TECHNIQUE CLASS - Heat Emboss in any Color!

 Yes, you read that right.  How is that possible? Read on to find out. 

Emma Parkin-Wilson, Independent Demonstrator  from Australia, is my inspiration.  

You'll never buy colored embossing powder again!

Why Emboss?

*To highlight a stamped image

* To add texture

* To seal the edges of your image from ink in the background, or

* To seal the edges of your image to ink within the embossed lines

If you’ve never heat embossed before, here are the basic tools and instructions. (If you’ve done it, scroll down to the instructions for today’s project in RED.)

Heat Tool – NOT a hair dryer

Anti-static pad  - find it here at Amazon

VersaMark watermark Ink

Embossing Powder Clear

Heart & Home Stamps

Stamp Image - Hello Friend is a Sale A Bration Free choice - the following photos show the images, embossed with clear embossing powder. You can see how shiny the image is.

Basic instructions:

1. Rub an anti-static pad across your cardstock. If you don’t do this, the embossing powder will cling to areas where you don’t want it to go.

2. Ink up your stamp, making sure the VersaMark is on all of the stamp, but not on the edges beyond the image.

3. Press the stamp firmly (don’t rock it) on your cardstock to make an imprint. Remember that VersaMark is clear, so that you won’t see the stamped image as well as if it was stamped with a color. 

4.  Using a tray or clean paper underneath your cardstock, sprinkle the stamped image with the embossing powder; then tap the powder off into the tray or paper, and pour it back into its container. With a fine brush, remove extra powder not on the image.

 5) With heat tool, melt the powder. This is embossing!

Hold the cardstock/image near the tool and watch it closely as it does get hot.  Take all precautions not to burn yourself or your work space. You may choose to use a tweezer or to put your piece in a box to emboss it. 

Now that you’ve embossed, decide if the image will remain as is, or if you will shade the background or color within the image. 

Today’s Project: Heat Emboss in your favorite color!

You’re going to use the same FIVE (5) steps for basic embossing, except for one additional step:

Following Step 2 above, “ink up the stamp with VersaMark”, then ink the stamp in your choice of color, before you stamp on the paper. (Don’t panic about putting your stamp from VersaMark ink right into another ink pad, because VersaMark is clear. That’s how to remember not to put the color on first, because you wouldn’t want to ink up the stamp in the color first and then put it onto the VersaMark pad.)

Then follow the steps, making sure to use the anti-static pad first, stamp your image on your cardstock, cover it with CLEAR embossing powder, shake off the excess, and emboss it with heat tool. 

Here are the two birds, embossed with a color ink.  

       

  

         

Learning this technique enables you to highlight any image, whether on a white or light background or a dark background for a tone-on-tone design. 

TONE ON TONE DESIGN

By using the technique described above, you can create a beautiful tone-on-tone or monochromatic design by heat embossing in your favorite color ink on the same color cardstock, then coloring the stamped image with white pigment ink or by using chalk or a chalk marker. 

Although embossing with just the VersaMark on the dark paper produces a good image, to create this monochromatic design, with the addition of the coordinating ink AND the VersaMark with the clear embossing powder, you create a darker, more visible image.

Here are the two bird images. Then they are colored in with white pigment ink or chalk marker. You may want to try coloring them in with the chalks or the white water color pencils.  Try it and let me know how it looks!

 

The cardstock and ink are Night of Navy. I used white pigment ink and the chalk marker. Although the breast of the bird looks like light blue, it is only a lighter amount of the white ink. This really is my favorite print.  This bird is from a retired set.  I just love it!

 

The "Hello Friend" bird and branch (Sale A Bration Jan/Feb 2022) is stamped on Pale Papaya cardstock with Pale Papaya ink (In-Colors 2021-2023). The layer is Evening Evergreen, and the card base is Pumpkin. The ribbon is Window Pane ribbon in Evening Evergreen.  The white is White pigment ink and Chalk Marker.

Here is another image using this technique.

You can find any of the products used at the links above in the embossing instructions, or at my online store Here.  

Check out my PROJECTS tab on my page Here.

Follow my posts on Face Book at Card Connoisseur. Contact me with any questions. Post your projects there, too!

As always, thank you for stopping by.   I look forward to seeing what you create.   Be Blessed!  sb