Hi, my friends! Today’s video was made a while ago in preparation for the last Holiday season! I taped a whole bunch of ideas and experiments and projects, but still am back logged getting them edited. I decided to release at least one of them this Holiday season and so I chose a quick Take 5 type of project using a metal texturing tool with a twist.
I am using a pattern plate made by Potter USA in a cute Gingerbread House design. Pattern plates are made for embossing metal. I thought these images would be so cute embossed for tags for the Holidays. So in the video I demonstrate how to emboss paper with this pattern plate using my Sizzix Big Shot.
I skip the step where I spritz the paper with water to keep it from ripping because I really didn’t want to get the pattern plate wet. It is steel and so it will rust.
I played around with the sandwich for the Big Shot, as I’ve done in multiple videos before, and ended up with tab one down on the multi-use platform and no plate. The pattern plate is pretty thick, so I didn’t need a cutting mat or anything like that.
I place the pattern plate down, face up onto the multi-use platform and then cover with the paper. Next I bring the embossing rubber on top and then the embossing plate on top of that. I did need shims. I used one of the thin plastic shims, and two pieces of cardstock initially. I thought it was a little tight so I decided to go with just one extra piece of cardstock. You want your Sizzix to be a little firm, but not too tight.
I always warn you to be careful. If you haven’t done this before, you might want to start with something easier and get used to the way the machine works/feels when you are using the types of items that are meant to be used with machine ;).
The embossing looked great and I then talked about ways to add color to it, and to play around with both sides of the embossed paper. I used Prisma pencils which are harder colored pencils, inks, chalk and softer pencils, oil pencils, graphite and in the end a combination. I decided for the most part I liked the harder pencils best, and the firmer Archival ink pads better than the squishier ones.
I then experimented with using the pattern plate to rub the pencils and inks over paper on top of the pattern plate without embossing it first. If you’ve ever done grave stone rubbings or the like, that was the effect I was going for. A lighter touch for this technique worked the best.
Here are some of the examples from this Take 5:
You can find pattern plates in brass also. I’m not sure those would work as nicely as the steel ones, but it might be worth a shot since those tend to be less expensive. If you happen to have a pattern plate kicking around, this is an unconventional, but still fun, way to use them! Enjoy!
