Embossing and Rubber Stamping
From LoveToKnow Crafts
Embossing is probably the rubber stamping technique that attracts the most people to the craft. Embossing raises the surface of the stamp and makes it shiny, pearlescent or metallic.
How embossing works
Embossing involves using a special powder and a heat sources to make the stamped image stand out and change color or shine.
Basically, you stamp the image with embossing ink or regular ink, liberally sprinkle on embossing powder, tap off the excess and use a heat source to melt the powder. We’ll go into more detailed instructions in a minute.
Embossing is a wonderful technique because it makes even simple rubber stamps look beautiful. You can add color and texture to your designs, draw focus to one part of your design and make the project looks fancy and irresistibly touchable.
Ink for embossing
Basically any ink can be used for embossing. If you use regular dye-based ink, you will have to work very quickly because the ink dries quickly and if the ink dries the embossing powder will have nothing to stick to.
Pigment-based inks are a better choice. They are still widely available at craft stores but take longer to dry so you can take a little more care putting the embossing powder on top of the stamp. If you want to use pigment ink on glossy paper, you will have to emboss it because otherwise the ink will not dry properly.
There are also special inks made for embossing. They usually come in a clear of light-colored ink that you will color as you like with the embossing powder.
Embossing powders
Embossing powders are sold in little jars. You can find a decent variety of them at your local craft store, or there are many more colors and varieties available on the Internet. To see some of the supplies that are out there, visit Stampin’.
You will find basic solid colors, metallics, pearls, foils, vibrant, almost Day-Glo colors, even colors that make kind of antique finishes. So it’s easy to see that this simple technique will provide a bunch of great opportunities to alter your designs.
Basic techniques for embossing
Before you begin embossing, you will need to gather some materials and prepare your work area. You will need the paper you want to stamp on, the stamps you need, the ink, embossing powders and heat gun or other heat source. You will also want a large piece of paper or an empty file folder to hold the excess powder you will drop.
Stamp the image in the way described in Rubber Stamping Technique. Pick up the stamped sheet of paper and sprinkle embossing powder liberally over the paper. Gently tap the excess off onto the sheet of paper or open file folder. You might want to use a small paintbrush to make sure there are no particles where you don’t want them.
If you have a heat gun, which looks a little bit like a hair dryer or a curling iron without the metal parts, just let it warm up and wave it slowly a few inches from the powdered image. The powder will melt and look finished, but don’t touch it until it cools.
Other potential heat sources
If you don’t have a heat gun but still want to try out embossing, head to the kitchen. Turn your toaster to the darkest setting and push down the handle so it starts to heat. Wave the card (with the stamped side up) over the toaster, being careful to make sure the whole image gets heated and that you don’t scorch the page.
Other possible heat sources include a warm light bulb, an electric burner or hot plate. Hair dryers are not effective because they don’t get hot enough.
Fixing mistakes in your embossing
Sometimes a small portion of your design won’t get stamped or embossed properly. There are inky markers on the market that you can use to draw in a missing part of the design so you can emboss that section.
Alternatively, you can use an eraseable ball-point pen to color in the unembossed portion if you are going to use colored embossing powder. Or buy a clear embossing marker to fill in the space.
If you color in the image after you have embossed the image and some of the color gets on top of the embossed part, simply warm it again. When the powder remelts it will cover up the color.
Other sources for embossing tools
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