by Roberta G. Wax
Stamping images and coloring them in is great fun. But heat embossing images to make them pop – well, that’s magic.
Heat embossing requires four basic tools: thermal embossing powder; a heating tool (NOT a hairdryer!); a rubber stamp; and pigment or embossing ink that stays wet long enough to hold the powder. Other useful items include scrap paper and a small paintbrush. An anti-static product, such as Faith’s Little Miracle, ScraPerfect Perfect Printing Pouch, or A Little Bag by A Stamper’s Touch, will help keep stray flecks from adhering.
First, place card stock over scrap paper. Ink stamp and press to card stock. Pour embossing powder (EP) over inked image, completely covering it. The powder will stick to the ink. Tip card stock and gently tap so extra powder falls to scrap paper. Use small brush to brush off stray specks. Return extra powder to jar.
Warm heat tool for about five seconds, then hold it 1” to 3” from image. If you tilt the paper at a certain angle, you can see the embossing powder change color as it melts. Don’t overheat, or the powder and paper could become singed. Always use caution with a heat tool – it’s very hot.
Embossing aficionados can feast on an appetizing array of powders from elegant and glitzy to metallic and distressed. Find gold as bright as pirate booty or as aged as ancient Rome. Add glitter. Tempt the palette with sorbet-like pastels. Dabble in distress, or just keep it clear and shiny. You can also mix and match EP, creating unique blends like blue with a dash of gold, or sprinkle a rainbow directly onto the image.
Not sure how a color will look? Make an embossing chart. Stamp a small image – perhaps a flower or word – on white card stock and emboss it with different powders. Do the same on black card stock, and soon you’ll have a library of effects. Examine the cupcake images for various looks on white card stock.
Besides varying colors, EP also comes in different granule sizes. Matching powder type and granule size to the image design is important, says Judi Watanabe of JudiKins.
“Fine-line or detailed images work best with detail powders,” she explains. “These powders have smaller granulation and the powder sticks to the fine lines or details of the stamped images. However, detail powders tend to be flatter. Bold or graphic images work best with normal embossing powders.”
Thick powder, on the other hand, creates beautiful dimension. It acts as a protective glaze, can be cracked and stained like antique veneer, or embedded with glitter or beads. Layers of thick EP can also be imprinted with a stamped impression, a technique called intaglio.
You can also use EP as a resist for a batik effect; see two examples in Design Focus on page 99. Emboss image using clear powder, then wipe ink across paper surface. The EP resists the ink. Wipe off excess ink, then either leave the embossed area as is, or cover with clean scrap paper and iron off the embossed bits.
Clear powder will reveal the ink color, but for a more vibrant hue, match the powder to the ink. For a softer look, use semi-transparent or pearlescent powders, such as white pearlescent EP over navy blue ink.
Ink must be wet enough to hold the powder, which is why pigment ink works better than dye. Some super-fine powders, such as Faith’s Transcendence, may work with dye ink on glossy paper.
“Many hybrid inks say pigment but do not emboss well,” notes Watanabe. “Also, some pigment inks will look okay when stamped, but they are actually not wet enough and the powder will not stick well.”
Embossing ink markers let you fill in images, write your own embossable words, or draw borders. Juicy markers sometimes work, too.
The type of paper also affects embossing. Paper that absorbs too much ink won’t give good results. Don’t limit embossing to just paper. Embossing powder works on metal, wood, clay, paper mâché, chipboard, and more. Use EP to change the color of a brad, paper clip or other metal embellishment, or forge your own faux metal by using metallic EP on card stock or chipboard.
So, ready to explore the magical embossing options? Oh, the choices you’ll find.
Silvers that shimmer and gold that glows are among the custom blends offered by BMuse. Sheer Translucent
Voile powders mix opaque and clear and can be used alone to create a shimmering watermark, or with colored ink to add a high gloss with flecks of gold and silver. Pastel Opaque powders are soft and pale. Ultra-fine detail powder has built-in adhesive for added stick.
For a sweet treat, eyeball the Embossing Powder Candy Store’s more than 200 blends. Choose from bright and sparkling to fine metallics; from pastels and pearls to rich opaques; from jewel and gem colors to nature’s hues.
JudiKins’ Amazing Glaze is a thick powder that provides a clear glaze or base for dimensional stamping. Other offerings include custom formulas such as White Diamond and Diamond Pastel; twinkley Chocolate, Paprika and Cabernet; gem-like shades Malachite and Lapis Lazuli, touched with gold; rock-like tones Jasper and Granite; and more.
Opals embossing enamels, created by the Australian company Pipe Dreamink and sold in the USA by After Midnight Stamps, are also thick. The opalescent colors “reflect the natural hues of the Australian environment.” The newest color, Waratah, can go cherry red if used on white chipboard with red ink, or deep red when melted on raw chipboard. Snowgum, a high-gloss white, can turn bright colors pastel.
Ranger’s array of more than 100 powders includes glossy brights, metallic, holographic, antique, superfine, ultra-thick, and more. Tim Holtz™ Distress Powders, which match the Distress Inks, have special release crystals that you rub off to a textured, worn look. The semi-matte Adirondack earth tones coordinate with Adirondack inks, while Embossing Antiquities are softly weathered. Embossing Glitter and Embossing Tinsels sparkle, Embossing Puffs look fuzzy and flocked, and Embossing Pearls Interference Powders surprise with their transformative effects. And because one gold is just not enough, Ranger has eight Ancient Golds, from African to Roman to Goddess.
Sparkle N Sprinkle’s selection includes more than 200 handmade blends, from semi-transparent and opaque to glitter. Cosmic Colors are so finely ground they are hand-mixed – literally – a process owner Margaret Myers calls “fluffing.” Cosmic Dream colors coordinate with Marco Paper’s Stardream line.
At Stewart Superior, colors run from earth tones to iridescent to metallic. Three types of powder – fine detail Filigree, dimensional Cloisonné, and regular Veneer – come from the former Stampa Rosa line.
“The colors of the powders were designed to coordinate and work really well with chalk inks,” notes Elaine Barr. Barr, now with Stewart Superior, helped engineer the powders while at Stampa Rosa. “Some colors, like Aztec Marble (a mix of silver, turquoise and iridescent clear) are a special mix of powders, resulting in a different look than just a flat color.”
Suze Weinberg’s Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) originally came in clear and black but is now joined by metallics, pearl, white, and six new Brightz including Tiger Lily (orange) and Fuchsia. Weinberg introduced the concept of using the granules in melting pots to create jewelry and other 3D art.
Whatever your powder choice, embossing will raise your stamping to a new level.