Embossing Tricks & Treats

The Design Team were tasked with providing some Halloween Tricks & Treats (aka tips & tricks) and I chose heat-embossing as it’s one of my favourite crafting things to do.  (Ink blending is the other and, as you’ll see later, they are the perfect bed fellows!)  When I first started trying heat-embossing, I had many epic fails; some were due to my lack of knowledge and others were using the wrong equipment.  Hopefully, these tips and tricks will get you on a successful heat-embossing journey.

Embossing Tools

To heat-emboss, you will need a heat tool.  There are many makes of heat tool; some have one heat setting and others have two, a lower heat for drying and a higher one for embossing.  Another tool which I think is essential is an anti-static powder tool.  They are inexpensive and last for years.  Mine is called an Embossing Buddy and is a small sack of very fine powder which is rubbed or dabbed over the card before stamping.  It reduces static and residue from fingers touching the card.  Here’s an example that I did on black card that I had just stamped and applied silver embossing powder.  As you can see, there are quite a few random speckles of silver.  Whilst the outside areas could be wiped away with a dry paintbrush before heating, the specks around the letters are tricky to get to without disturbing the powder that you want to keep.

This example used the same card but the powder tool was liberally dabbed all over before stamping.  You can see that there are no stray specks of powder. 

The more contrast there is between the powder and the card, the more liberally the powder needs to be applied. 

Ink pads

Water based ink pads (like the Distress inks and oxides, Elements etc) are not your friend as they do not stay wet for long enough to allow the embossing powder to stick.   What you need for success is an oil-based ink pad that has a longer ‘open’ time, meaning that it doesn’t dry so quickly.  My favourite clear pad is the Versamark Watermark stamp pad that has super sticky ink that embossing powder sticks to really well.  I use it every time I want to emboss with metallic powders, like this card with gold heat-embossed pumpkins made using Happy Halloween stamps.

The other ink pads I use a lot are Versafine and Versafine Clair.  These are oil-based pigment inks with the added bonus that they come in different colours.  I really like to emboss the sentiment on cards so these ink pads are really useful for that.  There are coloured embossing powders out there but I get better results from coloured stamping and clear heat-embossing over the top.  In this example, I’ve stamped in Versamark and added black embossing powder over the top.  Despite using the powder tool, there are still a few black specks around the sentiment.

This sentiment was stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne, clear embossing powder added and heat set.  There are a few tiny specks of clear powder but because they are clear, they're not visible and the finished result is much cleaner.

How To Do It

1.      Prepare the card by using an anti-static powder tool all over.

2.     Stamp the image with your chosen ink; I’m using Versamark.

3.    Cover with embossing powder then tip off the excess.  Tap the back sharply a couple of times to remove any stray bits.  Tidy up any areas with a small dry paintbrush.

4.  Allow the heat tool to warm up for 20 seconds before hovering about 3-4cm above the embossing powder, moving slowly as you see the powder melt and become smooth and shiny.  Heat-embossing does tend to warp the card a little but heating up the tool beforehand minimises the warping.  If it’s really bad, try heating from the back as that can even it out.

If you have a stamping platform, it is possible to use water-based inks together with Versamark in a 2-step process.  First, place the stamp on the platform and stamp the card.  Then, without moving the stamp or card, apply Versamark to the stamp, add clear embossing powder and heat-set.

Uses

Heat-embossing is very versatile.  It can be used for backgrounds, foregrounds, sentiments, fancy techniques – the list is endless.  It’s useful if you want to colour with alcohol markers and don’t have alcohol-friendly ink.  Just stamp and clear heat-emboss the image and the ink is sealed in behind the embossing.  I love to use it over an inky background, like this one using the Grunge Birthday Words background stamp.  Just make sure that the background is totally dry otherwise the embossing powder will stick to the damp areas.  Test before stamping by pouring some powder onto the inky panel.  If it all tips off, you’re good to go.  It any sticks, simply sweep off with a dry brush and let the panel dry some more.

If you’d rather go more ‘clean & simple’, heat-embossing is definitely your friend.  I made this sample using Anyone For Bubbles in about 2 minutes!  Glue it to a gold mirror mat and then onto a card blank for a quick but stylish make.

Another great embossing trick is the ‘emboss resist’ technique.  Here the clear embossing seals in the colour which is revealed when black is blended over the rest of the panel.  The embossing resists the black ink, which can just be wiped off.  If you'd like to see how to do this, check out this post.

You can emboss on acetate, vellum and I’ve even done it on a tin too.

A last tip I often do to frame a sentiment is to drag the edge of the sentiment across the Versamark pad and then add the embossing powder.  I’d recommend doing two sides, adding the powder and heat-setting and then repeating for the other two sides. 

This gives a nice matching border and by varying the pressure, you can make thick and thin borders – perfect if you want a grungy look!

So, if you’re new to heat-embossing, I’d start out by getting a good quality heat tool, an anti-static powder tool, some metallic embossing powders plus clear and white, a Versamark ink pad and whichever coloured Versafine Clair ink pads you prefer.