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!
No comments:
Post a Comment