Hey guys! TGIF! The weekend is here! So kick back, relax, and let me show you a technique I experimented with this week. Well, let me back up a bit first. I was sitting in the Detroit International airport this past Sunday stuck waiting on my flight. It had been delayed by 2 hours and I was a bit frustrated to say the least. So I read for a while and chatted on the phone. Then I decided to strike up a conversation with the lady sitting next to me. Turns out...she is a scrapper too! It's a small world! She was waiting on the same flight and happened to have some scrapbooking magazines with her that she offered to let me browse through while we were waiting. So we sat and chatted while looking at all the beautiful layouts, cards, and ideas that graced the pages of the various publications she had. Well, one publication had a neat technique being shown. It was showing how to take the square foam pop dots, sprinkle them with embossing powder, heat set them, and use them on your artwork. Well, me being the Helmar fanatic I am, I thought...."I can do that with Helmar Zap Dots!" But instead of the foam black/white Helmar Zap Dots, I wanted to give it a try with the clear Helmar Zap Dots. It turned out great and I would like to show that to you today.
First, lets start with the products I used. For my layout, I used the black Helmar Zap Dots, clear Zap Dots, Helmar Gemstone Glue, and the Helmar Quick-Fix Adhesive Runner. I also used a new toy...the Purple Cows Freestyle Mouse.
Now, lets focus on the easy embossing technique first. You will need clear Helmar Zapdots, embossing powder, embossing heat tool, and embossing tray. As you may already know, you will want to heat emboss on a protected surface. When I first began scrapbooking, I was given the tip of taking a sheet of cardboard and covering it with aluminum foil to use when embossing. This will protect your work surface. It's not the most visually appealing technique, but hey whatever works right?!
Next, choose how many Helmar Zap Dots you would like to embellish for your project. I usually choose an odd number. I chose to complete 5 for this project. Cut 5 Zap Dots off as shown below. This will keep from damaging any Zap Dots you do not wish to emboss. Once you have them cut out, remove the clear protective film from one side of each Zap Dot to reveal the adhesive. I know you cannot see this since we are working with the clear Zap Dots, but you will be able to see what I mean on the next step.
Next, hold your Zap Dots over your embossing tray and sprinkle ample amount of embossing powder to coat each Zap Dot. At this point, I also lightly pressed down to ensure that each Zap Dot was thoroughly coated with the embossing powder. I chose some embossing powder from P K Glitz.
Shake off any excess embossing powder and it should look something like this. Now, depending on the embossing powder you are using, it may look lightly colored at first, but no fear....it will brighten up when you heat emboss. It's like magic!
We are now ready to emboss. You will want to turn your embossing heat tool on and let it warm up just a tad. Then, you will want to point the heat tool at your Zap Dots for a few seconds and pull away. Then repeat. Keep repeating the process until the embossing powder has set. By doing this, you will not overheat the Zap Dot.
Once embossed, set aside and let cool completely. When cooled, you are ready to peel the Zap Dots off of the opposite backing and add to your project. As you can see here, I used them as a photo corner on my layout. I also adhered some dew drops from The Robin's Nest for added dimension. I adhered those with Helmar Gemstone Glue. I really like this look on the clear Zap Dots, but this technique would work just as well on the black/white foam Zap Dots from Helmar.
Here is my layout....'She Exudes Femininity.' I used patterned paper from Pink Paislee. I also used some 'Coffee Shop' Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and Tattered Angels Stencil for the layout background. I also embossed the alphabet.
Also, I mentioned earlier that I used the Purple Cows Freestyle Mouse. I wanted to show you this up close picture so you could see that. The Freestyle Mouse comes with various blades. I chose a wavy shape for this page. I believe this is going to be a new favorite tool of mine!
Thank you for stopping by the Helmar blog today! I hope you will try this easy embossing technique. It really is so fast, affordable, and fun!!! Have a fabulous day and Happy Scrappin'!
Aymee Gandy
A Scraphappy Southernbelle
Helmar USA Design Team Member
