Here’s a Cool Technique to Stretch Your Embossing Folders!

Hello, Altenew friends. Are you almost ready for Christmas? It's Norine back again today! I know! What, so soon? This time, I'm playing with the Ornamental Feature 3D Embossing Folder and adding an inking technique that nudges it from nice, ok, to downright gorgeous!

The simple addition of some ink to an embossing folder does a couple of things. Depending on which side of the embossing folder is inked, it accentuates the 3D texture or else suggests something of a letterpress printing effect.

Card #1:

For the first card, I did an all-over design, centering the card panel in the embossing folder to get the entire effect of the embossing. I used Morning Frost Crisp Dye Ink to ink up the side of the embossing folder where the ornamental design is  sunken or recessed. (The opposite side has the ornamental design raised.)

To do this technique cleanly, I opened the embossing folder and inked up the flat side (see paragraph above). But instead of laying the paper on the inked side and possibly smudging the ink as I shift the panel to center it, I laid the panel against the un-inked side of the folder, did my shifting and adjusting there, then closed the folder and then ran it through my embossing machine, using the sandwich combo per manufacturer specifications.

It's a beautiful way to really highlight the embossing design. The ink color I chose is very light, and I didn't get full coverage on the first pass so I re-inked and re-embossed twice more. I could have added some paper shims to get a bit more pressure, but I find that that can sometimes tear the cardstock in places.

Once the inking and embossing steps were complete, I set the cardstock panel aside to let the ink even out and dry. I stamped a single floret in the Flower Garden Stamp Set with embossing ink and heat set with Platinum Crisp Embossing Powder. Not having the coordinating dies, I fussy cut the flower and leaf set.

To make the paper strip across the middle match perfectly, I used the Classy Stripes Stencil and more of the Morning Frost ink to ink-blend the stripes. Then, I stamped “thanks” from the Autumn Bounty Stamp Set and heat set it with the Platinum Embossing Powder, as well. I love a monochromic color scheme, but in this case, it needed something more, so I backed the striped cardstock strip with some blue paper and added enamel dots in a matching shade of blue.

Card #2

For my second card, I did a reverse of the inking technique described above, and inked up the raised side of the folder. This can be a tad trickier, as the ink will touch down around the outside of the raised design if you're not careful. I'm not (careful) so before placing the cardstock in the folder, I used a cloth to wipe around the raised design to pick up any stray ink.

ALSO. Key tip! I didn't let the embossing folder go all the way through the machine because then the bottom edge of the folder impresses on the paper. No good. To avoid that, I positioned the paper and folder to hang off the bottom end of the embossing plates and ran the roller just to the edge of the plate, and then back again.

I used Icy Water Crisp Dye Ink color, inking, and embossing just once. I'm so impressed (pun intended) with those fine line details – how the ink transferred to the paper so beautifully!

Next, I trimmed the bottom of the A2 card panel, adjusting for a strip of patterned paper at the top of the card. I stamped a matching blue cardstock strip with a sentiment from the Leaf Canopy Stamp Set and heat set with white embossing powder. Then, I backed it with a strip of contrasting kraft cardstock and adhered it over top of the transition line from embossed cardstock to patterned paper. Finally, I added some similarly colored enamel dots to complete the card.

There you have it, folks! I hope you are inspired to try this at home! Add ink to your Altenew embossing folders and see how the designs extra-pop! Thanks so much for stopping by and have a stellar day!

SUPPLY LIST:

Altenew Ornamental Feature 3D… [ ALTN ] Classy Stripes Stencil [ ALTN ] Morning Frost Crisp Dye Ink [ ALTN ] Ink Blending Tool – Large – Altenew [ ALTN ] Ink Blending Tool – Small [ ALTN ] Classic Crest Solar White (25… [ ALTN ] Flower Garden Stamp Set [ ALTN ] Flower Garden Die Set [ ALTN ] Flower Garden Stamp & Die Bundle [ ALTN ] Platinum Crisp Embossing Powder [ ALTN ] Pure White Crisp Embossing Powder [ ALTN ] Embossing Ink [ ALTN ] Autumn Bounty Stamp Set [ ALTN ] Cool Summer Night Enamel Dots [ ALTN ] Icy Water Crisp Dye Ink [ ALTN ] Leaf Canopy Stamp Set [ ALTN ]