embossing powder faux graniteware technique...

welcome friends!

first, from the bottom of my heart...

a gigantic 

THANK YOU 

for all the sweet blog comments, 

Ranger blog comments, 

emails & you-tube video comments...

WOW!

your excitement for my new embossing powders has me even more exited, if that's possible...

I DREAM of these guys...

I have so much to share about using them in unique unexpected ways...

stay tuned!

when looking for things to alter with embossing powders, the first thing to consider is that it must be able to

"take the heat"...

since embossing powders need to be heated to melt them...

so far I've altered large & small metal home decor pieces, glass, clearly for art, art parts, wood, metal & resin embellishments with these powders...

and for sure, you can use them on cards, tags, art journals, scrapbook pages & cards...

anything that is heat stable is embossable...

this project seemed appropriate to share today, since it's a heart...

this is something I dug out of my stash...

it's a heavy metal piece, 

it has a good shape & it needed some love...

it's large...about 8 inches tall...

 below is the finished piece...

here are the steps to add the faux graniteware technique to glass, metal & art parts...

tap over the surface to add archival ink...

the ink is what will hold the powders on the surface & allow them to be melted & stay strongly adhered to the surface...

depending what the shape of the item is, sometimes I use the blending tool...

sometimes I'll swipe the archival pad directly on the surface & then spread it around with the blending tool...

speaking of heat embossing, 

I have chosen to use 

the ZAP embossing tool from American Crafts,  for major embossing projects...

I bought the Milwaukee & the ZAP...

both work just fine...

I looked at several options & chose this one mainly because the tip is NOT metal & it seems a bit safer for me to use in classes, where table space is at a premium...

that means the tables are FULL of art supplies...

I don't want to worry about someone accidentally touching the hot metal tip...

price also played a part too, 

since I needed to buy 25...

when embossing on heavy metal, it takes a bit to warm up the metal, so that the powders will melt...

this embossing tool works great...

be patient with heavy metal...

it takes a bit longer than you think it will...

ok...back to the steps...

apply the archival ink to the surface, 

then sprinkle on 

the embossing powder (red geranium)...

sometimes I wipe a bit away from the edges, to create a chipped off effect...

then heat to emboss...

***DO NOT put the wiped away powder back in the container***

it may cause clumping, because it came in contact with the ink (moisture)...

you're wasting just a few granules...

***REMEMBER***

heated metal is HOT...

be patient & allow it to cool before proceeding...

once the piece has cooled, I like to add

potting soil archival ink 

to the edges with the blending tool...

this adds to the authentic vintage look...

and it works well with every color...

if you want to tone down the color of any of the powders, use potting soil over the whole surface...

instead of just on the edges...

the potting soil gives us 6 more embossing powder color options...

they can be bright or toned down vintage...

you can stop here & you have an enameled metal heart...

or continue with the faux graniteware technique...

next comes the white dots...

ink the unmounted spatter stamp 

(it's from LCS001 if you have that set & it's also available now as 

a single background stamp (wvbg017)...

 with the snow cap white pigment pad & stamp randomly over the surface, then give it a quick dry with the Ranger heat tool...

heat it just enough to dry the white ink...

it only takes a few seconds...

the art parts leaves were inked with fern green archival, sprinkled with fern green embossing powder & heated to emboss...

when cooled,

I added potting soil to define/shade the leaf edges, then stamped over them with the lots of leaves background, using watering can archival ink...

to alter the idea-ology birdcage, I tapped on watering can archival ink, sprinkled it with watering can embossing powder, heated it, 

LET IT COOL...

then added the tiny white ink dots, again with the spatter stamp & snow cap white pigment ink...

the red Blossom Bucket heart was altered the same as the large heart...

now for the clearly for art (CFA) tattered flower...

this is a bit different & it's important

 NOT TO OVERHEAT the CFA with the embossing tool...

here's what works...

I used the tattered florals die 

with CFA blackout...

the blackout is great for the vintage look I'm going for...

add archival ink to the die cut flowers with the blending tool, then sprinkle with the embossing powder...

I used cornflower blue embossing powder...

