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Dry Embossing Tips

Dry Embossing Tips & Techniques

Choosing the Right Paper and Embossing Stylus

The smaller the embossing stylus tip, the more likelihood it will tear the paper. So use the largest stylus tip suitable for your design. Your hand pressure is also a factor: use a lighter touch for small styluses (styli?) and/or thin paper. Always test all three – paper, stylus and hand pressure – before attempting your finished product.

Securing Your Embossing Stencil and Substrate

It is of the utmost importance that your embossing stencil and whatever you are embossing stay exactly in position while you work. The Fiskars Shapeboss embossing box has pegs that keep everything in line.

Fiskars also makes the ScrapBoss System for scrapbookers or those who need a larger surface area to work with.

The other way to secure your work is to use tape. Whatever tape you use, be sure it can be removed without damaging your finished embossed project.

Masking tape works well on most papers, especially if you remove some of the tack first by tapping the piece of tape against a soft cloth (perhaps what you happen to be wearing) several times.

Paper Weights for Dry Embossing

Eighty to 90 pound card stock is ideal for dry embossing. My favorite paper for dry embossing is about this weight and is a bargain because it is so ubiquitous. Buy a box of square cut manila file folders and cut the folders into 8 ½ by 11 inch sheets – or any size you desire.

Ninety pound watercolor art paper is also excellent for dry embossing. If you would like to experiment with other types of paper (e.g. Cover, Tag or Bond) see the paper weight equivalency chart here:

Sticking Embossing Stylus?

Sometimes a dry embossing stylus drags across the material to be embossed. This is usually due to small scratches or scuffs on it from earlier embossing projects. Try scribbling the stylus over a sheet of waxed paper to fill in the nicks temporarily. If this is not sufficient, place a piece of waxed paper between the top stencil and the material to be embossed.

Emboss right through the waxed paper. If you can identify the material which damaged your stylus, whenever you use that material in the future, use waxed paper to avoid extra wear on your stylus.

Filling In an Impression

Generally you do not fill in the entire area to be embossed. You simply outline it. This serves to raise the interior surface as well. Think of stretching plastic wrap over the top of a bowl. The rim or outline of the bowl holds the plastic wrap at a nice smooth level across the bowl, even though you pull the rest of the wrap down around it.

The only exception I can think of is when you are dry embossing translucent vellum. With translucent vellum, “coloring in” your design turns the vellum white giving it accent color as well as dimension.

”Blind Dry Embossing Tips”

I hate this term and I avoid doing blind dry embossing whenever I can. If you are embossing on dark paper using a light box or window, you will need to use the Braille method. Literally, you need to feel for your embossing stencil edges with your fingers before placing stylus to paper. You can imagine how unreliable the results can be!

If you own the Fiskars Shapeboss you will never have to blind emboss again. With Fiskars’ two-plate system, the top embossing stencil gives you a pattern to follow with your stylus.

The bottom stencil allows the stylus to push the material down into the patterns, stretching the material permanently and creating the raised embossed image. Because the stencils and material are firmly held in place by pegs, there is no slippage.

Adding Color to Your Dry Embossed Project

Very lovely effects can be achieved by adding color to a project you have embossed. Sponge daubing is especially effective.

Sponge just the borders or even over the area you have embossed. Color between the embossed area with acrylic paints, colored pencils, markers or wash over sections using watercolors with a very wet brush.

Adding Color to Raised Surface Only

You can achieve a very pretty effect by lightly rubbing colored chalk, artist’s pastels or colored pencils over an area you have embossed.

Do not try this with markers or other paint media that would seep into your paper. The color would either spread or create harsh lines of demarcation. If you use chalk or pastels, spray over the area with a fixative to prevent the color from smearing when touched.

Creating Overall Texture

Once again, Fiskars (I love this company!) has come to the rescue.

If you would like to dry emboss texture onto an entire page or even just a section, order Fiskars Texture Plates to use with your Shapeboss or Shapecutter systems.

The overall texturing may cause your paper to curl or stretch a bit, so plan on mounting the textured piece on another stiff piece of paper. If you have trouble moving the texturing tool over your paper surface, place a sheet of waxed paper over your paper and the tool will glide easily.

There are two texture sets of 12 patterns currently available (sometimes sold for less in sets of 4). Set one includes hearts, stars, waves, lines, dots, bubbles, squares, fabric, bricks, stones, leaves and wood. Set two has filigree, vines, netting, webbing, raindrops, snowflakes, party, whimsy (flowers and butterflies), grass, ocean, scales and feathers.

You can use a regular large embossing stylus to texturize but might find this a bit tedious. Fiskars has a special texturing tool with three ball tips (rather than one) in a swivel base. So you cover roughly three times as much area with every stroke. For more information about Texture plates, click here to learn about a 6 piece assortment.

Please visit Dry Embossing Methods for more information about dry embossing techniques, tips, ideas and plans.

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