Howdy! We are getting closer and closer to the end of Level 2! There will be two more lessons left and my excitement is growing! Today’s lesson is all about embossing.
I have heard many times horrid stories about heat embossing: warped paper, burnt paper, leftover residue all over the design, uneven embossed image or melted too much, etc. Oh, what a mess! Well, let me tell you, heat embossing doesn’t have to be a nightmare; quite the opposite, it is a wonderful and quick technique and very easy to do. But you have to do it right! Before I begin with today’s project inspiration and design, let me give you some tips on embossing and how to fall in love with it!
- Tip One – to me, this is the most important thing, and you can apply this to all of your crafting supplies: Do not buy cheap supplies! Less is more, truly! Buying from irreputable sources might sound like a good deal and that you are getting more for your buck, but I hate to break it to you, but you will end up paying more in the long run and your final designs will look cheep and you will not be happy with how your designs turned out, and you will most likely face all the issues previously mentioned. Seriously, no cutting corners!
- Tip Two – Paper. Paper is the most important element in card making. You need to educate yourself on paper first. There are a lot of different kinds of paper out there and not all of them are suitable for card making. For embossing you want to choose a good quality paper that can stand the heat of your heat gun. The paper has to be at least 80 lbs but I do recommend 110 lbs. But be careful because not all 110 lbs card stocks are the same. Cheaper paper will not be as thick as let’s say Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lbs. Also, when using vellum, please make sure that vellum is at least 40 lbs! I use Vellum that is 48 lbs and it is just an amazing paper to work with and perfect for embossing
- Tip Three: Ink and Embossing powders. There are a lot of companies that make watermark inks, and a lot of them work great. I prefer VersaMark embossing ink and WOW embossing powders, but when it comes to embossing powders one thing that I like to buy are super fine embossing powders, or as fine as I can find. The finest the powder, the smoother the embossing will be
- Tip Four: Heat Gun. Use a good heat gun that provides a lot of heat! You want your powder to melt fast; try to spend the little time possible heating that paper. You have to move quick, especially if you are working with vellum.
- Tip Five: ALWAYS PREPARE YOUR PAPER FOR EMBOSSING! This is a big MUST, especially with vellum. Paper tends to keep static and attracts embossing powders all the time; that is why we always use “anti static powder” (this is really nothing but baby powder) to treat the paper, especially vellum, before embossing
So these are my tips for embossing, now let’s get into it!
My inspiration for today was this card. I love the black with gold and shimmer from embossing paste! Black and gold just never gets old! So this is what I came up with:
These are my supplies:
- Altenew Shine Like a Diamond Stamp Set
- Altenew Metallic Watercolors
- Versamark Ink
- Gold Embossing Powder
After I prepared my paper for embossing, I used my MISTI to stamp the image. This is very useful, because the stamp that I used is quite big and I knew I will have to stamp it more than once. I then pour gold embossing powder all over it and made sure that my heat gun is hot before I started embossing. I then used metallic watercolors by Altenew to color some squares/diamonds, added embellishments and attached everything to the card base. And my card was done!
It really is hard to show how sparkly and fabulous this card turned out. I love it! I love the size, I love how elegant and sophisticated it looks. And the best part, it was quick and easy!
Thank you for stopping by today. If you have any questions and/or suggestions please let me know in the description box below. I will be back with a new post soon, and until then be well and stay safe.
Cheers!