Today we had our class on clear sheet embossing. We made the two cards posted here. I had asked what the dragonfly symbolizes in Japan and Kayoko said that dragonflies are a symbol of happiness. :o) That's why I love them so much. I have information about embossing in general. Thought I would post it here. There is so much you can do with your embossing powders. For our cards I used a projector transparency that is heat resistant. One side is rough and the other is shiny. Stamp image on the rough side. Hold your heat gun farther away with this project as to not melt the sheet of plastic.
Choose a paper or craft object to Emboss. Don't limit yourself to just plain paper. Rubber stamping and embossing works well on fabric, glass, mirrors, tiles and terra cotta pots. Experiment with a variety of papers and transparencies, shrink plastic, laminated sheets, wood and metal. Ink and stamp your image on your paper or craft object using Versa mark or a slow drying Pigment Ink Pad. Tap your rubber stamp firmly several times on the Versa mark Pad or ink pad in order to completely ink the stamp. Make sure the rubber is completely covered with ink. Always stamp a new rubber stamp onto a piece of scrap paper for the first time to make sure all areas of the image are well inked. Place your rubber stamp firmly on the paper or transparency, being careful not to rock the stamp. Rocking will result in blurred lines. Large rubber stamps require more care in pressing down on all corners of the stamp. Each rubber stamp is different and you will learn how to best stamp each one. Some need more pressure in order to get the perfect image. The difference between pigmented inks and dye inks is evident in that the Pigment inks stay "wet" longer. Pigment inks do not work well on glossy card stock unless you are EMBOSSING the image. There are many choices of slow drying pigment inks with slight tints to dark shades or no color at all. After rubber stamping your image with pigment ink, sprinkle embossing powder over the image. Turn the artwork and gently tap off excess embossing powder. Use a dry paintbrush to remove any stray flecks from surrounding areas. Do this before you heat the image. If the powder is not sticking to the image in even heavy coats check to be sure you rubber stamp is well inked. Embossing powders also come in a wide variety of choices, from Ultra Fine to Tinsel. Both the pigment ink and embossing powder are available in many color choices as well as metallic, pearlescent and other unusual compositions. The final step is to direct hot air from your heat tool over the powder. This will melt the powder and create the Thermal embossed effect. EMBOSSING POWDER comes in many different compositions. Metallic Powders such as Gold, Silver, Bronze or Pewter can be used with the embossing inks, either tinted or clear. Using slightly tinted or clear ink with Metallic powders will produce a true metallic effect. Although the Metallic Powders can be used with colored inks to achieve truly remarkable effects such as tinted copper and aged pewter. Embossing powders comes in many Opaque colors as well as soft subtle Pearlized Powders and Clear and also Glitter Powders. You can experiment by mixing your colors and your effects. Pearlescence are soft and gentle colors that are excellent for pastel effects and baby or wedding themes. Clear Powder gives your image a raised glossy effect and looks stunning on dark papers and objects. Tinsels or Glitter Embossing Powders can be Clear or Opaque. Gold Embossing Powder with flecks of ultra fine gold glitter in it create a very beautiful and dramatic effect. Try mixing your powder colors and adding some glitter or confetti in moderation for your own unique recipes! A heat gun is the easiest method to melt your powders and create the even glossy embossed effect. But if you do not have one, alternative sources of heat can be utilized. Do not use a hair dryer, this does not get hot enough and will blow the powder off the card. You can try using your oven by placing the card face up on a baking sheet and putting it into a preheated 325 degree oven. Be careful you do not over heat or your card stock will be scorched.
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