Embossing Paste

Hello, Crafters.

I don't celebrate Halloween but I couldn't resist buying the cat punch on its own. 

Unfortunately, because I didn't buy the stamp set, I don't have a stamp for the cat's face, hence my hand drawn efforts! 

I must practice the nose and mouth as I'm not too happy with them - they look okay if I screw my eyes up a bit when I look at them!

Since I added the lines inside the ears, I think the cats look pretty good - they act as a distraction from the nose and mouth!

The bow and bow tie are from the same stamp in the Santa's Sleigh Stamp Set - I just cut the bow tails off for the boy cat! 

I really love how easy it is to mix and match, and alter Stampin' Up! Stamp Sets - no wonder I have trouble getting rid of stamp sets when they retire!

The brick wall on my card is the sample I showed in yesterday's photographs - unfortunately, it isn't obvious from the photographs that this wall has been created with Embossing Paste!

Thursday was the first time I played with the paste, and I found it so much easier to use than the non-SU embossing paste I'd played with a few years ago. 

The SU Embossing Paste is a very light, fluffy, "cream" which is very much like a mousse.

Years ago the paste was quite a thick paste, and was nowhere near as easy to move and manipulate as our product is.

To create the wall, I decided how high I wanted the wall to be, and made it as high as possible, allowing room for two cats to sit on it. 

I used the brick wall mask from the packet of Decorative Masks, and positioned it onto a piece of Whisper White Cardstock (CS) I'd cut to size to be a top layer on a card.

Once it was in position, I anchored it down on all four sides using some retired Washi Tape. 

I found it's really helpful to fold one end of each line of tape back on itself, so when I was ready to remove the tape, it was so easy to lift one end. 

It's also important to remove the tape by lifting it up, and pulling it away from your project slowly - if you go too fast, you'll tear your cardstock!

To apply the Embossing Paste, use whichever Palette Knife you feel most comfortable with, and carefully spread it over the mask - I used the diamond-shaped knife. 

If you're doing a large area, you will probably find it helpful to hold the mask down near to the area you're working on. 

When you're happy with the area you've covered, carefully wipe the side of your Palette Knife on its side, over the mask to remove excess Embossing Paste, paying particular attention to what is on the actual mask. 

As long as the paste hasn't been exposed to the air too long, put the excess back into the pot. 

At no time during the whole process do you need to press hard, or use a lot of pressure. 

Start by being gentle and gradually increase pressure until the paste starts doing what you want it to do. 

If you're heavy handed, or try to rush spreading the paste, it's very likely the paste will go under the mask, which will stop your bricks looking like bricks!

It's very easy to colour the white Embossing Paste by using our-reinkers. 

Put a small amount of paste into a small bowl or pot, add one drop of your chosen re-inker, and mix well using a Palette Knife. 

If the colour isn't as dark or as intense as you'd like it to be, add another drop and mix again. 

Once you've finished, if you have any paste left over, put it in a small pot that has a lid, and save for future use!

When using the Embossing Paste, make sure you have a small bowl of warm water near you, so you can drop your palette knives and masks into water ASAP to stop the paste drying hard on these items! 

As long as you don't apply the paste too thick, it will dry very quickly, as in minutes! 

If you've been sitting on the fence about trying this product, I really recommend you give it a go! 

Just relax, take your time and go for it!

If you're reading this, and you have any hints or tips you'd like to share with us, please leave them in the comment box below. Many thanks.☺

When I made my brick wall, I managed to get some paste where I didn't want it and have hidden beow the Berry Burst Ribbon!

The Soft Suede sentiment is from the Birthday Delivery Stamp Set, which I stamped on a piece of Whisper White CS, and then sponged the edges with Berry Burst Ink.

I adhered tiny pearls on all the Soft Suede dots that are part of this sentiment, as well as three random pearls - one of which is covering up a small amount of Berry Burst Ink!  

I stamped the cat from the You've Got Style Stamp Set using Basic Black Archival Ink onto a scrap of Berry Burst CS.

I made the cat's eyes bigger, to stop her from looking snooty - LOL - and then cut her out, and adhered her inside the card.

I hope you have a great weekend. Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.