Further to the question of how to show glitter on greeting card mockups, here is a real example of one of my greeting cards that has a pearly foil pattern in the background, on the text, and embossed flowers. When I created this card, I had four printouts from the layers in my Adobe Illustrator file…

1) The Print Only Layer shows what will be printed in ink on the card. (Click to see full-sized images)

2) The Foil Layer shows where glitter or foil stamping will be used. Note that when you go to send the design to a printer, if there is more than one colour of foil used, you will need to make separate layers in your files for each colour.

3) The Emboss / Cup die Layer shows the outlines of what shape needs to be created with the emboss.

4) The Mockup shows where the foil and emboss layers are meant to line up with the printed image below.

If you are sending a card design to a greeting card publisher and wish to show foil, glitter, or embossing, the simplest way to do it is to show it in black printouts separately from the design itself. You can find more of my greeting card tips here.

I was thrilled to snag this vintage Tala icing set at a garage sale last weekend for $1! I love the 1950’s era style illustration, just makes me want to paint my nails red and ice something. I think a lot can be learned from looking at what illustrators did during that era, from retro colour choices to the over-the-top perfection of the scenes illustrated. The illustrations from this era really capture the unreal expectations on house wives of that time to achieve perfection, right down to how elegantly they decorate cakes.