Thursday 10 December 2009

Using embossing powder with rubber stamps



Use an ink pad suitable for embossing to ink up your stamp. Rather than pressing the stamp onto the ink pad, use the ink pad and lightly press it around the stamp.








Some Pigment ink is also suitable as it takes a little while to dry giving the embossing powder time to stick.



Stamp your design. Do not rock the stamp as this will cause shadows on your image. If your paper or card sticks to the stamp hold it with one hand and lift your stamp straight up, don’t try to tilt it first and ‘peel‘ it off the paper.

Place your stamped design onto a craft tray or sheet of paper and sprinkle the embossing powder on whilst still wet. Tap off any excess powder into the craft tray or sheet of paper. This can then be returned to the jar for reuse on another craft project.













Heat your design to activate the powder using a heat gun. Keep the gun moving with circular movements so you do not overheat one spot leading to uneven results.


The design will become raised and shiny. This should take about 30 seconds.

Tips

Embossing powder can stick to areas on card that you have touched with your fingers so it is a good idea to wipe the card with an anti-static pad or talcum powder before you begin.



Make sure you give your powder a good shake before using, particularly with twinkle powders as the embossing powder and ‘glitter‘ tend to separate when they settle giving very patchy results.

If you are embossing a black outline it is better to use black ink and clear powder to stop the powder marking any non-image areas.

Use a small paint brush to remove any excess/unwanted powder before you start to heat.

Warm your heat gun for a couple of seconds before starting to use…don’t hold it too close or you will scorch your paper/card and possibly your fingers too. Also be careful what surface your stamped image is resting on as you could damage it with the heat.

If using pigment ink on glossy paper or vellum you must use embossing powder and a heat tool to dry the ink

Try clipping your stamped image onto a clipboard lined with tin foil to reflect the heat back - this gives much quicker and more even embossing results.





Links to products shown:

Vibrance Ink pad - Black
Stamps Away Embossing Powder Collection - Bright
Dovecraft Crafters Tidy Tray
Dovecraft Crafters Heat Tool 
Sticky Fingers Twinkle Embossing Powder


Happy Crafting!

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