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Techniques - Heat Embossing
Heat embossing is one of those "magical" techniques. It can really dress up a card like nothing else can. Heat Embossing is a term used to describe a technique used by stampers to create a raised line on cardstock or other surfaces. You stamp on the cardstock, shake on the embossing powder (EP), shake off the excess EP, then heat with your heat gun. This is how it's done, very simply put. Let's review:
Necessary supplies:
-cardstock (either matte or glossy)
-Inkpads: Pigment inkpad, clear or tinted embossing inkpad, VersaMark Watermark inkpad
-Anti Static product
-Embossing powder of choice
-Heat Gun
-Stamp of choice
CARDSTOCK: You can heat emboss on a wide range of surfaces, which do include both matte and glossy cardstock. Keep in mind that matte cardstock is absorbent, so the ink you use to stamp with will air dry more quickly than it will on glossy cardstock. Your pigment inks do not air dry on glossy cardstock or non porous surfaces, so if you stamp with pigment ink on them, it's best to heat emboss to seal in the ink. Cardstocks are not the only surfaces you can heat emboss on. I've heat embossed on wood, glass, porcelain, plastic (tricky but do-able), old CD's, etc.
INKS: Generally pigment inkpads or a clear (or tinted) embossing inkpad are used to stamp with when heat embossing because the EP sticks to the ink. Stampers have found that the Versamark Watermark inkpad also works beautifully for heat embossing purposes. Pigment inks are a slow drying ink which dries by absorption. So..the more absorbent your surface is, the quicker this ink will dry. Once the ink is dry, EP's will not stick to them. -if you use a clear EP on top of a colored pigment ink, you will have a stamped line that is the color of the pigment ink you used to stamp with.
-if you use a colored EP on top of your pigment ink, the stamped line will end up being the color of the EP, NOT the ink. In some instances, your base ink color will enhance the color of the EP if it is a bit translucent. (translucent meaning somewhat see thru).
-So, if you have several colors of pigment inks and clear embossing powder, you do have a large range of "heat embossable" colors to pick from.
Another item worth noting here is an embossing pen. It's a pen you can write with, then emboss on top of. For instance, if you want to hand write your own greeting inside of the card and then heat emboss the message, you can do that with an embossing pen. Versamark also makes a "watermark pen" that is just like the Versamark Watermark Pad, but in pen form. I've heard, but cannot confirm, that the eraseable type ink pens stay wet long enough for heat embossing as well.
ANTI-STATIC PRODUCT: This is a product which generally comes in a bag. My preference is Gayle Page-Robak's "A Little Bag" (http://www.stamperstouch.com/) because it doesn't stick to a dark surface/cardstock and it works VERY well. But as I said, there are others on the market to choose from. When you dump your EP on the cardstock, static electricity will cause the EP granules to adhere to the cardstock where the ink is not. This is not desirable. So, before you stamp, rub your anti static bag on all over the cardstock and THEN stamp. When you dump on the EP, it will only stick to the ink. The anti static bag helps to get rid of the static electricity, pretty much insuring that your EP will ONLY stick to the ink where you stamped.
EMBOSSING POWDER (EP): There are also several types and colors of embossing powders on the market. You have EP's that range from ULTRA FINE to COARSE. This refers to how big the grains of EP are. The finer the grain, the more detail the EP will pick up. There are a TON, literally, of colors of EP's as well. There are tinsel EP's (EP combined with glitter), pearl EP's (the have a pearl'ish look to them after heat embossing), there are puff EP's which puff up after heat embossing, and then there are all the beautiful metallic EP's as well as the standard colors. I think there are also a glow in the dark and scented EP's too. For practical purposes, I tend to prefer to use detail or "fine" grain EP's because a lot of the stamps I use are very detailed stamps and I don't want to loose any of my stamped details. For beginners, the colors you will probably use most will be: black, clear, gold and silver. Be sure to buy the detail or fine grain EP's.
HEAT GUN: There are several brands of heat guns available on the market. I talk about heat guns in the Misc Tools section of the Newbie Center, so I won't go in great detail about them now. But you do NEED a heat gun, it's one tool every stamp artist should have. We have lots of vendors on our list who sell them, and if you have a 40% off coupon to Michael's you can get one there for 40% off. Keep in mind that a heat gun can get hot enough to actually start your cardstock on fire if you over do it. Plus, the heat gun may, or may not, have an exposed metal tip at the top where the hot air comes out. If your tip is one of the exposed ones, be VERY SURE you don't bump your arm/hand against it or lay it down on the table and touch paper to it (could cause a fire). SAFETY FIRST.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HEAT EMBOSSING:
-hold your heat gun about 6 inches above the surface when heat embossing. Be patient. Making it "hotter quicker" will only end in burned EP and warped cardstock.
-do NOT over heat your EP, it will "burn" and look quite nasty. You know the EP is melted when it gives off a "glossy" or "melted together" appearance. When you start heat embossing, it takes a few seconds for the EP to start melting...once it starts melting you can see how the EP line melts and continues melting as long as you keep your heat gun pointed at the line. Just try it a time or two and you will see what I'm telling you.
-An embossed line is, simply...a raised line of melted plastic. Melted plastic is a natural resist to almost any waterbased product you could use for adding color.
-SAFETY ISSUES: Any time you "heat emboss", there will be a small amount of the EP that is "puffed" into the air when you hit it with the heat gun. If you are embossing only a small amount of items, generally it's no big deal. HOWEVER, from personal experience, let me tell you that if you heat emboss several pieces, wearing a paper safety mask is an INCREDIBLY good idea. This will keep you from inhaling the EP that is puffed into the air. If you have a respiratory problem (like asthma, allergies, etc...), it's generally a good idea to talk with your physician about this technique before you start. Sometimes those with respiratory problems should not be using your standard paper mask. This is something that ONLY your physician can give you good advice about. SAFETY FIRST.
-be sure to have a piece of scrap paper underneath your cardstock so you can dump the excess EP onto it and return it to the EP jar for future use.
-ceiling fans can cause a draft strong enough to blow your EP all over the place...big mess. Let's not even TALK about regular fans OK?
STAMPS: Just about all stamps will heat emboss well. Stamps that have fine lines and detailed images really will need a fine line or detail embossing powder to fully capture the details within the stamped image.
To recap:
1. Use anti static product on cardstock
2. Stamp image with appropriate ink
3. Pour EP of choice on stamped image, shake off excess EP
4. Return unused EP to container for future use.
5. Heat EP with heat gun, holding the heat gun about 6 inches above your cardstock. Let cool.
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