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I need to order a couple things to maintain status and was thinking about looking into getting a heat tool and embossing powders. Have never used one or felt the need for one really. Do you use yours a lot? How often? What types of things do you emboss? Thanks
The heat tool was one of the very first things I bought when I started to stamp. I use it frequently on images I want to water color or on the sentiments to give them depth. I love the cracked glass technique, so there's another way I use mine. Sometimes I use it to dry the ink faster...just depends. What I did not do is buy every color of the rainbow embossing powders. For me, my only colors are black, white, clear and sometimes silver or gold. I use the clear on almost everything because the color comes from the ink. You also need to get an embossing buddy. I have used colored EP before but even using the embossing buddy, there still seems to be some stray flecks that end up embossed. Hope this helps. I think embossing really adds nice texture to a card.
Oh my gosh!!! YES, YES, YES!! couldn't live without mine! Once you emboss in gold (I like detail EP, finer and works will with thin lines and detailed stamps) you will be hooked! Love using clear Versamark ink, don't need colored pigment inks. Use with words, bold solid images, clear ink, clear ep for nice effect. A must-have for Holiday cards. White ep for trees... I could go on and on. Give your paper a swipe with a dryer sheet to stop powder from clinging where it shouldn't. A jar of powder lasts forever.
If I haven't convinced you yet, I've used my gun for a few other things which I don't recommend. Drying your nail polish (yes, it gets hot quick) thawing out a frozen exhaust fan in my freezer and slightly melting and smoothing a small tear in my dashboard.
I don't think I craft with out ever using it, but I do use a lot of wet supplies and water. As for embossing powders I use them often too and mostly just have the more basic selection of black, white, clea,r gold and silver in both plain and glitter versions.
Recently I packed a selection of supplies for crafting away from home but I had to bear in mind that I had no access to power and therefore I coudn't take the heatgun with me. It times like that when I realise how dependant I am with that tool.
I could not do without my heat guns. I use them to dry inks and paints (regular and cool techniques) and to emboss. I use them ALL of the time. I emboss a lot and now REALLY a lot since Fran (Stampendous) came out with her gorgeous Frantage embossing powders. I have both the Ranger Heat It and 'regular' heat guns. The Ranger is great because it blows more softly than the other type so the force is less and it's quieter, but it does take a little longer to dry/melt (which with paints and inks may be a plus depending on the technique you're using). Also Ranger has exceptional customer service and stands behind their products. I use the Ranger heat gun more than the 'regular' heat gun just because I like the light blow force, the light noise, and it's very comfortable in my hand. The 'regular' heat gun is good for things like quick drying inks and paints and it will quickly melt the Frantage embossing powders which you put on thickly and heat from the underside of the paper so that the powder does not blow away when you melting it. HTH.
__________________ "May your mind whirl joyful cartwheels of creativity." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie.
I haven't used ANY of my supplies for a while (Family stuff, moving my craft room, etc.), but when I AM creating, I use my heat gun and embossing powders a lot! As others have mentioned, there are a lot of uses and techniques you can do with them. I find that I almost never use my colored powders, though. I use the detail powders, mostly, in clear, white or black. I also have a few metallics that I use. Generally, if I want colors, I stamp the color I want, then use clear. One technique that I've done quite a bit of is glass etching to make gifts. There is a tutorial for it HERE in the Resources section.
I emboss everything and I go through a lot of heat guns. Even if you don't do much embossing you need a good heat gun for drying ink and making stuff with shrink plastic.
Buy one!
Mary Beth
Agreeing here! Couldn't be without mine. I too have the Ranger gun, nice & quiet, plus a spare older type thats a bit too noisy, but ideal if my Ranger one dies mid project, lol.
Uses: fusible fibres, Friendly Plastic, heat embossing, UTEE,general drying of inks etc,. As for EP, I do have a lot of different colours, as well as various colours of Pigment ink. You get a different look, for instance with Gold powder on Gold ink, to what you get with Gold Powder on clear ink, or even clear powder on Gold ink.
Also, contrary to the usual 'rule', sometimes you can emboss dye inks- it depends on the type( Distress are really wet, so work well), and the paper. Probably humidity could have some part in it to. Its also possible to heat emboss inkjet printing on vellum- you need to be quite quick, and test out your printers settings.
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I use my HT LOTS! Mainly for embossing. I have had it about 5 yrs. I got it from either Hobby
lobby or Mike's with a 40% off coupon, so it was only about $10.00. Still works like a charm after all these years!
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
Love my heat tool, yet don't always emboss! Like those before me, use it for a number of other crafting uses as mentioned above.
I also like to use sealing wax on cards, sometimes just using dribbles. Heating glued foils, embelishments to dry quicker, (use tweezers or a wooden stick like a shish kabob or chop stick) to hold down the item. Guess you can get the idea, that the Heat Tool/Gun is a very versatile tool with more than one use!! Good luck with your decision.
I don't have the Ranger, I have a Marvy, but I've watched a lot of Tim Holtz videos where he uses the Ranger and it does seem to be quieter than what I have.
They all make noise, though! Luckily, you don't have them on for that long! ;-)!
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I use mine daily. Before I start work I plug it in and am ready to go. I use it not just for embossing, but to dry things as I work. I love to dye ribbon with distress stains for instance and it makes fast work of it and I can use it right away. I have a Ranger one and a Marva one. Ranger one is quiet and concentrated heat, and the other more powerful. Depends on what I am doing. You will use it more than most tools I bet once you have one.
The Ranger one is really, really quiet. My crafting room was right opposite my sons bedroom door when he still lived here, and he worked nights, so I rarely did any heat embossing, as my old one was very loud. Then I saw someone using the Ranger gun at a craft fair, and was amazed at the lack of noise from it. It really is barely above silent.
I love, love, love my heat tool. I have a basic Martha Stewart one - got it at Hobby Lobby for $10 and it works great!
However it's the 'other' things you need outside the heat tool. Make sure you get an embossing buddy and a good Versa Mark stamp. Those and embossing powder are really important. I think clear and white powders are a great start. Clear can be used on most stamps and really brings out the color of the stamp. White can be used as a negative of a stamp.
Watch tons of videos to get a good feeling of how to do it. I enjoy using Stampin up embossing powder compared to Michael's powder, however with that said YOU have to be comfortable with the colors.
I actually rarely stamp anymore and my heat tool still gets a ton of use- it is one of the few things DH has stolen out of the craft room (he's also taken my brayer). I've used it to wrap windows for winter, to heat mold shoes, who knows what he uses it for when he takes it!
In the craft room, I use it all the time: I love embossing, but also for things like cracked glass technique (UTEE), and now that I'm stamping less: to dry paints between layers.
heat tool -? yea or nay
