Embossing 4 Ways

As much as I love summer, I always welcome fall with the cooler temps and gorgeous colors! The Altenew Mini Delight for September is so cute. Look at that little squirrel!! He's adorable and comes together easily with layering stamps. The leaves and acorns are part of the die set that accompanies this "Garden Friend" set. 

For this card, I focused on some embossing techniques I learned in the Altenew Academy class, "Impressive Heat Embossing". Here's the steps to making this colorful and shiny card.  

Resist Effect 

    

Heat emboss the main sentiment "fall" with clear embossing powder on white cardstock. Then ink blend right over the embossed sentiment. The image appears clearly as it resists the ink applied to the cardstock. 

Embossing with Stencils

To add more of a fall feel,  add some clear embossing over the ink blending. I used the Sweater Knits stencils just in two corners. Embossing in clear powder adds the pattern with a shine that won't overpower the main focus. 

Embossing Diecuts

Add a little shine to some diecuts with embossing. I embossed the tops of the acorns. This was a little tricky because they are so small. I tacked them down lightly on paper with a tape runner dots and applied the embossing powder. Then removed them with tweezers and placed them on a spot on my paper that was not covered with sticky embossing ink before applying the clear powder. 

For the leaves, I used a light green and light brown cardstock so I could achieve the effect of leaves turning colors. The base color made the ink blending quicker. After ink blending the leaves, I added some gold embossing on the edges. I left the powder a little "messy" for a more natural look. 

Layered Embossing

The little squirrel comes with 4 layers to stamp. I used the exact shades of brown suggested on the packaging. I wanted the darker stripes on the little guy to stand out, so after I stamped the image in Mocha ink, I then stamped in embossing ink and applied clear powder. I did the same with the last layer in Espresso ink. 

Assembling the card, I decided to pop up the "hello" and the little squirrel. I wanted him tucked behind a leaf but still really visible. I also curled up the leaf tips for some added dimension. I can't wait to make more of this little guy. He just makes me smile!

Tips

☝Clear embossing powder is so versatile. You can use it on colored cardstock to make an image darker as well as more shiny. You can emboss inked images instead of investing in various colors of embossing powder. 

☝ Tape down those dies or embrace mistakes! I only had very little of the green and brown paper. I took a shortcut and didn't tape my leaf die down. The result was a leaf with the sides cut off! Instead of throwing it away, I positioned it on an edge. 

☝To learn more about these and other embossing techniques, check out the class "Impressive Heat Embossing" at Altenew Academy. 

Supplies:

• Altnew Mega Brush Alphabet stamp set
• Altenew Mini Delight Garden Friend
• Altenew Sweater Knits stencil
• Altenew Little Starfish "hello"
• Altnew Crystal Clear embossing powder
• Altenew Fresh Dye Inks: Eucalyptus, Buttercream, Warm Sunshine, Amber Blaze, Terracotta, Ruby Red, Coffee Break ink set
• Brutus Monroe Gilded gold embossing powder