Tricks and Techniques: Heat Embossing

Got a special occasion coming up that requires a beautiful and absolutely stunning card design? Of all the techniques out there for paper crafting, nothing says elegant more than embossing. The shiny and smooth raised surface of the embossed design on a piece of high-quality card stock is sophistication at its very best.

When I was first introduced to embossing by my design teacher in college, I fell in love with it instantly. He told us about printers being able to do it for bulk orders (it was an advertising course, so, of course, our needs would have been for elegant marketing materials or, perhaps, business cards) and showed us the difference between the two types available: the more expensive version which embossed the paper and added ink to the raised surfaces so that you could see and feel the reverse image on the other side of the paper; and the more cost-effective version where only the ink is raised, not the paper.

Imagine my delight when I discovered heat embossing and dry embossing for paper crafting. I had no idea that there was a way to emboss on a smaller scale at home! Today’s post will cover heat embossing with stamps, while next week’s post will walk through the steps of dry embossing with stencils. I’ve been having a lot of fun with both techniques and I hope you will too.

Supplies:

·      Piece of card stock big enough to fit your stamped design (any colour)

Equipment:

·      Acrylic stamp in the design of your choice

·      Acrylic stamp mount

·      Embossing stamp pad

·      Embossing powder in the colour of your choice

·      Small paint brush

·      Heat tool (like this one)

·      Two sheets of scrap text weight paper

·      Heat-resistant surface (I used a wooden cutting board)

Directions:

1.     Fold the two pieces of scrap paper in half to make a crease down the middle of each. Place them beside each other on a sturdy surface with the crease placed so that the paper will fold upward. Put the piece of card stock on top of one of the pieces of paper.

2.     Gather all of the equipment together. You’ll need to work quickly, so having everything ready and within easy reach is a good idea. Plug in the heat tool (do not turn it on yet) and place it beside the heat-resistant surface you are using. Put all the rest of the equipment by the two pieces of scrap paper.

3.     Mount the acrylic stamp on the stamp mount.

4.     Saturate the stamp evenly with the embossing stamp pad. Press the stamp on to the card stock, using firm and even pressure.

5.     Cover the stamped image with embossing powder. Tap the card stock on to the scrap paper to remove the excess powder. If there’s any loose powder remaining on the card stock, use the paint brush to carefully brush it off on to the scrap paper.

6.     Move the card stock to the heat-resistant surface. Turn on the heat tool and hold it about two inches above the image. Slowly move the nozzle in a circular motion until all of the powder is evenly melted with a glossy, raised finish. Wave the card stock a couple of times to set the image, then set it aside until it is cool.

7.     Turn off and unplug the heat tool and allow it to cool on a heat-resistant surface.

8.     Wash the stamp and stamp mount with warm, soapy water.

9.     Return the excess embossing powder to its container by placing the bottle on the piece of scrap paper that doesn’t have powder on it. Carefully lift the other piece of paper over the bottle’s mouth, using the paper’s crease to help funnel the excess powder into the bottle. If any powder spills, repeat the process by reversing the functions of each piece of scrap paper (i.e. the one that was the funnel is now the one that holds the bottle and vice versa).

Tips:

·      Always use clean stamps.

·      For best results, be sure to use firm, even pressure when stamping the image.

·      Ensure that all stamps are cleaned with warm, soapy water before storing.

·      To avoid scorching the image or the card stock, be sure to constantly move the heat tool in circles and keep it at least two inches from the surface.

·      If the card stock curls, heat the back of the card stock and then wave it a few times through the air. Place the card stock under a heavy book and press for five to ten minutes.

I hope you all will have as much fun with heat embossing as I have had. It took me a few practices runs to get it right, but my persistence certainly paid off and I’m so happy with the results.

Have a fantastic weekend and be sure to come back next week for a tutorial on dry embossing. See you then!

Happy Birthday, Ruth!

