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I'm just starting out with embossing and was wondering what brands, types and colors are best to start with. Unless I buy online, I only have access to Ms, ACMoore and Joann. All I own right now is Zing black. My thoughts are that maybe I should start with white and clear, but I don't know which type or brand would give the best result.
I see that there is also an "ultra fine" powder. Is that better than using regular embossing powder?
These would be my priorities by type:1-Clear (allows you to take advantage of all the pigment ink stamp pad colors you have)
2-Detail black (ideal for word embossing to get the desired fine lines and detail
3-Gold
4-Silver
5-White
You will see "Detail" as part of the color name. I have the gold and white in regular and also in detail type. I think my detail embossing powders are from Judikins and Stampendous, but you may have ready access to other brands.
Small plastic food containers are ideal for these most frequently used colors - easy to dip a card into the bin and brush off the excess.
Was just at Michaels and not one jar of embossing powder. Our Joanns is pretty weak in paper crafts, so I don't expect much there. As for AC Moore, I'll have to see what they might have.
mob
How do you use clear with colored inks? I've never heard of it and aren't sure at all what you mean or what it looks like.
mob
Somebody else can give a more knowledgeable response than me! Stamp pads are either dye-based (i.e. Memento), pigment (i.e. Colorbox), or solvent(i.e. Staz-on). The pigment ink is slow drying and will "grip" the embossing powder while a heat gun melts it. The resulting clear layer lets the color of the pigment stamping show through. Generally, embossing would not work with dye stamped images, but you could stamp over the image again with Versamark and could clear emboss then.
Thanks. I get it now. I know I can use Distress Inks to emboss and I think I may have some other pigments on hand. Versacolor comes to mind, but it might be Versafine. I have some of both and always have to check which is the pigment.
mob
Hi mob, one thing I have to say here, is that rules are made to be broken, lol. Although generally, you do need a pigment ink to emboss, you can often also use a dye ink. It will depend on how 'wet' the dye ink is, and also on the cardstock. Some is more absorbent than others. As you say, you can do it with Distress, because its very wet, even though its a dye ink. I also have no trouble embossing on most cardstock with Versafine, Adirondacks,and Archival. Its very much a case of try it and see!
As for embossing powders- clear detail is brilliant,as the others have said, you can use it over any colour, and that colour shows through. It also means you don't get stray flecks of coloured powder on your work- that is a particular nightmare with black ep! Detail powders are best for stamping images with a lot of detail- 'standard' powders tend to blur these lines. You can use gold on gold pigment etc, or still go with the clear detail- gold on gold will be a little richer in colour. My personal favourite for quality and colour choice, especially for some lovely sparkly ones, is Stampendous - available all over the net.
Not hijack the thread, but my question is if you had to choose between having multiple colors of embossing power or multiple stamp pads which would you choose?
I was thinking of purchasing some Lindy's Stamp Gang embossing powders. I also wanted to try a technique I saw of adding glitter to embossing powder
Thats not an easy question to answer, Leona. Whilst multiple pads and just a clear powder sounds like a great route, by their nature pigment inks are thicker, so fine detail on stamps does not print as clearly. It does very much depend on the stamps you will be using it with. As I said, you do have the option in some cases of using a dye ink to emboss, depending upon the ink and cardstock. Possibly also humidity could come into that equation. Also, with a coloured pad AND a coloured powder, you do get a richer colour of embossing. Gold on gold has a much deeper lustre than clear on gold. Personally, over time I have built up a collection of both, and what I use depends on the stamp/ end result I'm after. Often trial and error produces some interesting results. Your solution of buying a bunch of coloured powders is a good idea. You can experiment with an embossing ink, and with dye inks.
Regarding adding glitter, I've done that, it works well, just be careful not to add too much glitter, you need enough embossing powder in the mix for it to stick well. On E-bay you can get small empty nail art pots, they are the ideal size for mixing your own powders in. Word of caution, if you are going to be using a lot of a mix you make, say for Christmas cards, make up a good sized amount- if you run out part way through, you'll never get the exact same mix again, unless you do it by a set of measurements, like the little spoons for cookery measurements,
Thats not an easy question to answer, Leona. Whilst multiple pads and just a clear powder sounds like a great route, by their nature pigment inks are thicker, so fine detail on stamps does not print as clearly. It does very much depend on the stamps you will be using it with. As I said, you do have the option in some cases of using a dye ink to emboss, depending upon the ink and cardstock. Possibly also humidity could come into that equation. Also, with a coloured pad AND a coloured powder, you do get a richer colour of embossing. Gold on gold has a much deeper lustre than clear on gold. Personally, over time I have built up a collection of both, and what I use depends on the stamp/ end result I'm after. Often trial and error produces some interesting results. Your solution of buying a bunch of coloured powders is a good idea. You can experiment with an embossing ink, and with dye inks.
Regarding adding glitter, I've done that, it works well, just be careful not to add too much glitter, you need enough embossing powder in the mix for it to stick well. On E-bay you can get small empty nail art pots, they are the ideal size for mixing your own powders in. Word of caution, if you are going to be using a lot of a mix you make, say for Christmas cards, make up a good sized amount- if you run out part way through, you'll never get the exact same mix again, unless you do it by a set of measurements, like the little spoons for cookery measurements,
Thanks so much for the info. Do you have a favorite brand of embossing powders and inks?
Just starting out embossing I would go with, clear, detail black, detail white, detail gold and detail silver, then you can add other colors as you go along. I prefer detail to regular especially with any stamps with script sentiments. For the embossing pad I just have a versamark pad, you can ink your stamp with it and then with dye ink, stamp and emboss. this way you are only limited by the colors of ink pads you have. A good embossing gun is a MUST have.
