Thursday, March 3, 2011

Metal and Dreamweaver!

A few weeks ago, Lynell posted a picture of a card Magdelena Muldoon did.  Magdalena owns MercArt.  MercArt provides metal embossing tools and metals.  I have a lot of MercArt's tools in my house, they are very fine quality and work great.  I started my metal embossing 5 years ago with Ten Seconds Studio and discovered MercArt about 3 years ago.  I am certified to teach Ten Seconds Studio metal but I like both companies.  Heck, I've even told people to use an empty ball point pen and a mousepad to emboss their metal!  With what ever tools you use to start metal embossing, you need to try this technique!  There's ONE tool above all else that you absolutely need to purchase when working with embossable metals....



This is a Paper Stump or a Paper Thumb.  Some people call it other names too.  They come in a variety of sizes.  My favorite is size #8.  It's easy to hold and works well for most tight spots.  But I do own a bunch of the other sizes too.  If you own a paper stump (they are also used by charcoal artists for blending), a mousepad and an empty ball point pen... you can metal emboss!  Of course, it's nice to have all the tools and the work is much easier with all the tools but if you aren't sure if you are going to like it, this is an easy, fast and inexpensive way to get started!  Oh and you'll need some metal.  :-)

So, I decided to try my hand at the exact same design that Magdelena did:

Then I went on to do another card....




And this one is on clear acetate and has a nifty technique on the back!  Fill the embossed area with spackle, let dry and then use alcohol inks right over the whole thing!  You'll color your metal AND the spackle, leaving you with this...


Pretty neat, huh?  The spackle is more of a burgandy in person so the effect is stunning.  And a surprise when you open the card!  

I hope you enjoy! 


11 comments:

Mouseybrat said...

those are awesome!

Louise said...

Very pretty Kim, I just love how stencils look on metal.

Pam Hornschu said...

Very cool. I need to break out the metal and play again. I did a lot of that years ago when I worked in house for Stampendous.

sommrstamping said...

Ok This is very neat. I'm going to make myself play with some of these fun techniques.

Kristi said...

love the metal. i will be working with that some in the next couple of days! Great Job

Lynell Harlow / Dreamweaver Stencils said...

I love your rendition of the colored aluminum creations. You did a great job of CASEing Magdalena...I will have to tell her to come see your blog. She just started a blog too and is new to the process...so you will have to pop by and "comment" she would love that Kim.

Wendy said...

Oh Kim!!! Beautiful!!! I am so jealous!! I LOVE METAL EMBOSSING and I don't have time to do it right now. I just got a ton of new tools from Magdalina and I can't WAIT to get going. I hope you enjoy your crop weekend!!!

Terrece said...

INCREDIBLE! Your work with the metal is outstanding. Great job. I love your spackle technique. You are so smart!!!

Terrece said...

Hey Kim, Just noticed I'm missing from your Dream Team list. Nothing I did I hope......

Just-Kim said...

Thank you, everyone! Lynell, I'll definitely go to Magdelena's new blog! And Terrece - I'm fixing that right now! Sorry about the oversite.

Laura Drahozal said...

Love what you did with the metal--wonderful! I especially like that bottom one. I wish I could see it in person--I bet it is really lovely.

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