Tutorial of the Week: Altering Metal Using Embossing Powders

Good morning, everyone!  …time for another tutorial!  You know, when I saw Marina’s project on Saturday I concluded that she was a mind reader.  If you watch her YouTube video, you’ll know that she altered some of the metal embellishments on her project using embossing powder.  Guess what our tutorial is about today?  YUP…altering your metal filigrees using embossing powder 😛

Today we’ll be going over 5 different methods of using embossing powder on your metal embellishments.  Although some of these techniques may seem obvious, I’m hoping that I can add at least a couple of ways of using this medium that you may not have thought of off the top of your head.  Let’s get started with the materials needed…

Materials

• metal filigrees, hardware, etc. to emboss
• embossing ink pad
• embossing ink pen
• embossing powders
• acrylic paint (yup…that’s right 😉 )
• copy paper or embossing powder tray
• metal tweezers
• craft heating tool
• fine paint brush

Method #1 – Full Emboss

As usual, I am going to start with the most obvious way of using embossing powder to alter you metal filigrees…I call it the full emboss method.  It is perfect when you are wanting to change up the color of your filigrees (or other metal embellishments) to coordinate with any project.

Step 1

Completely cover your metal filigree with embossing ink.  You can either lay your filigree face up on your work surface, and pounce the pad on top of it, or press your metal filigree onto your embossing ink pad face down.  …looks like I need a new clean ink pad, eh?  Let’s just pretend that it looks all white and new…’kay?

Step 2

Place the metal filigree onto a piece of copy paper and sprinkle embossing powder over the entire surface.  I always fold my paper in half to create a crease down the center of the paper to help funnel the excess embossing powder back into its jar.

Using a pair of tweezers, carefully remove the filigree from the embossing powder, and give it a quick tap to remove any loose powder.  Return excess embossing powder back into its jar.

Step 3

Carefully lay the filigree onto your craft surface and use a heat tool to melt the embossing powder.  REMEMBER…you are heating metal, so be careful to allow enough cooling time after embossing before touching the filigree with your bare fingers.

Here’s a close look at the embossed Silver Corner Metal Filigree Embellishment (#807-P).  I used Lindy’s Stamp Gang “Midnight Teal” embossing powder – it has such a nice rich color and an awesome shimmer to it!

Method #2 – Distress Emboss

This next method of embossing your metal filigrees results in a more distressed look.  For this method, follow all of the same steps as Method #1, with the exception of Step 1.  Instead of adding embossing ink to the entire surface, apply the ink only to the edges (and some of the high spots on the top if you like).  I apply the ink in the same way I would ink the edges of my scrapbook pages – just by running the ink pad down over the edges of the filigree.

I also like the look of adding a lighter color around the edges of box corners, box feet and other hardware pieces.  Here’s a close look at the results on a Silver Flower Metal Filigree Embellishment (#283-P) and a Medium Antique Bronze Box Foot (#HD987-B):

I used the same Lindy’s Stamp Gang “Midnight Teal” embossing powder from Method #1 on the flower, and used a fine white embossing powder on the box foot.

Method #3 – Detail Emboss

If you have a bit more time and are feeling particularly creative, then this next method of embossing your metal filigrees is for you.

Step 1

Using an embossing ink pen, color the portions of the metal filigree that you’d like to emboss your first color.  I chose to start with the body and outline the wings of this Silver Plated Butterfly Metal Filigree Embellishment (#888-S).

Step 2

Sprinkle your embossing powder onto the metal filigree, ensuring to cover all the inked areas.  Carefully remove the filigree from the embossing powder and give it a light tap to remove all of the loose embossing powder (just like in Method #1 above).

Before heating the filigree, I remove any embossing powder that may have stuck to areas that I don’t want it to using a dry, fine paint brush:

Use your heat tool to melt the first color of embossing powder.

Step 3

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for each color of embossing powder you want to use.  Here’s a close up of my finished butterfly:

I used fine black embossing powder for the body and outline of the wings, and Lindy’s Stamp Gang “Gilded Burgundy Brass” and “Midnight Teal” for the inside of the wings.

Method #4 – Paint Emboss

This next method is not so obvious, but probably my favorite method of embossing metal.  You follow the same steps as Method #1, with 2 exceptions:

1-  Use any color of acrylic paint instead of embossing ink to cover the metal filigree:

2-  Only cover part of the painted surface with embossing powder, leaving some of the paint color exposed:

It is important that you add the embossing powder right away before the paint dries so that the embossing powder sticks…but you probably figured that one out 😉

Here’s a close up of some of the filigrees (#068-P, #286-P and #809-P) that I embossed using this method:

I absolutely love how distressed the filigrees look, especially when using a chunkier embossing powder…and it would be equally as effective on the metal hardware from the ButterBeeScraps shop, too!

On the filigrees in the above picture, I used a combination of the following paints and embossing powders:

1. Adirondack “Terra Cotta” acrylic paint w/ Fran-táge “Aged Black” embossing enamel by Stampendous
2. Adirondack “Aqua” acrylic paint w/ Fran-táge “Chunky White” embossing enamel by Stampendous
3. Adirondack “Butterscotch” acrylic paint w/ Lindy’s Stamp Gang “Twilight Bronze” embossing powder

Method #5 – Shabby Emboss

This last method is a little different from the rest of the embossing methods we’ve looked at, and creates a perfectly shabby looking embellishment.

Step 1

Start by completing a full emboss described in Method #1 above.  You do want to ensure that there is a significant difference in color between the embossing powder and metal tone you choose.  I chose to use a fine white embossing powder on a bronze filigree.

Step 2

Allow the filigree and embossing powder to cool REALLY well…if you move on to Step 3 before allowing your embellishment to cool enough, you are just going to smudge the embossing powder and make a mess.

Step 3

Using superfine steel wool, start “sanding” your filigree embellishment until all of the embossing powder is removed from the high spots and exposes the underlying metal color.  I use a circular motion to ensure an even finish.

Oh yeah…and do NOT do this on your craft sheet – you will scratch the heck out of it and ruin it, and that would be no bueno and make you (and your wallet) very sad 🙁

Here’s a close look at two different bronze filigrees (#203-B and #679-B) that I used this method on…aren’t they absolutely perfect for a shabby chic project?

Well, that’s it for today 🙂  I hope you learned something new and found some inspiration in today’s tutorial.  Thank you muchly for stopping by this week, and for all the wonderful comments and emails that really do make me feel that these tutorials are totally worth doing for my peeps 😉  Cheers and enjoy the rest of your week!

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