NOT YET FINISHED - COME BACK SOON!

Embossing with embossing powders is one of the most captivating and exciting thing you first see when drawn to rubberstamping as a hobby.  Even now, after years of stamping, I get a thrill when the powder melts - and it's great to see the look of amazement on people's faces when they see this demonstrated for the first time.

How to do it?

Easy peasy.  Take your stamp and a pigment ink pad  - I use Versamark, which is a clear pigment ink, but you can use any kind - please be aware that coloured ink may affect the colour of the completed embossing.  Take a piece of A4 paper, fold it into four quarters, open it up, and with your stamped image over this paper, sprinkle on your chosen embossing powder.  Tap it lightly from behind - give it a sort of flick to remove all excess powder.  You can use a fine paintbrush to remove any stray speckles of it, or use a toothpick!

Some surfaces will attract specks of embossing powder more than others will, so it's worth wiping over before stamping with one of the many anti static pads available - they help to stop the powder sticking where you don't want it to stick and are particularly effective on glossy card, acetate and vellum.  

Fold your paper slightly and funnel the excess powder back into the jar, then replace the lid - this helps to avoid any unnecessary spills.

Now take your heat tool (or use a spotlight bulb or toaster, but be very careful not to burn your card or paper!) and heat the powder from around 3 inches above, moving as you see the powder begin to melt.  Be careful not to overheat as the powder disappears into the paper.  You can heat from underneath and some people seem to prefer to do this.  If using a toaster or light bulb, you will have to heat from underneath.

Once the powder has melted, you will be left with a beautifully raised impression of the image.  Colour to your heart's desire, using whichever medium you prefer.

Heat tools may seem expensive to buy, but are a basic tool and make life very much easier.  There are several on the market - the main two being the Heat it Craft tool (white like a hairdryer) and the Milwaukee Heat Tool.  The Milwaukee is faster and hotter, though doesn't give as much control as the Heat it Craft tool, so isn't as suitable for techniques using UTEE or Shrink Plastic.  I have both and use them both for different reasons.

You can use a Paint stripper - but beware, they are very hot and can easily burn your cardstock OR overheat the powder, so that it is no longer raised.

Embossing powders come in many forms and colours.  Basic essentials are Gold, silver, Black, Clear and perhaps white and copper.  You can get regular powders or detail powders.  Detail powders are for the  more finely detailed images, which would be unclear if regular powder is used and don't raise quite as much as the others.  Spectrum embossing powder allows you to emboss any inks - even dye inks - and take on the colour of the ink used, rather than cover it as clear powders do. 

Glitter or sparkle powders can be very effective when used in the right places.  Some are clear with a little glitter added and are not suitable for basic embossing as the image doesn't show up clearly.  They can, however, be very effective on dark cardstock over coloured inks, so it's worth experimenting to see what you can come up with.  Hologram powder is effective over coloured inks - see Quick and easy Christmas card projects - and can make a lovely background if used all over. 

Black powder on black card or white powder on white card can look spectacular when coloured in with mica powders (such as Perfect Pearls, Pearly Powders or Pearl-Ex) or sponged over with a variety of colours.  Play around with your powders and cards to see which effects you can come up with yourself.