Tips And Techniques

Heat embossing with rubber stamps

July, 28th 2009

Embossing your rubber stamped images or text gives them an extra luxurious look and also ensures that the image is fixed and doesn't smudge.

You will need:

• rubber stamp (clear or wood mounted - it doesn't matter)
• embossing powder (clear or coloured)
• a pigment ink suitable for embossing
• a craft heat gun

Stamp your image onto your card using the pigment ink.

Sprinkle embossing powder over the stamped image then tap the card to remove the excess (this can go back in the post for reuse). Use a thin artists paintbrush to remove any powder left which is not on the stamped image.

Use the heat gun to set the embossing powder - you will see it change. Keep the heat moving to avoid scorching the card. It usually takes less than 30 seconds.

Top Tips:

Wipe an anti-static pad (or talcum powder) over your card before starting to reduce the chance of powder sticking where it shouldn't.

Place the card onto a sheet of A4 paper with a crease down the centre before sprinkling the embossing powder. The excess powder can then be easily lifted into the crease and returned to the pot.

You can use coloured ink with clear embossing powder or a coloured embossing powder with a clear (or tinted) ink pad. Generally the colour of the embossing powder will dominate the ink colour so a gold embossing powder will look very similar whether you use a clear ink or gold ink.

It is best to use a heat gun designed for crafting - a hairdryer is not hot enough and will blow your powder all over the room!

If your card warps due to the heat, place under a heavy book overnight and it will straighten out.