When embossing goes bad…

Happy Sunday folks! Today I am going to share a card with you I made earlier this week with my homemade stain daubers. I was experimenting with embossed resists,  technique I have done many times with good results BUT this time I couldn’t get a raised image (!?!) my powder kept melting into the paper.

 

I was stumped. Why does bad embossing happen to good people? 😀 So I posed my question to the experts on the OSA yahoo group I belong to and they had some ideas why all of a sudden my embossing powder might be giving me grief:

1. Old powder. This could definitely be a culprit, I have picked up EP at yard sales and on clearance and honestly my powder stash is likely to be between 5-15 years old. I heard-tell that EP is only good for 2 years BUT I think it has to do with the metals oxidizing and tarnishing in the metallic powders. I really don’t think plain clear or colored powder would be affected.
2. Overheating the embossing powder. I think this might be the problem. If you ever do the “faux batik” technique you emboss a design, color the paper then iron off the embossing powder. That is what this reminds me of. I wear out my heat guns after a few years because I use them daily. Also I noticed a little paper scorching the other day and I was using the gun as I always had.
3. Moisture in air/paper. My dehumidifier had been kicking on a lot this week, it has been very damp and I craft in my basement. Could the damp paper be soaking in the ink/powder?

BTW I have a quick tip, If you are trying to punch a shape from paper (or use deco scissors) and the paper wants to snag or is getting stuck in the punch blast the paper with the heat gun for a few seconds to remove any moisture and it will punch perfectly. If your punch is jammed shut with paper stuck inside place in the freezer for a few moments and it will release. Don’t just randomly jab sharp objects at the bottom of the punch hoping to dislodge the paper, you will only end up injuring yourself…don’t ask me how I know that.

Have a great Memorial Day (in the US) and be sure to check back this week, I have lots of fun projects planned, from calligraphy to Father’s Day to fun summer projects with the kids, check it out! Til then happy crafting!

Batik Snowflake Christmas Cards

Do you ever get inspired by a stamp set? I took on one look at the huge snowflakes in this Tattered Angles Winter stamp set and thought “Batik Snowflakes!” The look is loose, messy, artistic and I just love the way they turned out:

 

I used a couple of methods to make these cards:

1. Stamp Watercolor paper with clear ink and heat emboss with clear embossing powder. Wet the paper with water, then paint ultramarine and mauve watercolor paint loosely over and let dry.
2. I also tried the above method with cardstock.
3. Paint directly on he stamp with ultramarine and mauve watercolor paint and stamp repeatedly on a sheet of white cardstock then randomly flick the same colors of paint on the sheet.

So after I prepared 3 standard size sheets of paper like this I cut the papers up into quarters and made my set of cards! I also used the watercolor paints to dye the seam binding I added. I used eyelets to secure the watercolored panels to the cardbases. This is a fun technique to try if you need to loosen up a bit in your crafting!

TIP: Save the non-stick backing that comes on the back of contact paper (shelf liner) to protect your work surface when you do messy projects. I like it better than my non-stick craft mat and if it gets too nasty you can simply throw it away!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Faux Batik Technique!

Want to liven up your next stamping project? How about giving this a try.

Here is how the faux batik looks!

It is easy to do. You simply stamp an image with clear embossing ink, sprinkle with clear embossing powder, hear and paint over it with a light watercolor. Let it dry, stamp and emboss more and paint it with a darker shade. Repeat these steps for an interesting look. See photos for details:

Stamp and emboss on watercolor paper then paint with a light color of watercolor paint.

Stamp and emboss the next image...

...then paint over with a darker shade.

Repete with a darker color, I embossed when the paper was a bit damp so some of the image would flake off and look more authentic...Sure I did that on purpose!

When you are done you can place the batik paper between scrap paper and iron it to remove the embossing if you like but I don’t bother, I’m lazy;-) The stamps in this project are by Inque Boutique, Thanks to Mitzi for giving me her set!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!