• Card embellishment and scrapbook page enhancement.

Basic Supplies

• Removable tape
• Curved spatula
• small nail brush (to clean template)
• Brass embossing template
• Your choice of embossing paste

Additional Supplies

• Chalks for accenting image area before applying the Translucent Paste or Pearlescent Paste.
• Metallic creams for accenting the image area on black paper before applying the Translucent Paste.
• Acrylic Colors to mix with the White Glossy Paste or the Opaque Paste (white) to color as desired.
• Loose ultra fine glitter to apply to the wet paste.
• Glue pen to use on dry paste to apply glitter in selective areas.
• Foil to apply to dry embossing paste using the Palette Stamp and Stick glue pad.
• Palette Stamp and Stick Glue Pad to use with both foils and Pearlex Powders on dry paste surface.
• Versamark Watermark ink pad to use with Pearlex Powders over dry embossing paste.
• Paper Towels. Great handy option for "texturizing" the surface.  Lay down on wet paste, tap all over and remove. Some paper towels have an embossed side and those leave the best impression.
   

Technique - Basic application of embossing paste

1. Have scrap paper in place on your working surface. Have a bowl of warm water, preferably with some dish liquid in it, for cleaning off your spatula and brass templates. Have a small nail brush ready to scrub your template lightly with to remove the paste. Have an old face cloth or rag ready to dry off your template and spatula.
2. Lay your brass template on the surface of your card stock. Using removable tape (so you do not lift off fibers from the paper) and starting with the narrow side, cut off a suitable length of tape to more than cover that length, turn back a little at the one end (so you lift the tape back with ease by lifting that tab) and apply to the template and cardstock to hold in place. Do not cover any of the open design areas. In some cases you may have selected a small cardstock and that is why you work on scrap paper - so there is something to tape to on all sides at all times. Continue to tape around the template on each side in a clockwise direction.
3. To apply the paste, with a spatula, scoop up some paste on the underside of the spatula and spread quickly across the template making sure the paste covers all of the open design areas. Take off any remaining paste from the spatula into the paste jar. Using the spatula on its side, on an angle, swipe across the surface of the template, just gently resting on the template, to remove all the excess paste and leaving the paste in the image only. Scrape back into the paste jar and close it. Drop the spatula in the water container.
4. Remove 3 sides of the tape starting with the last tape applied and going backwards, leaving the first tape holding down the template on the narrowest side. This will act like a hinge. Holding the paper down on each side of the template with one hand, life the opposite end of the template up from the card so it sits on an angle, not straight up and down, and facing so if it slips from the tape, it will slide away from your image. Now, remove the tape and lift the template up, place immediately in the water container.
5. Leave image to dry, if you are applying sparkle, this is the time so it sticks to the wet paste. Your paste can take up to 40 minutes to dry if you have left a thick layer on the design. Usually, it is under 1/2 hour.

Moving forward to use different techniques and supplies for special effects and design options to make brass embossing with paste the singular most versatile line of products you can invest in.  We will be adding new techniques continually as we have many ideas to share to expand your creativity using the brass embossing templates..

1. Translucent Paste or the newer Pearlescent Paste: Tape template to card face. Make sure tape covers template all around. If you wish to add color to your project, this is the time to do it. Chalks are always a good choice. For the lightest effect, use a finger dauber, for deeper color, use a stencil brush. Remove any color from your templates by carefully wiping across with a soft cloth. Any color left on the templates will be dragged across when you remove the excess paste, then you cannot put it back in the jar. To apply the paste, with a spatula, scoop up some paste on the underside of the spatula, dab across the template then with clean spatula, smooth from one side to the other removing excess paste and put it back in the jar. Remove the tape on 3 sides leaving 1 strip of tape like a hinge, lift up the template on end and remove the tape. If you wish to add sparkle, sprinkle it on now while the paste is wet. Leave to dry. The translucent paste takes longer to dry, even up to 45 minutes. You will notice it starting the clarify and lose its milky look.  These are the only two paste types that you can color before applying the paste because they are both translucent pastes whereas the remaining pastes are opaque.
   
    
2. The paper towel technique mentioned above in Additional Supplies is a simple application that results in almost a snake-skin pattern on the surface. Especially great if perhaps you have not been able to leave a nice smooth surface of the paste application and need a little help to fix it, short of chucking it!
    
3. Applying glitter (sparkle) :  As soon as you have removed the brass embossing template, loose glitter can be applied to any paste immediately while it is still wet then simply leave to dry.  However, there are a few tips, of course. We use a regular spoon scooping the glitter from a larger container. We always put our glitter into containers large enough that we can put the shortest side of our card right down on end into the container to tap off the excess glitter. The small containers the glitter comes in, or bottle, will cost you a lot of waste product if you do not transfer to a larger container.
   
   When we use the Translucent paste and color it with the chalks on the paper first, we always use the loose glitter to diffuse, soften and blend the finished look and it is a very pretty finish. When using the Pearl Paste, if we use the glitter (and we often do not use glitter on the pearlescent finish) then we apply it in a sprinkle method ..... pick up a little glitter between your thumb and forefinger and sprinkle it on lightly moving your fingers back and forth together.  Do not apply too much as in  a complete covering of glitter, this technique is for a soft enhancement and works well with any paste you want to use it with, even the line of metallic embossing paste. Again, the glitter is another "fix-it" product, you do not need to be concerned how well you have smoothed the paste, the glitter will enhance and cover any less than perfect application of paste.
    
4. Glitter - more ideas: A completely different look is achieved if you use the very fine colored glitters. Very rich. Great selection from Art Institute Glitter. The application of the colored glitter is usually only used on the opaque pastes as it would tend to obliterate any delicate coloring used on a translucent paste project.
    
5. The white paste, both the glossy white and the opaque embossing paste, can be colored to meet any design requirement you may wish for. Firstly, you will need the set of the Acrylic Paint Colors, a spatula and an old CD disc you will not be using again. Take off the smallest amount of color from one of the tubes, apply it to the surface of the CD. Next, clean off the spatula and scoop out some of the embossing paste and place on the CD. Now blend the two. There is a technique to doing this blending depending on the required result. For an overall solid color result, mix well and apply the paste as usual to the template. Using the white opaque paste, the colors will be toned down because of the white base. The pearlescent paste is very effective with a little coloring. Using the translucent paste, the colors will be deeper and sharper because the paste is clear. Do not replace any of the excess colored paste back into your jar. It also does not keep well so we suggest having an additional taped and ready to go so you can use up your paste immediately. Owning the Acrylic Paint Colors gives you the option of any custom color you want any time.
    
6. The metallic pastes are great when mixed together. Apply a small amount of the colors you wish to mix, silver, gold and or copper, all of them or just 2 of them, on the CD, then add one to the other and swipe together once or twice, if you keep blending the colors will actually mix to another color instead of retaining their individual looks. I prefer this technique over one single plain metallic any time.
    
7. .The technique of slight mixing in Item 6 can be applied to any of the different pastes and you may want to experiment with yourself for a myriad of different results.

There are many many more techniques to share with you and they will be added in the near future so do bookmark and return.  The different techniques makes this line of products everlasting because there is always something new. We have been a little lengthy in our descriptions as we want even beginners to be able to get the full picture and not be frustrated by not knowing the little tips and tricks.

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