I like to randomly wipe some of the powder from the flower edges...

that reveals the black & the flowers are already distressed...

simple & M A G I C!

next, I like to heat the powder a bit with the Ranger heat-it tool & when the powders start to melt, then give them a quick blast with 

the HOT ZAP embossing tool...

staying about 5 inches away...

heat just enough to melt the powder...

then S T O P!

if you overheat the CFA with the HOT embossing tool, the flowers will distort & shrink...

just be careful...

and it works fine...

after the powder is melted & the flowers have cooled, I go back to the Ranger heat-it tool & soften the CFA, just enough so that I can shape it...

the flower center is the large custom fastener...

I swiped it on the archival pad, dipped it into the embossing powder, then heated it to melt...

when that cooled, I pressed it onto an inked polka dot stamp & gave it a quick dry...

I like to use a hemostat to hold small pieces...

it saves the fingers from being burned...

it's a very handy tool to use 

with heat embossing...

and it works especially well with small metal embellishments that get HOT quickly...

tweezers work too, but the hemostat is longer & keeps you further away from the heat...

with everything glued on...

here's my altered faux graniteware heart...

here's a closer look at the CFA flower...

you can see the black on the petal edges...

and  the adorable birdcage...

oops...forgot to say that I did the technique on the back of the birdcage with cornflower blue embossing powder, so that the red Blossom Bucket heart would show up better...

simple, since the back is removable...

here's a few tips & hints...

aka...

embossing powders 101...

my embossing powders are opaque when melted...

so, if you are using fern green embossing powder, but only have the leaf green ink pad,

 it doesn't matter...

the powders melt & the color isn't seen...

when working on dark surfaces like CFA blackout or dark metal...again...

use any archival ink color...it won't show...

if you're working on paper or art parts, I use the coordinating ink...

are you wondering why I used archival inks to adhere the embossing powders instead of an embossing pad?

here's the scoop...

the embossing pads are sort of oily & if you add  too much, they will chip from metal & glass...

by using archival ink on the surface, the embossing powder is firmly attached & won't chip off...

I've tried all sorts of things...

the archival inks work best...

especially on metal, painted wood & glass...

so what if you have a tiny metal surface and the blending tool is too large to add the archival ink?

use the emboss-it pens...

it's embossing fluid in a convenient pen form...

or if you have the perfect medium pens, they will work great too...

wherever you add the emboss-it fluid, the embossing powders will stick...

here's an example...

the adornment on the left is right from the package...

the one on the right has been changed with the embossing powders, using the emboss-it pen...

do one embossing powder color at a time...

allow it to cool...

then add the next color...

can you see all the fun options we have?

remember...

embossing powders are not just for embossing a sentiment!

think home decor!

if you have any embossing questions...

please ask away...

now...

it's time to announce the winner 

of a set of all 6 of my embossing powders, compliments of Ranger...

congrats to...

 Anita Houston said...

Yay yay yay you!!! I am so digging these Wendy, and your samples are out of this creative world!!! LOVE them all, but those bottles and Letterpress words have me SWOONING!!! I love how your mind thinks!!! You blow me away! MEGA HUGE CONGRATS!!!!

September 13, 2014 at 10:59 AM

 

please email me with your shipping info & we'll get them off to you...

are YOU sad that YOU didn't win?

be watching my FACEBOOK PAGE...

I *think* I have an extra set of my embossing powders to share there...

I'm planning a FLASH GIVEAWAY!

be watching...

it will be THIS WEEK...

one more thing before I go...

I've had multiple emails asking where the powders can be purchased in the UK, in Alaska, in Kentucky etc...

we don't get a list of stores that have them in stock..

plus, it would be impossible to know their in stock inventory...

so...

ask your local store to order them for you...

if I was a store owner, I'd be happy to order whatever my customer needed...

and I'm sure that's common...

or...

I did an internet search & found these 

BUNDLES of all 6 embossing powders at sale pricing...

check

HERE

and 

HERE

that's it for today...

I hear LOTS of kits calling me...

honestly, I'd rather...

make art!

wendy