen you might want to wrap everything just to give them the excitement of opening the gifts.  I would stick to the kraft paper theme- it's cheap and easy to purchase at any store that sells mailing supplies- Target, Walmart.  Add seam binding bows and more of the paper embellishments like I used above and you have beautifully wrapped gifts.

Besides the warmer and wax melts, some of the other unwrapped items that went to college included tea, pumpkin spice chai tea bags, and nail polish.  The second box contained items to spoil my friend as well and for her to share with her husband and almost 3-year-old son. I sent her several bottles of Factor X Sephora Nail Polishes, several boxes of Starbucks and other flavored coffees for her Keurig, flavored creamers, lotion,  Halloween plates napkins, orange and black polka-dot paper straws, some Halloween lights and decorations. Her box was so full I had to leave one set of lights out.  I know I am forgetting something.....

So that is it.
I meant for this post to be half as long but I always talk too much.

Danee
Glitter is my favorite color......

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