StamperCamper's Corner

Many years ago (okay actually around 12 years ago) the store where I bought material for quilting was having a class on embossing. Since I always enjoy learning something new, I signed up. Well...that was the class that started it all. I was HOOKED!!! I think embossing is one of the easiest and most impressive 'techniques' when it comes to stamping. So...don't know how to emboss? Need a refresher course? Here you go...



First a little bit about what you need...you need pigment ink for the most part (I'll get more into that in my next column), embossing powder and a heat tool. Oh...additional supplies that really just makes your life easier are the embossing buddy, a tray, and a finger extender.



Let's look at the supplies...first the heat tool and finger extender. The heat tool is really just a paint stripper. It gets REALLY hot so you need to be careful with it. Older versions have an exposed tip which makes it easy to burn yourself. Fortunately the newer ones have a recessed tip so it is very difficult to come into contact with it. I believe the finger extender is actually a necessity or you will find it hurts to emboss. Now some folks have found an alternative use for the finger extenders...they use them to hang their clothes out to dry. (Isn't it just delightful that such a valuable stamping tool can also be used around the house too!) Just remember to only use the wood version of the finger extenders as the plastic one WILL melt! (Ummmm...not the I ever tried that!)



The next set of supplies also go together. They are the ink, embossing buddy and embossing powder. First, when embossing think pigment (wet) ink (see my posting on inks). My VERY favorite embossing ink in the whole wide world is the Versamark pad. The Versamark pad is wet and sticky so it hold the embossing powder perfectly. (And it is perfectly okay that your Versamark pad is all stained and messy, it still works and it means you use it!) Stamp with Versamark ink and put clear embossing powder on top, heat and whatever is underneath shows through. Add a colored embossing powder like gold, silver, black or white and that will be the color of your embossing. You can also use a colored pigment ink or Stampin' Up! craft ink and put clear embossing powder on it and it will show the color of the ink.



Now...I'm sure you're wondering about the embossing buddy. This is like the finger extender in that it is one of the handiest little things out there. The purpose of the embossing buddy is to either dry your ink or your paper. If you have problems with alot of 'stray' spects of embossing powder on your finished piece, the problem is either damp paper or wet ink. Why would your paper be damp you ask? When if you are handling it, you can be transferring wet/oil from your hands or if you live in Ohio where the humidity is usually somewhere around 120%, that could be it too. On the ink side, if you are doing two-step stamping, the first layer of ink might not be completely dry yet when you go to emboss on top of it. You LIGHTLY tap the embossing buddy over your piece BEFORE stamping with your Versamark or pigment ink. The biggest mistake folks make is not using the embossing buddy at the right time (or not at all). So it's embossing buddy, pigment ink, embossing powder. So when embossing remember to EPE (like you'd actually remember THAT one!).



Next on to your embossing powder. You have three 'thicknesses' of embossing powder. I would say 95% of the time you are going to use just regular embossing powder. This comes in MANY varieties for all kinds of cool looks! Detailed embossing powder is EXTREMELY fine powder (which means it sticks EVERYWHERE unless you use your embossing buddy) but is absolutely the ONLY powder you should use if your stamp image has fine lines. The last kind is thick or glassy glaze embossing powder that when you open the container, it looks like sugar in there it's so thick! You usually use this when you are covering an entire piece of cardstock and not for an actual image.



So now that you know what the supplies are, how do you emboss? Well, you tap, tap, tap (that's your embossing buddy), you stamp with versamark or a pigment ink, cover with embossing powder (and tap off the excess), and heat. When you heat, the best way is to turn on your heat tool and get it hot. Hold your heat tool (remember, use that finger extender!) about 1 1/2" to 2" away from the paper. I like to hold it in place until the embossing powder begins to turn, then I move it to the next section and slowly move around the paper getting all the spots. I see alot of folks 'waving' the heat tool and it takes longer to emboss your image and more chance of missing spots.



Oh...and one last thing...here's my MY Versamark pads ACTUALLY look like (and they still work!)

Well...that's all for Embossing 101. I'll get into a more embossing information in Embossing 102 so stay tuned.