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by Staff Writer
Rubber stamping is a popular craft for making cards and scrapbooking, and you can take stamping a step further with heat embossing. Embossing "raises" the design of the stamp and gives it a more interesting appearance. To emboss a card for a professional look, use an embossing ink pad, a rubber stamp, embossing powder and a heat gun. Follow these tips to create a beautiful design for any occasion.
Select a surface for your embossing. Cardstock or heavy paper works best for heat embossing because it is durable. Wipe the surface with a laundry sheet or other antistatic material. This will ensure that stray powder granules do not stick to the paper.
Choose a stamp with a design you like. Press the rubber stamp into the embossing inkpad and stamp it onto the paper to transfer the design. Make sure to use embossing ink instead of regular stamp ink, which dries too quickly to allow the paper surface to rise.
Use clear or transparent embossing ink. Do this if you want the image to be visible only by its raised shape. These inks are almost invisible until heated with the heat gun. In addition, use only clear embossing powder for a transparent image.
Sprinkle a generous amount of embossing powder onto the image. Ensure that the powder covers the image completely by gently shaking the paper back and forth.
Pour the excess powder back into the container. Use a soft brush to dust off the stray particles around the design, taking care not to brush the actual image.
Turn on the heat gun and hold it about six inches above the image. Move the heat gun over the image to heat the powder evenly. Continue until the embossing powder melts, and then turn off the heat gun. The embossing will be shiny, smooth and raised.
Hold your paper with prongs or long tweezers to prevent burns to your fingers.
Keep moving the heat gun constantly or you may leave a burn mark on your paper.
Do not use a hair dryer instead of a heat gun, because it will blow the embossing powder from your project.
