Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) – Impressive Heat Embossing

Heat embossing is a technique that can be used to give a pretty simple and straightforward look or a very detailed and elaborate look. Either way, it adds shine and a bit of character to your card. In Altenew’s Impressive Heat Embossing class, I learned a few new techniques and revisited some techniques that I knew about but haven’t used. Now this class is a part of the Altenew Educator Certification Program but can also be taken as a stand alone class if you wish. One of the techniques is layering your heat embossing.

I opted to use Altenew’s Festive Foliage stamp set to try to layer my heat embossing. While I didn’t overlap the heat embossing, I did still have to heat emboss in stages. As with all heat embossing, I started off my prepping my card panel with an anti-static powder bag. This helps to keep embossing powder where you want it and helps to stop stray powder from sticking on other areas of your panel.

Now…since I’m using Altenew Crisp Dye Inks, I had to stamp in two stages as embossing powder doesn’t stick to dye ink. I started off by stamping the fuller tree image using SweetLeaf. Then, in order to get the embossing powder to stick I inked up the tree again using Versamark ink. In situations like this, a stamping tool like the MISTI is handy, because it allows you to stamp in the exact same spot repeatedly.

There are a few ways that you could stamp the image out to get the embossing powder set up:

Start with a dye ink, and then stamp again using an embossing ink (this is the method I chose)
Start with an embossing ink, then stamp over it with a dye ink
Stamp with an embossing ink, then use coloured embossing powder
Stamp with a pigment ink, then use a clear embossing powder

There isn’t a wrong way to do it really…it just depends on what supplies you have on hand to make it work. I don’t have a ton of pigment inks so I opted for option 1.

After the image was stamped using both the coloured ink and the embossing ink, I used Brutus Monroe’s Icicle Embossing Powder and my WOW Dual Speed Heat Tool.

I repeated the same ink technique using the heart of the tree and Crimson Ink.

I wanted a small star for the top of my tree, so I used the star stamp from Altenew’s Happy Holidays stamp set. I stamped it with Versamark ink, and used Brutus Monroes’ Gilded embossing powder for a gold finish.

Then I grabbed a “Season’s Greetings” stamp from the same Happy Holidays stamp set and stamped it just below the tree using Altenew’s Obsidian Pigment Ink.

I cut the panel down to approximately 5×3.75 inches, then adhered it to a panel of Simons Says Stamps Glitter Cardstock in PINE measuring approximately 5.25x4inches. Then I used some liquid glue to adhere everything to an A2 cardbase of Neenah Solar White cardstock. Voila!