As for brands I like Stampin Up, Zing, Recolections. One of my favorites for detail EP was Cornish Heritage Farms but they went out of business a few years ago. Maybe there is someone on here that can recommend a some as good as there detail EP?
For the mixing, I have mixed glitter with ep- use the ultra fine glitters, and make sure you have at least 2/3 ep to glitter, or it won't stick. I have also mixed shades of EP to get custom colours-you need to use two similar powders, ie both detail powders, and mix really well.
Favourite brand of Ep-generally that would be Stampendous, as they have some great colours, especially sparkly ones, their Crystal is awesome!-but I also like a brand called WOW!, as they have some fantastic shades I've not seen in any other brand.
Inkpads? I love the Encore Metallics for heat embossing, the colours are gorgeous, and I have had my pads for around 10 years now, and I think I may have re-inked the gold & silver twice. Versafine Onyx black is my goto black whether embossing it or not.
The tip from chihuahuamom about patting Versamark, or indeed any, clear embossing ink over a stamp then tapping a coloured dye ink on top is a very good one, works well and extends your range.
I never tried Cornish Heritage EP, so don't know what it was like, but I've always been very happy with my Stampendous detail powders.
I have found over the years, that despite all the 'rules' for this sort of thing, you can never be absolutely sure what will or won't work, until you try it. So many little variables come into it, even silly things you wouldn't normally consider like temperature/humidity in the room- this can affect the inks as well as the powders,and the cardstock- it may have absorbed moisture from the air. I would say, whatever inkpads you buy, always get a re-inker at the same time. A drying out inkpad is a disaster for embossing!
I've noticed so many YT'ers have tons of powder on hand for embossing, but where do you get such a large amount and what type of pricing. It's obviously not the little bottles from Joann's, Michaels or Hobby Lobby.
Several years ago Michael's would run sales for embossing powder. You could buy embossing powder 4/$1.00. That's how I started off my collection. I haven't seen them do a sale like that in many years.
I went with ROYGBIP for my colors, then metallics, black, white, & clear. That helped me start off with a nice array of colors. I hardly buy embossing powder any more. I might buy a bottle once every two years if it's color I fall in love with.
To the question would you choose more colored ink pads or embossing powder? I own more color ink pads. I do the load technique. I have a headache tonight. I think that is what it's called. I ink my stamp with Versamark, then ink with my Dye ink, stamp my image, add clear embossing powder & heat. I have also used a matching color embossing powder too. It gives a nice deep color that is a fun technique to work with.
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Embossing Experts Weigh In
Quote:
Originally Posted by mobrien207
I'm just starting out with embossing and was wondering what brands, types and colors are best to start with. Unless I buy online, I only have access to Ms, ACMoore and Joann. All I own right now is Zing black. My thoughts are that maybe I should start with white and clear, but I don't know which type or brand would give the best result.
I see that there is also an "ultra fine" powder. Is that better than using regular embossing powder?
Thanks for your help.
mob
We'd like to offer some help as well, Mobrien! Everyone's advice so far has been very good, and they're all steering you in the right direction! However, there are a couple of considerations that determine whether you'd go with more inks or more powders in your beginning collection (recognizing that, of course, in the end you'll need them all! ;)).
If you primarily plan to emboss very solid images or images with really distinct outlines, you'll probably want to get yourself a VersaMark Watermark Ink Pad by Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts and some good basic powders, probably starting with black, white, gold and silver.
If you plan to stamp detailed, fine-line images your best bet is to start with some good quality pigment inks (VersaColor by Tsukineko or ColorBox by Clearsnap) and some clear or clear detail powder. When inking your stamp you will want to hold the stamp, rubber side up, in your hand and ink by tapping the pad MANY times VERY lightly until the whole stamp is covered. This way you will not ink any extra rubber around the edges and you will not "goosh" (an official word) ink into the detail of your stamp. Pigment inks can give your detailed stamps LOVELY fine lines when you ink carefully. We keep a moistened q-tip handy to remove any accidental inking on the edges around the stamps.
Before inking your image, you should prepare your paper. Everything from dust to lint to oil on your fingers can cause unwanted powder to stick to the page. This can be frustrating. We use either an anti-static pouch, available at most craft stores, or a bit of talcum (baby) powder on a soft brush. Brush it lightly all over your cardstock to create the perfect surface for embossing. If you use a pouch, bounce it a bit first to get the powder out then rub it in with the pouch. Next, ink and stamp your image, sprinkle your embossing powder, tap off the excess on to a folded piece of printer paper and use the fold to return it to the jar (and put the lid on!). Then heat with an embossing heat tool and watch the magic. If you use this method, embossing is completely predictable and exactly the same result every single time in any climate or weather.
Do note that metallic stamp pads with clear powder will give a VERY different look than a VersaMark pad with metallic powders. The first look very delicate and sort of faded, the latter are richly, thickly metallic. And also that pigment ink pads will stay inky longer than die based inks, but getting the reinker is a very, very good idea. If your primary consideration is monetary, consider that a jar of embossing powder can be easily split with a friend, one jar goes a VERY long way. It's hard to share an ink pad.
Have fun! After 30+ years of embossing I never get tired of seeing the powder melt and that gorgeous image coming out!
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Thanks everyone and Stampendous for all your helpful comments. I do have a selection of good inks in many colors. About 4 different pads just in black. I have picked up black, white and clear embossing powder. When I find my way to a store or can place an online order, I want to add silver, gold and copper. I'm not sure what brand I'll go with and metallics online look so different that I hope I find myself out of town and near a LSS.
Embossing newbie...colors and brands?
