I have a great love for paper products and projects, and nothing is fancy than adding some bling with shiny foil. Thanks to my new toy – The Glaminator – now I can add shiny foil to any project. Oh, the possibilities! After much debate, my daughters and I decided our first project would be a DIY gold foil notebook for one of our favorite teachers, just in time for Teacher Appreciation Week.
DIY Gold Foil Notebook
This gold foil notebook was so much fun to make. The Glaminator makes it easy to give any printed project some glam. It is great for cards, party decoration, artwork and more, but we figured that a notebook is always a practical gift for a teacher. You can download my “Inspire” template below or design your own cover. Everything for this project can be ordered from Amazon so you don’t even have to leave the house!
A special thanks to all teachers everywhere for tackling distance learning. This is such a challenging time for us all, but it is important for kids to see their teachers and their friends and keep some sort of routine. Thanks for all you do.
Materials
- Blank notebook (lined or unlined)*
- Glaminator
- Cardstock paper
- Laser printer (see note below)
- X-Acto blade
- Spray adhesive
- Inspire template
*You can make your own notebook with a long-arm stapler and your choice of paper. But we wanted a lined notebook, so we went with the notebooks linked above and it was perfect.
Download the Inspire template HERE.
Directions
Print the Inspire template on a laser printer on a smooth cardstock paper.
Cut the foil to cover the printed placed you want foil and place the project in the plastic sleeve provided with the Glaminator per directions. Carefully, remove the foil when cool to reveal your project.
Lay the foil cover you created face down and spray with the adhesive spray. (Be sure to place something like kraft paper under it for overspray.) Then carefully place the open notebook, cover down, directly onto the adhesive. Gently fold the notebook closed. Then use an X-Acto blade to trim the access so the cover is the same size as your notebook.
Tie with pretty twine to present as a gift to your favorite teacher or a friend who inspires you to shine.
The Glaminator
The Glaminator is by Xyron, and I have long loved Xyron products. The sticker machines are so much fun. What makes the Galminator extra awesome is that is a foil press and laminator in one. My laminator died years ago, so I am excited to buy some laminating sheets and laminate some projects.
I used gold foil for this project, but you can buy foil in a variety of colors. It does come with one roll of gold foil to get you started.
The most important thing you need to know is that you have to print with a laser printer to use the Glaminator. I only have an inkjet, so my plan was to have a laser copy made at Staples. The results were subpar and when I inquired, I learned that the big machines they use are tonner savers so they don’t work well. A home laser printer (without the tonner saver option turned on) is recommended for the best results.
Luckily, a neighbor was happy to print a copy for me and my results were much improved. It still has a bit of a crackle effect to the foil, so I wonder if she had the tonner saver feature turned on. In the future, I will have my husband run copies off using his laser printer at work. (And maybe, my next printer will be a laser printer!)
The reason you need a laser printer is that the foil adheres to the toner when it is heated and pressed to the paper.
The Glaminator is available from Amazon for less than $50. You can buy the Glaminaor and additional rolls of foil in a variety of colors HERE.