Creative Chemistry 102 Embossing Differently

Rusted Embossing and Sticky Glitter

 Today we went back to Embossing powders and their many uses.

Tag 1 is a brayered stain background with an die cut Eiffel tower covered with Vintage Photo Embossing Powder to give it a rusted look.

Tag 2 is uitilizes sticky embossing powder and glitter.  Stamp your images with embossing ink and apply the sticky embossing powder.  Heat until it melts, let it set for a second of two and then dust with Distress Glitter.  It makes a really nice texture on the embossed image.

Chalkboard effect

For this image stamp images with embossing ink and apply clear embossing powder.  Melt the powder lightly.  Don't over do it because you want a bumpy raised surface left.  Then scribble over the tag with a piece of chalk to create a chalkboard effect.  I didn't have any chalk so I used a white crayon to create the desired effect.  As you can see I melted my top word a little too much so there isn't much for the crayon to cling to.

Gilding

Finally!  My gilding flakes came in yesterday so I can now try this technique. On the first tag I stamped my image of a peony with embossing ink and covered with sticky embossing powder.  I then heated it until it melted and then applied the gilding flakes over the top.  I let them set for a minute and then started removing the gilding flakes with a paint brush.  I wasn't seeing enough of my image appear so I used a sanding wedge very lightly and got a nice burnished area.  Unfortunately the detail of the stamp didn't come through.  So I tried the pumpkin stamp which is more open and followed the same steps.  It worked much more easily and looks really good.  I stamped the images on a separate tag and embossed them in white to show what the stamps look like.  I like the look of the gilding but I think it will shine best when used on less detailed stamps.  I think this method is easier than using a glue pen and gilding flakes.  It's easier to judge when you should start removing the excess flakes.

-R

Creative Chemisty 102 Distress Differently

Smudge Stamping

We skipped around a bit and for our last week of Creative Chemistry 102 we covered two days of assignments. This first technique is called smudge stamping. I thought it was fun to do and is an excellent way to build up some backstock for future creative projects.  You will need two tags for this technique.

Ink your stamp and stamp onto Tag 1 and then immediately onto Tag 2.  Take a blending tool and rub it over the image on Tag 2.  It will soften the edges of the stamped image.  Do this for all the images you wish to use our your tag and then age with distress ink.  I like both images but am really partial to the smudged image.

Image 3 Brayered Stains and Image 4 Rock Candy Glitter

Image 3 shows the look that is achieved by brayering distress stain onto a tag.  It takes a bit of work to figure out how to get the stain to attach to the brayer long enough to transfer it to the tag but it's a really cool effect.

Image 4 is an image that was covered in Rock Candy Distress Glitter.  It's difficult to see in this image but it gives the whole thing a frosted finish.

Faux Cracked Glass

For this technique take a piece of 'faux' glass such as an acrylic tile or a mini glass vial and paint with Glue N Seal or some type of product to provide a toothy surface. I actually used Ranger Multi-medium because that was what I had on hand.  Once the multi-medium was dry I painted over the tile again with Rock Candy Crackle paint and allowed it to dry. Finally I swiped the dry, cracked surface with Mahogany Distress Stain to highlight the cracked areas.

-R