HOT Hot Foil Plates

 A couple of years back DH wanted to stop at Harbor Freight for some such product so I went inside with him and looked around. I found a small telescopic magnet and I picked that up thinking it would get use in my craft room if I dropped a metal die piece or whatever on the floor. I keep this tool on the side of my Big Shot machine and it has gotten much use in this craft room from picking up metal dies on the floor or small scissors I knock off the work table, etc...  Fast forward to hot foiling...

My Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Machine came with a magnetic tool to pick up your hot foil plate pieces off the machine when you are done hot foiling to transfer them to the cooling mat that also comes with the machine. The magnet pick up tool keeps you from touching the heated hot plate pieces.... Works great for small hot foil plate pieces but once the solid plates and background hot plates were introduced the small pick up tool could not lift the heavier plates up off the base of the hot foil machine...

Off to the auto store for me - right by the register is a stand of magnetic "tool pick up" tools. Some reach further than others, some have a light with it, some of them made for heavier items. ... but I bought your basic magnetic pick up tool:

I recently bought the Hero Arts Hearts hot foil plate and this pick up tool works well for that:

Happy this heavier pick up tool worked picking up this solid plate but I also took a photo to show which plate I had originally bought this pick up tool for:

This solid plate is from Pink Fresh and every time I hot foil I use this plate at the end to hot foil all my negative foil pieces to keep my waste to a minimum. This is the largest and heaviest hot foil plate I use. With using this magnetic pick up tool from the auto store I do not have to handle the heated hot foil plate to get it off the machine and onto the cooling mat. I keep this magnetic pick up tool in with all the tools I use for hot foiling. 

Nichol Sphor recently made a hot foil video for YouTube sharing all her hot foil tips and tricks. It is an informative video and easy to follow for anyone with questions - she also makes projects as she is hot foiling so you can see her use her foiled pieces on her projects. I foiled the Hearts hot foil plate by Hero Arts and I will be using these hot foiled pieces on some of my Valentine's Day treat holders I am working on. Hot foiling gives your projects a nice touch -- and easy to do .... but practice makes perfect as with anything else that is new to you.... Watch videos and take notes but most importantly take your hot foil machine out of the box and play with it!