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I was making a card using a white glittery embossing powder on white paper to resemble snow, but my Versamark pad is really dirty and it was making a mess. (It was Sunday, so no trips to HL.) So, it was time to experiment.
Someone told me that Vaseline could be used to hold the ep, so I tried it. Very interesting results! Yes, the powder stuck to the Vaseline, but it turned the white paper translucent! Hmm. Fail for this project, but an idea to file away for later.
I ended up using plain old glue stick on the paper, sprinkling the powder and heating it. It worked just fine. I didn't try this using stamps, but as long as the stamp was cleaned immediately afterwards, I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work as well.
Oh, one more thing I discovered. You know how careful we all are about brushing away stray powder before we heat it? Well, I heated the ep on a sentiment as usual without noticing some stray powder. Without a binder to hold the powder to the paper, it just brushed away AFTER I heated the stamped area. No more obsessing over embossed sentiments!
Hope these tips were helpful.
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
Thankyou for the post.
I am just getting started with the embossing powder but waiting impatiently for the versamark to be delivered. I am getting vaseline and glue stick out and trying them right away!!
Please keep in mind that Vaseline is a petroleum product so be careful using a heat gun with it.
Fyi, I myself have not gotten around to trying it but had heard you can create translucent paper by coating it on both sides with Vaseline so the heat gun is unnecessary to get the look. It may just take longer while the fibers of the paper soak in the product. What I read was to let it sit overnight.
One of the main ingredients in pigment inks is glycerin, you may also want to try it to see what happens.
My embossing powder will melt onto my card stock even if I don't have Versamark or something else to bind it with. If it melts onto the paper, it will stick there. I don't know how you do your embossing that stray particles don't adhere after you have melted the EP.
I have had chunkier EP that did not set on my paper after heating and I think that is because that EP is hard to melt or old and it requires an oil based binder to help it melt. Other than this stuff, all my other EP seems to melt on contact with my paper. LOL
Versamark Alternatives and Tips
