Friday, September 13, 2013

NOT a Card!!!!

If you follow my posts, you already know that I had a great Craig's List score a few weeks ago - a gallon bag of embossing powders for next to nothing.  I had some time to play today, and wanted to learn more them, what works, what doesn't, and practice using the powders.  I learned a lot, and came out with these:


A few years ago, I gave my friends wooden boxes full of gift tags for Christmas, thank you, birthday, etc.  Every year, I replenish their boxes!!  Thought these tags were a great way to learn, without creating a lot of trash. 

I learned that:
  • I can heat emboss on foil paper.
  • Just because one color and brand has great coverage, it doesn't mean that all of that color or brand work well.  Just like ink, and paper, and stamps, and...
  • Glittery embossing powder is just as bad as glitter when it comes to the mess.
  • The stamp used matters A LOT, some I thought would be great, weren't (the green trees).  Others I thought would be too detailed, weren't (the gold stars on black and red).
  • The higher the contrast between the paper and the powder, the more striking the effect.  Less contrast, more subtle effect. 
  • I can emboss with one color, and emboss the same image with another stamp and powder without burning or over-melting the original embossed image (the red, gold, and white Silent Night tags).
  • I need to learn about/buy something to remove static from my paper to avoid stray flecks on my final product. 
  • Hmmm.  Wonder if I could dry emboss, them tap on ink and then heat emboss?  SO much to learn!!!
Fun, productive day!!!

Tag and sentiment stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs, snowflakes from Martha Stewart, Spellbinder dies, VersaMark watermark ink, various brands/colors of powders. 

2 comments:

  1. Hi Bobbi: Love your tags. Try an emboss buddy. Rub it over your paper before you versa mark. This should help with the static and help with those stray flakes. I do use a small paint brush to brush some stray flakes away also.

    Awesome job! Your recipients will love them.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Wow, these tags are gorgeous Bobbi! What a great project. I too like the idea of tags... perfect for practicing and playing. I don't heat emboss as much as I would like too but maybe doing some experimenting could help. Then I would know what works best and probably be more likely to use the combos that do work nicely. I have an embossing buddy but have also used dryer static cling sheets sometimes because they don't leave any residue on dark papers.

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