Embossing....arrrghhhhhhh!
 

Today's challenge has me asking "What the heck to I do wrong when I emboss?!". No matter what little tip I try, my paper ALWAYS warps terribly and because I am extremely @nal about things...this just won't do. I have tried putting my image on a piece of foil wrapped cardboard, because someone said this works....not!
I will confess that I have the old "Marvy" heat gun and the only thing that I haven't tried is purchasing a different brand, which I will gladly do IF it works. But seriously, isn't heat just heat? Really don't want to waste the money if I am going to get the same results. I thought because the watercolor paper is thicker that possibly it wouldn't warp, but it still did. WHAT am I doing wrong?

Sorry, just realized I should have put "heat" embossing in my title, but don't know how to change that!

Mine always warps, too! My solution is to use my Mono Multi glue to glue it down securely to another layer and it flattens out beautifully.

It usually flattens out when you attach it to another piece of CS.

Have you tried heating the paper from both sides? Whenever I start to notice that the paper is curling I switch my heat tool to the underside and it helps the paper curl back.

The other thing to consider is the card stock/paper you're using. I noticed that the thinner the paper I'm ebossing on, the more it curls. For example, I get a lot more warp when I emboss on designer paper than when I do it on the card stock. So if your card stock is not really heavy weight you are likely to get more curl.

Finally, I found that the further away I hold my heat tool from the paper the less curl I get. Sometimes when I want to emboss somethng quickly I get too close and that's when I have my biggest curling problems.

Sorry if these are tips you already tried, but these are the only ones I know. By posting here I'm also subscribing for other ideas.

Good luck!

tdodd00........I completely agree with the 2nd and 3rd paragraph of stampwithdiane's post.

The paper thickness has a lot to do with whether it will warp or not (thinner paper is not recommended).

It also sounds like you are holding the heat gun too close and heating for too long. The heat gun you are using is a good brand and yes, heat is heat, but too much heat for too long a period of time can be a problem. You need to keep your eye on your paper and the area you are heating to see the transition. Keep the heat gun moving over the area slowly but moving, not in one spot. Don't over heat. The whole process only takes a few seconds.

Let the heat gun heat up for about 30-45 seconds before holding it over your project.

Water color paper may not work as well, since it is not smooth and does have a lot of texture. But then again, if that's the look you want, then go for it.

I never heat from underneath my paper. Too much chance for powder to move and paper can get wrinkled in the process of holding it.

Patti

All these suggestions are great. I do heat from the bottom, especially on thick embossing powder or if I've dipped into the embossing powder twice because it doesn't fly off.

Or maybe if you're using an older heat tool maybe it's heating up too hot? I would definately try and hold it away from the paper a bit more and also move it around. Try that before you buy a new one.

Can you use a super hot blow dryer in place of a heat gun? I have never heat embossed on my own so I have no idea...

Not to sound braggish but mine has never warpped unless you want to count the first time I ever did acetate paper...I however have always let my heat gun warm on the palm of my hand for a couple seconds and then I don't wave the gun around but I do not stay in one place for a long period I slowly move it around and may go over the whole embossed section a couple times but I don't warp...hope that is something you never tried to save the money on a new heat tool ( mine is only a few years old and gets used regularily)
All the best as embossing is so cool to watch and a great technique to be able to use.
By the way hair blower has a bit to much power beehind it and they don't really get hot enough...so I've heard

My response would be no. The heat gun does blow out hot air - but at a much softer breeze than a blow dryer for your hair. Also, and I'm only speaking from the experience of my own tools, the hair dryer blows a more diffused air pattern, whereas the heat gun is more direct.

Anyone use their blow dryer as a heat gun?

My paper may buckle but it is so terribly little that I hardly notice. I use 80lb paper for the most part. 65 lb paper does want to warp more.

Here's an entry I posted to my blog about thermal embossing...scroll down a bit to see the tips for embossing.

http://paperfriendly.blogspot.com/20...f-mention.html

Hope these help!

Embossing History
 

I can remember seeing an old SU video where they showed you how to emboss over a hot plate. I'm sure they'll show it at convention this year. It MUST'VE been 20 years ago when they first started.

In the early years, I've burnt my fingers holding the card over a toaster. An iron was tried too.

BUT....a hair dryer doesn't get hot enough.

The trick is not to flail the thhing around. If you heat it too little (or if there's not enough fluid ink), it's bumpy. Heat it too long & the powder will melt right into the cardstock.

Just keep practicing.

The reason the paper warps is because the fibres of the side that is being heated dry out and contract. It is the opposite of cockling where the fibres expand when you add water to the paper.

It does help to turn the card over and heat it on the underside, but really is impossible to avoid some warping because it is a natural material. The best thing, is as already suggested, stick the embossed piece onto another piece of card and then place it under a heavy object to flatten it out for a while.

I happened to do this the other day. It turned out I had my heat gun too close! :)

All the tips are pretty good - here's another: Take a piece of cardboard and wrapped it with aluminum foil. Start the heart gun, making sure it is hot, then place the card stock on the foil wrapped cardboard. It cuts the heating time and usually takes care of the warping problems.

Caterina

i keep an aluminum sheet pan to hold my paper just for embossing after I sprinkle it with the powder.
I find it defuses the heat & I am not as likely to get too close. I did over 250 wedding invites last year on 1/2 sheets of paper where everything was embossed using it. I think it worked out perfectly & I was using whisper white cardstock. Which in the past I have burned pretty badly with my embossing gun.

No it does not work with a hairdryer. The hairdryer does not get hot enough to melt the embossing powder & it will blow all od the powder away. You can get a heat gun at Michaels using the coupon. That is where I got mine.

I used to have that problem but I don't anymore. For me, it was because I was holding the gun too close to the paper. No matter how much I tried to move it back I just couldn't get the hang of it. A friend of mine made me an embossing holder that I put the emobsser in and turn it on and now it is taken out of my hands (literally) and I just hold the paper underneath it. It is sooooo convenient and I don't have any more hot fingers either! If you are interested in seeing what I am talking about let me know and I will take a picture of it. He sold them for a while so if you are interested I bet I could talk him into it again. They sold for $15.00 plus shipping if I remember right. Just let me know if you want to see a picture of it and I will snap a picture of mine.

I forgot that I had a picture of it. Here it is. If it is too dark I can do it again. Just let me know.

That looks great ! My FIL is making one for me right now that looks very similar to that one. I can't wait !

What a cool gadget...wish I could get one...but my dh would say, "you have no room anywhere for it"...

Caterina

that is good news for you!!!!! The important thing is that you need to make sure that he puts several coats of stain with a good finish on it. My friend puts 3 coats on his. The first one he made me he didn't stain and after using it a few minutes I started to smell the wood burning! Make sure the finish has a good polyurithaine (sp?) in it.