Today is Ruth’s birthday! Ruth is truly a wonderful human being – she is the type of person who senses when you are down and gives you a huge hug, she has an infectious laugh and she can make you feel happy just by being in her presence.

She’s up visiting us for a few days right now (we live over 10 hours away from each other by driving, so visits are highly anticipated and always over too soon), so I had to make her card, take pictures and write this post before she arrived on Wednesday. I, of course, left it to the last day, so here I sit typing away feverishly 45 minutes before I have to leave to go pick her up at the bus terminal. Luckily, I had already decided exactly what I wanted to do for her card, so after a last minute trip to Michael’s this morning for supplies, I was able to craft this pretty and glittery greeting for our dear friend.

Supplies:

·      Sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” black card stock

·      Sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” silver text weight paper

·      Two sheets of 8 1/2” x 11” white text weight paper (to catch glitter)

Equipment:

·      Computer

·      Printer

·      Paper trimmer

·      Bone folder

·      Glue stamp pad

·      Clear stamp mounting block

·      Clear acrylic stamp (I used a rose patterned one)

·      Hot pink glitter

·      Glue runner

Directions:

1.     Create a new 8 1/2” x 11” document in a design layout program. Make a text box in the upper left hand corner (approximately 3” wide) and write the words, “Happy Birthday” in the font of your choice. Print the document.

2.     Use the paper trimmer to cut the black card stock in half to get two pieces, measuring 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” each. Set one aside for future projects. Trim the silver text weight paper to create a small rectangle around the “Happy Birthday” text. Trim a 3 3/4” x 5” rectangle from the remaining silver paper and set the rest aside for future projects.

3.     Fold the black card stock into a 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” card with the bone folder.

4.     Use the glue runner to attach the 3 3/4” x 5” rectangle to the inside right panel of the card.

5.     Place the card on one of the sheets of white text paper. Mount your stamp on the stamp block. Tap the stamp on the glue pad to coat the stamping surface with glue. Stamp four roses on the front panel of the card, positioning them in the four corners (make sure to coat the stamp with glue between stamps).

6.     Pour glitter over the stamped images. Once completely covered, pick up the card and tap it on to the white paper to get rid of the excess glitter. Use a small paintbrush to brush any bits of glitter that remain on the card (that aren’t part of the stamped image, of course!).

7.     Wash the stamp and stamp block before the glue dries.

8.     Put the uncapped bottle of glitter on to the other sheet of white paper. Take the paper with the excess glitter on it and funnel it over the glitter bottle to return the excess glitter to its container.

9.     Use the glue runner to attach the “Happy Birthday” sentiment to the middle of the front panel of the card.

Have a wonderful weekend , everyone (or long weekend, if you are in Ontario or anywhere else that has a very much needed long weekend this week!). See you next Friday!

Countdown to Valentine's Day: Card 5

Conversation Heart card

Today brings us to the last card in the Valentine's Day series. It's a cute and fun card that brings back memories of passing those bright and colourful (yet, oh so chalky!) hearts around the grade two classroom, everyone hyped up on too much sugar and the excitement of the holiday. We had so much fun decorating those brown paper bags, taping them to our desks and then running around delivering those little Disney or Looney Tunes themed paper Valentines. The day was so innocent then - it was all about arts and crafts, candy, and a day full of fun school games. And so, in an attempt to recapture that innocence, here is the Conversation Heart Valentine.

Supplies:

·      Sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" red card stock

·      Sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" white text paper

Equipment:

·      Computer

·      Printer

·      Paper trimmer

·      Bone folder

·      Heart border paper punch

·      Large heart paper punch (approximately 2" wide)

·      Mini heart paper punch

·      Glue stick

·      Piece of wax paper

·      Heavy book for pressing

Directions:

1.     Create a new 8 1/2" x 11" document in a design layout program. Make a 4" x 6" text box and write in three conversation heart sayings (like "BE MINE" "SWEET HEART" and "KISS ME") using capital letters in a sans serif font (like Arial). Centre the text and space the sayings so that there is room to punch large hearts around them. Print the document.

