A Touch of Grace

Archive for August, 2009

Aug 13 2009

Stencil Embossing Tutorial And Paper Tole Birthday Card

Published by Jerri Kay under Birthday, Challenges, Dry Embossing, Mother's Day, Paper Tole, Stencils, Tutorials

Hi everyone,

Sorry to have been gone for so long. We were on vacation for nine days in July, I returned home for a day and then headed over to Orlando and spent a week at CHA; and last week I traveled to my parents’ home and spent a week with them. I’m back at home and will try to get in another post before I leave for Nashville next Friday to help my son get settled back in at school. Where did the summer go?

I’m excited to be a part of the Stamp Simply 100th Challenge Birthday Celebration. I have prepared for you a stencil embossing tutorial utilizing a light box below, as well as a paper tole birthday card. At the bottom of this post you’ll find shopping links to A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique for the stencils and products I used for the birthday card and the tutorial card. You’ll also find links to all the other designers that are participating in the celebration. Be sure to check out all the wonderful projects the ladies are sharing, you won’t be disappointed!

Inspiration for my birthday card came from a Kubla Crafts photo frame shown below:

A close up of the toled flowers.

The focal image was hand drawn, painted and paper toled.

In celebration of the 100th Stamp Simply challenge I’ve put together a stencil embossing tutorial for you.

For successful embossing it’s important that you use a paper that is not too thin or too thick. I have found a paper that I feel is perfect for embossing that is for sale in my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique. The stencil I have chosen for this design can be hand embossed or run through a die cutter. When I run my stencils through a die cutting machine, the Wizard by Spellbinders is my die cutter of choice. For purposes of this tutorial, the design is hand embossed using a light box, a stylus, and Perga Soft wax (an oil free wax manufactured by Pergamano, especially formulated for hand embossing).

I recommend before you begin embossing this design that you practice on inexpensive cardstock until you have the hang of it. Begin by using light pressure to stretch your paper, if you use too much pressure, you may tear or pearce through your paper. Go back over the area you’ve embossed a second time using more pressure for best results.

In this design embossing is done on the back side of the paper; pay careful attention to how the stencil is placed on the light box. If placed in the wrong direction, your embossing will be the reverse of what you want it to be when you turn your paper over. Use your stylus to trace the outline of the portion of the stencil you are embossing and not the center, this results in a nice raised section. If you rub the entire area with your stylus, the result will not be as smooth and elegant.

I recommend that you change the blade on your craft knife every time you start a new card if you’re doing a lot of cut work. Blades are inexpensive; it’s better to toss a questionable blade than to ruin a beautifully embossed piece that you’ve worked several minutes on. Work in a well lighted room; natural light is the most desirable. I use an OTT lamp when working at night.

Embossing tools needed for embossing.

Perga Soft (oil free embossing wax)

Place stencil down on light box as shown in picture. Tape down with removable tape so that stencil doesn’t move while embossing. Grid paper assures that your stencil is perfectly straight.

Lay your cardstock (embossing paper) down on the stencil as shown and emboss. I embossed only a portion of the stencil in the center panel of the design.

Remove tape, turn embossed panel over, right side up, the embossing should be on the lower right corner as shown.

Turn stencil over and tape it back down to light box facing the opposite direction that you just embossed.

Place your cardstock (embossing paper) down on the stencil as shown, embossing only a portion of the stencil as you did above in the center panel.

Turn paper over, right side up, the embossed designs should be on the upper left and lower right corners of the center panel.

Tape stencil to light box as shown. Remember, you’re working on the reverse side. Place paper down over the stencil, right side down, as shown in the picture and emboss the entire stencil.

Turn the paper over, your design should look as shown in the illustration above.

Turn the stencil over in the opposite direction and tape down to the light box. Place your paper down over the stencil, right side down, and emboss the entire stencil, as shown in the illustration.

Turn your paper over, right side facing up. The embossing is complete and should look like the illustration above.

Place the stencil down on the paper, right side facing up. On the left panel lightly trace (using a mechanical pencil) inside the lines that you will be cutting as shown on the left side of the paper. These lines are guidelines for cutting.

After tracing all areas to be cut, place your embossed design on a cutting mat; using a craft knife with a new cutting blade, cut just outside the traced lines. When finished, your design should look like the picture above. The cutting will take you approximately 5 to 10 minutes, according to skill level.

Place your stencil over the left and right arches (you’ll need to flip the stencil over to fit the embossed pattern on the right side) and trace around the outside edges with a mechanical pencil. Using a craft knife cut inside the pencil lines. If you have any pencil marks left on the paper, gently erase them being careful not to damage the tooth of the paper. The embossing and cutting is complete.

I traced drawings onto parchment paper using a mechanical pencil.

The traced drawings were transferred to the embossing paper by using the stylus. Do not use too much pressure as you don’t want any debossed lines on your paper.

Using Gold Tinta Ink and a mapping pen I drew over the transferred image.

The gold mapping is complete and dry. Any visible graphite lines can be removed with a soft, putty like, erasure.

Using colored pencils, I colored the images. Tools needed for this technique are blending stumps, a sanding paddle, and Gamsol or odorless turpentine.

Trace around the outside edges of the stencil on two pieces of pink cardstock and cut out.

Illustration of cut pieces.

Two small pieces of pink paper were cut to cover the cut out portions of the center panel.

A gold Krylon pen was used to outline the black panel. Hold the tip so that it touches the edge of the cardstock, the tip retracts giving you control of the ink flow.