If you know anything about me, you know this: I love hot foiling. I would hot foil every day, on every project, with any product I can get my hands on.
Because of that, over the years, I’ve built up quite a collection of hot foil colors. While I do own pretty much every foil color Spellbinders makes (yes, I even have a drawer dedicated entirely to foil), there are certain colors I reach for again and again.
Recently, I restocked some of my most-used foils, and it felt like the perfect time to share my favorite hot foil colors, show them up close, and explain why I love them so much.
These foils are for hot foil stamping, not laminator foiling — very different processes. All of the foils mentioned here are from Spellbinders.
FAVE FOIL COLORS VIDEO
Watch the video below or on my YouTube channel:
A Few Foiling Tips Before We Start
Before diving into the colors, a little foiling housekeeping:
Dedicated Scissors for Foil
I keep a separate pair of scissors just for cutting foil, marked with a small piece of tape so I never mix them up. Sharp scissors make a huge difference — they slice through foil cleanly and effortlessly. Spellbinders also has a foil trimmer, which is great for cutting sentiment strips, but honestly? I still reach for scissors most of the time because they’re faster.
Label Your Foil Rolls
When I open a new roll of foil, I cut the name/barcode from the packaging and stick it inside the foil tube. This is especially helpful for gold foils, which can look very similar at a glance. Future me is always thankful for this step!
My Most-Used Hot Foil Colors
These are listed roughly in the order I use them most.
Opaque White Foil
This is hands-down my most-used foil color. I use opaque white primarily for sentiments, and I think of it as white heat embossing — but better. It’s crisp, clean, and incredibly consistent. If you love white embossing powder, this foil is a must-try.
It comes in a two-pack with opaque black, and I go through the white much faster than the black.
Opal Foil
Opal is a clear foil, and it gives a beautiful tone-on-tone effect — similar to watermark stamping, but with shine. It really shines on colored cardstock and looks stunning for backgrounds. One of my favorite ways to use it is with confetti-style plates to create a soft snow effect.
Subtle, elegant, and absolutely gorgeous.
Opaque Black Foil
This foil has a muted, soft finish, not shiny, not matte, and I actually prefer it over the regular black foil. I often use it in place of BetterPress ink because it looks like pressed or stamped black ink when foiled. It’s perfect for sentiments and background plates when you want a clean, printed look.
Matte Gold Foil
If I had to choose one gold foil, this would be it. Matte gold has a soft, elegant shine that never feels flashy. It foils beautifully almost every single time and gives incredibly consistent results. This is one of my most reliable foils for both backgrounds and sentiments.
Matte Silver Foil
Much like matte gold, matte silver gives a softer finish than regular silver and foils beautifully. I don’t use it as often, but when the color combo calls for it, it’s absolutely perfect — especially for sentiments.
Polished Brass Foil
Polished brass is warmer and shinier than matte gold. It leans more yellow and adds a rich, glowing finish. It’s stunning for both backgrounds and sentiments, and while it’s shinier, it still foils very cleanly.
Satin Metallics Variety Pack
This pack includes four satin metallic foils. I regularly use three of them (one is a bit too orange for my taste).
These foils have:
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Less shine
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A soft, satin finish
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Excellent foiling performance
They’re beautiful for elegant projects where you want metallic without high shine.
Champagne Foil
Champagne was one of my early favorites, and while I don’t reach for it as often now, it’s still a lovely color. It’s shiny, softer than regular gold, and foils very well. Great when you want warmth without full gold intensity.
Aura Foil
Aura has a subtle, magical effect and works especially well for solid backgrounds. I don’t use it often, but it’s one of those foils that always impresses me when I do. It foils cleanly and adds beautiful interest.
Classic Gold Foil
This is the gold foil often included with the Glimmer Hot Foil System. It’s versatile and works well for sentiments and backgrounds. Like all foils, it performs best once your plate is fully heated — my early test panel had imperfections simply because the plate wasn’t hot enough yet.
Final Thoughts
I love seeing foil colors side by side because they look very different in real life than they do online. Finish, shine, warmth — all of that matters.
Spellbinders offers many other foil colors (reds, greens, pinks, purples, teals), and while I use those occasionally, especially for holidays, these are the ones I reach for most often in everyday cardmaking.
What’s your favorite hot foil color?
Leave me a comment — I’d love to hear, and maybe I’ll discover a new favorite!
Thanks so much for reading — and happy foiling!
SUPPLIES
I’m listing the products I used below. Click on the link to go directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil 2 Rolls – Opaque Black & White Pack Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Roll – Opal Shop at: SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil – Matte Gold Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Roll – Matte Silver Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Roll – Polished Brass Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil 4 Rolls – Satin Metallics Variety Pack Shop at: SB USA | SB UK |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Roll – Champagne Shop at: SB USA | SB UK |
 Glimmer Hot Foil Roll – Aura Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Roll – Gold Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
 Spellbinders 9″ Pro Shears Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil System (Platinum) Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
 Spellbinders Glimmer Specialty Cardstock 10 Sheet Pack Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | PFS |
 Spellbinders Quick Trimmer Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
 Spellbinders Quick Trimmer Replacement Blades Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ | PFS |
