Embossed Leather Journal

Who says embossing powder is only for paper? I found this leather journal to give my husband for Father's Day and I wanted to make it more special; more personal. I also wanted it to be subtle and classy. I used Versamark ink and Transcendence embossing powder to add his initials and a flourish from TAC's Flourish stamp set. This shiny raised look is so much fun--it's like magic. If you've never tried embossing, you should!

The basic steps to embossing are as follows: (click the photos below to enlarge.) 1. Load up with ink and stamp image. 2. Sprinkle image with powder (for some applications, I like sprinkling right from the bottle.) 3. Shake off powder (I shake mine into an empty stamp container and the same powder can be used over and over.) 4. If necessary, use an artists brush to sweep away extra powder. 5. Heat image with an ebossing gun, moving around until the whole image is shiny and raised.

I also like Transcence powder the best (and I think The Angel Company is the only one who has it) because you can use this powder with any kind of ink! If I had decided to give the initials more depth, I could use my favorite Burnt Umber Palette ink and the same powder would work. This gives you the ability to match the color of your project, because even dye based inks would work. It comes in a large bottle and it lasts forever. I've been stamping for five years, I use it a lot and I still have the same bottle!

Well, tomorrow I'm off to Kansas to see the new catalogue and attend our annual seminar. Keep an eye out for some sneak peeks . . . .

Charming Chalk Techniques

Happy Bugday, and Hello to all the new friends I met at the stamping convention this weekend! It is so much fun to spend a day and a half with people who love to do what I do and share ideas. Here is a card from my Saturday class. We made the card tin and filled it with four cute cards. This one uses our Versamagic Tea Leaves chalk ink. It's so soft and velvety. I added a little blue sparkle to his wings with Jewel Tones chalk. I love those chalks! You can color with them using a blender pen, sweep it over Versamark or add it to an image that's been freshly stamped with chalk ink. It's such a nice effect. I also created faux brads with Liquid Pearls and I have a really fun tip for how I did the grass. Well, you love using Versamark on cardstock to give it that watermark look, right? On Matchmaker Cardstock, there's a little trick to get that look. After stamping, you lightly sand the paper with a sanding block and the image appears like magic! You've got to try this! Have fun and stay tuned for more techniques and darling details! (PS-Are you looking for this set? It's from Spring Fling and paper if Bella Flor.)