An introduction to rubber stamp embossing

1. Use an ink pad suitable for embossing to ink your stamp.
    
2. Stamp your design and while the ink is still wet sprinkle embossing powder over the entire design. Tap off excess on to a sheet of paper, this can then be returned to the jar for reuse.
   
3. Heat the design to activate the powder. This is usually done with a heat gun. Keep the gun moving with circular motions so you do not overheat one spot. The design will become raised and shiny. This should take about 30 seconds.

Handy hints

Powder tends to stick to areas where you have touched the card so it is a good idea to wipe the card with an anti-static pad or talcum powder before you start.

If you are embossing a black outline it is better to use black ink and clear powder. This saves the powder marking the non-image areas. However, if you have a solid black area such as a silhouette you will need to use black powder to get the intensity of black.

You can use a tinted inkpad for most colours of embossing powder, such as gold and silver, with very little visual difference to using an inkpad of a colour matching the embossing powder.

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This project was originally published at Card Inspirations. It is reproduced here here with kind permission. Card Inspirations are sponsors of the Card Making Inspirations web site.

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Product availability We regret that we are unable to advise the reader of a source of supply for the materials used in the projects on the Card Making Inspirations web site. The layouts and techniques used in these projects are timeless. However, products such as stamps, stickers and patterned papers are quickly discontinued to be replaced by new items. When this happens we suggest that there is a lot of satisfaction in finding an alternative product that suits the design. For stitching card patterns please visit our sponsors Card Inspirations and Stitching Cards.