I love making "guy" cards because I enjoy messy, inky, hands-on techniques like distressing and antiquing, which seem to go hand in hand with masculine cards. This particular Tool Shed card uses another fun technique called Metal Press Stamping, and you do it with your Heat Tool and Embossing Powders (EP) and a clean, dry stamp. It doesn't hurt the rubber stamp at all, so no worries there! I used the new Family Reunion set to metal-press stamp the words "to my brother" on this handyman card.
All you do is put a swipe of Versamark clear embossing ink where you want the metal to be, large enough to contain the image or saying you want stamped. I use a stipple brush to dab the ink on (the brush then can't be used for anything else). Then sprinkle on the EP and shake off the excess and heat set.
Stipple on another layer of ink and heat set another layer of EP right over the top. Continue until you have three to four layers of EP on the card.
Then, immediately after turning off the heat tool on the last layer, press your clean stamp directly into the still-hot EP. Press it down for a couple of seconds and then peel carefully up. The now-cooled EP will retain the stamp's impression. Awesome!
TIP #1: if the EP does not give a good impression, you can add another layer of Versamark and EP and re-melt it down flat and try again.if it still doesn't, you are probably waiting too long between turning off the heat tool and pressing the stamp down. It must be done ASAP.
TIP #2: I should have said this technique doesn't hurt Stampin' Up stamps. I can't vouch for the quality of any other company's rubber or the stability of their product over time. I also have zero experience with acrylic stamps but I would imagine they should not be pressed into hot EP : )
TIP #3: everything you need to do the metal press stamping technique, plus all kinds of great embossing powder, is available 24/7 in my shopping site, www.lyssa.stampinup.net, or by contacting me.
