How to Emboss Paper With Heat and Embossing Powder

Set out everything before you start, because embossing ink stays wet and you want to move quickly. Jessica uses a stamping platform, though an acrylic block works fine. You also need a clear embossing ink pad, an anti-static bag, embossing powder and a heat tool. Add a sheet of scrap copy paper to catch the extra powder and a small soft paintbrush.

Rub the anti-static bag over the whole front of your cardstock. It leaves a fine dusting that stops the embossing powder from clinging to static, skin oils and fingerprints. Without it, powder sticks in random spots outside your image and melts there too. This matters most on dark cardstock, where every stray speck shows.

Ink your stamp on the clear embossing pad and press it onto the card. The ink is sticky and almost invisible, so it is hard to tell if you missed a spot. A stamping platform helps here. You can stamp the same spot two or three times without moving the image, so the whole design gets a good coat of ink.

Lay a piece of scrap paper down and hold the card over it. Pour the embossing powder over the whole stamped image so it is fully covered. Jessica uses black powder here. Tip the card and tap the edge so the loose powder falls onto the paper. The powder clings only where the sticky ink is, and the design appears.

Look closely at the card before heating. Any specks outside the image will melt into little bumps. Use a small, dry paintbrush to flick them away. A gentle puff of breath works too. If a patch of the image lost its powder when you tapped it off, sprinkle a little more on. The ink is still wet and picks it up.

Fold the scrap paper in half to make a crease, then lift it and let the loose powder slide down the fold into the open jar. Do this every time. It keeps your work area clean, stops colors getting mixed and means a single jar of powder lasts a long time.

Switch on the heat tool and give it a few seconds to warm up. Hold it a few inches from the card and move it slowly over the image. The powder darkens slightly and turns glossy as it melts. That change shows you which parts are done. Keep going until the whole image is smooth and raised, then stop.

Clear embossing powder works over any ink pad that stays wet a little while. Stamp in your colored ink, pour clear powder over it, tap off the excess and heat it. Jessica stamps a green image this way. It comes out as a raised, shiny green without buying green powder. That is why clear is the one powder she suggests buying first.

For a dramatic card, wipe black cardstock with the anti-static bag, stamp a large image in clear embossing ink and cover it with gold embossing powder. Even before heating, the gold shows up clearly against the black. Tap the excess back into its jar and check closely for specks, since dark card shows every one.

Melt the gold the same way, moving the heat tool slowly over the image. On black card you can see exactly where the powder has melted, as the dull gold turns bright and smooth. A large image means a lot of heat, which can curl the card. Jessica sometimes heats from the back. If the card bends, press it flat under something heavy once it cools.