Heat gun, hair dryer... microwave?

[Dea]

I was making a card at a friends' house the other day, and we ran across a small problem - The card called for embossing... but I didn't have a heat gun! My friend pulled out her hair dryer, thinking it might be hot enough... but all we got was warm paper. LOL

So... when two creative types get together and are facing a roadblock on the creativity highway... we take a detour. - We used her microwave!

The set we were using was called "Ride On" and the card had both the rider on the ATV and the wording embossed. 1.5 minutes on high for the rider (done individually) and 1.5 minutes on high for the wording (done as a pair).

Then yesterday, just for giggles, we did a different card with embossed strawberries... sure enough, 1.5 minutes on high did the trick!

So for those of us that don't do enough embossing to invest in a heat gun, use your microwave! **Because all microwave temperatures vary, do a test first before you actually 'go for it'** <-That's my disclaimer. LOL

(Our next trick is going to try it on the puff paint. I'll let you know how that works!)

[Kymbers_Stampin]

A lightbulb works too. You might want to remember ~ a good portion of EP has metal in it. If you put it in the microwave, you could be in for a world of hurt.

[Heather_M]

I use my toaster!! If you set it on max setting (toast burn lol) by the time it pop's your powder is melted!! Great for naptime embossing!!

[stampin8mom]

In my pre-heat gun days (many, many moons ago), I would use a warm iron - ironing the cs underneath the ep - don't iron directly on the ep - BIG MESS!!

Kathy

[DebiStringer]

Ditto on the iron solution. I left the iron upright and then placed the back of the card on the warm/hot iron plate. The EP melted well. You may want to have tweezers or other "holder" to prevent finger injuries, but it works really well and is my fallback when the heat gun is lost or fails.

[SmilingDaisy]

Any hints for candle stamping without a heat gun. I need to make a gift for someone and my heat gun is not with me....
Any suggestions?

[JMCDA]

you can also use a flat electric griddle, an older waffle iron that has the plates that flip to a flat side or an electric frying pan!

Joann

[ninatar]

I would discourage you from melting embossing powder in a microwave as embossing powder emits noxious fumes when it melts (think melting plastic) and the residue will cling to the surface of your microwave, or you may inhale a concentrated amount of fumes when opening the oven.

Are you going to keel over from the fumes? Probably not - but children have small lung capacities, so it will be a larger exposure risk. And we know that some materials in plastics are carcinogenic when melted. It is difficult to do studies on the long term effects of incidental exposure. There is a heck of a lot we don't know about long term exposure.

So I am suggesting the conservative approach of using the proper tools.

Nina