Silica packs in Clumpy EP?

[Rachelrose]

I'm finding that some of my embossing powder has gotten a bit clumpy.

I keep my most-used colors (black, white, clear) in plastic lidded containers with a spoon, and these definitely have some clumps in them after being in there for a year or so. But I also have had similar problems with jars of EP that are around a year (or maybe a year and a half) old and have never been opened. Recently I opened a jar of Stampendous copper-colored EP for the first time and when I tried to sprinkle it over my Versamarked image it spilled out, but some fell out in clumps.

I do live in a humid environment (Florida). I keep my studio air conditioned to a reasonable temp when I need to, but it's not dehumidified.

Should I try little silica packs to keep it from clumping? Or is it enough to just break up the clumps with the back of a plastic spoon and forge ahead? I'm thinking if the stuff is clumping up, it must be slightly damp in general and maybe not as effective at getting detail. Or maybe all EP clumps after a certain amount of time sitting around. I don't know.

Any thoughts or advice on this would be appreciated.

[bdeyes9]

I keep the silca pack thaat come in shoes in mine never have had any issues. I must warn you though DO NOT EAT the contents of the packs

[Rachelrose]

Thank you. I'll have to buy some, though. I guess maybe Amazon would have them. If I get them do I need to start with fresh EP or will it dry out what I have and unclump it?

[gregzgurl]

Amazon has a whole slew of sizes and price points: Amazon.com: silica packets

I think I'd try them with the older ep first. If it does work, you haven't lost the money you've already spent on ep. If it doesn't work, then you still have the packets to put in the new ep to keep that from happening again...

[Rachelrose]

I'm guessing the 3gm ones (the seems like the smallest - about an inch square) will be enough. I'll order some and see.

[bdeyes9]

Maybe you could go to a shoe store and see if they have any packs they could give you, all of mine came with shoes I bought.

[Rachelrose]

I doubt they put them in the shoeboxes at the store, do you think so? I think they come from the manufacturer that way. I'll see how the ones I ordered look. They're pretty small.

[Crafter 4 Life]

I have the packets in all my embossing powder tubs. I live in a dry environment but my crafting area is near my kitchen so it doesn't hurt anything. I use the ones that come in food/medical products because they are smaller. I've done this for years.

[diecuts4u]

I get empty shoe boxes from Payless and they always have the sil. packs in them so it would be worth it to check.
For the lumpy emb. powder I smashed it up with a fork and got the lumps out and then added the sil. packs. they do help with moisture.

[Rachelrose]

You just ask Payless for empty shoe boxes? Why? What do you do with them?

[shazsilverwolf]

Love this idea- will remember to keep all my silica packages in future!

[Rachelrose]

I'm just a bit flummoxed as to how to deal with my jars of EP. If I put all my EP in containers with silica packs, storage would be challenging. I was pretty surprised that the stuff in jars got clumpy. But... Florida. It's so humid here.

[mastamper]

You could store all of your EP jars in a sealable container with some silica packs also inside the container.

[Rachelrose]

Right. Duh.

THANK YOU for pointing out the completely obvious, Mary Ann, moments before I ran into my craft room and started dumping all my jars into separate containers.

I must not be running on all cylinders today! ;-)

[Rachelrose]

I just received the packets I ordered. They are pretty small so that was good, but they feel like they have a bunch of little hard granules or tiny pebbles in them. Are they supposed to feel like they are filled with more of a sandy substance? I concerned that they are no good.

[arlenevita]

Some of the silica packs that have come with shoes or other things have beads that you can feel and some are tinier grains.

[Rachelrose]

Well, I put them in my clumpy EP containers. Tomorrow morning I'll see if there's any clump-reduction.

Although I don't know if you can actually restore EP that has already clumped. Maybe you have to start over and prevent clumps from forming.

Let's hope this works. I am mightily tired of the word "clump" and all its variants.

[diecuts4u]

They always have empty ones in the back and here they are free for the
asking. I store stuff in them. Some are the perfect size for made up cards, the storage possibilities are endless. FREE FREE

****The tiny cute boxes for little kids shoes are great for wrapping the lid and the box and making a gift box out of.............FREE

[Rachelrose]

Next time I am in town, I am going to go in and ask for some. Free boxes and free silica packs. Thank you.

[Cartermrc]

Some of our vitamins have the silica packs. I save them all and each of my embossing powders that I've put in sealable containers has one. Have zero clumping! It can get humid here due to all the rain. I've got packs in with my sewing notions and jewelry too.

[StampendousGraphic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

I'm finding that some of my embossing powder has gotten a bit clumpy.

I keep my most-used colors (black, white, clear) in plastic lidded containers with a spoon, and these definitely have some clumps in them after being in there for a year or so. But I also have had similar problems with jars of EP that are around a year (or maybe a year and a half) old and have never been opened. Recently I opened a jar of Stampendous copper-colored EP for the first time and when I tried to sprinkle it over my Versamarked image it spilled out, but some fell out in clumps.

I do live in a humid environment (Florida). I keep my studio air conditioned to a reasonable temp when I need to, but it's not dehumidified.

Should I try little silica packs to keep it from clumping? Or is it enough to just break up the clumps with the back of a plastic spoon and forge ahead? I'm thinking if the stuff is clumping up, it must be slightly damp in general and maybe not as effective at getting detail. Or maybe all EP clumps after a certain amount of time sitting around. I don't know.

Any thoughts or advice on this would be appreciated.

Rachelrose, The clumps won't make any difference to your end result. A silica packet is certainly a good idea if they bother you, but simply pouring your powder onto a piece of printer paper with a fold in it, folding it over, and breaking up the clumps gently with your hand then using the fold in the paper to put it back into the jar is a great way to fix the issue.

Embossing powder (all brands) is made of tiny bits of plastic. They're waterproof, so any humidity or moisture that makes them clump will not harm the powder or your final project.

Do feel free to contact us at submissions (at) stampendous (dot) com if you have further questions or need any assistance.

Thanks for choosing Stampendous embossing powders!