2.     Use the paper trimmer to cut the red card stock in half to make two pieces, measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". Set one piece aside for future projects. Trim the white text paper so that there is a large border around the three sayings. Trim the rest of the paper into a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" rectangle. Set the rest aside to use in step six.

3.     Fold the remaining card stock piece with the bone folder into a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card.

4.     Use the heart border paper punch to punch the right edge of the front panel of the card.

5.     Glue the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of white text paper into the right inside panel of the card.

6.     Use the large heart paper punch to punch out the conversation heart sayings (centre the text in the middle of each heart). Use the mini heart punch to punch out six mini hearts from the remaining white text paper.

7.     Glue the three large hearts down the middle of the card with the glue stick. Take the mini hearts and glue them around the large hearts.

8.     Place the wax paper over the folded card. Put the heavy book on top and press until the glue is dry.

I hope you all have liked the cards in this series! I had a lot of fun designing and making them. See you next Friday!

Countdown to Valentine’s Day: Card 4

Key to my heart card and gift bag

 It’s the first post of February and time to get back on the countdown to Valentine’s Day. Today, we have a card and gift bag combo, great for surprising that special someone this February 14.

Supplies:

·      Two sheets of 8 1/2” x 11” red card stock

·      Sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” white text weight paper

·      Scrap of coordinating patterned card stock, measuring at least 4” x 6”

Equipment:

·      Computer

·      Printer

·      Paper trimmer

·      Bone folder

·      Embossing stylus (optional)

·      Pencil

·      Scissors

·      Craft knife

·      Metal-edged ruler

·      Mini heart paper punch

·      Glue stick

·      Glue runner

·      Decorative edged scissors (I used the “double bubble” ones)

·      Wax paper

·      Heavy book for pressing

Directions:

1.     Using a design program, create an 11” x 8 1/2” (letter-sized) document in landscape layout with 1/2” margins. Insert a heart shape (measuring no bigger than 5 1/4” wide x 4” tall), two key images (one 1 1/2” long and one 2” long – I used this image) and the text, “You hold the key to my heart” as shown below. Print the document.

2.     Trim one sheet of card stock in half lengthwise with the paper trimmer to get two pieces, measuring 11” x 4 1/4”. Set one aside for future projects.

3.     Fold the 11” x 4 1/4” card stock in half to make a 5 1/2” x 4 1/4” card with the bone folder.

4.     Turn the card over so that the opening is on the left. Place the heart image over the card, lining it up so that the right edge overlaps the fold a little bit. Using the embossing stylus (or a pencil if you don’t have a stylus) to trace over the heart image to transfer the shape on to the card stock. Cut the card stock with the scissors to create a heart-shaped card (make sure to have the overlap so that you end up with one card that unfolds, not two heart-shaped pieces of card stock).

5.     Trim the patterned card stock with the decorative edge scissors to get one piece measuring approximately 3” x 1 1/4” and another measuring 2” x 1”.

6.     Cut out the key images with the scissors and the craft knife. Cut the individual words of the sentiment into little rectangles with the craft knife and the metal-edged ruler.

7.     Punch out six mini hearts from the left over patterned card stock.

8.     Glue the key images with the glue stick on to the patterned card stock rectangles. Glue the larger key on to the front of the heart-shaped card. Glue the text above and below the key image. Glue the mini hearts along the sides of the image.

9.     Place the wax paper on top of the folded card and press with the book until the glue is dry.

10. Mark the second piece of card stock with guidelines for the bag layout, using the template below. 

Bag template

11. Cut and score the guidelines, using the template as a guide.

12. Glue the small key image on to one of the large panels of the gift bag (on the opposite side of the pencil marks), centered underneath the handle.

13. Use the technique in step 9 to press the key image on the bag until the glue has dried.

14. Use the glue runner to glue the bag together, using the images below as a guide on how to fold in the panels.

 

Hope you like this card and gift bag combo. Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you next week for the final card in the Valentine’s Day Countdown! See you then!