Accessories

• If any of you already have a woodburning tool... a low wattage one is easier to use for foil... or one of those cheap low wattage soldering pens... it's pretty much the same thing. The ones with removable point or tips usually have a writing tip available or you can file down an old tip... if you have the kind that has the tips that screw INTO the stem instead of over it, you can find a tiny brass bolt with matching threads and cut off the head and file it to shape... I made several custom tips for my burning pen this way. -- Raven
  
  
• An efficient method of maximizing your Embossing Powder is to use a coffee filter under your work, rather than a piece of typing paper or whatever. You will find that the EP doesn’t stick to the coffee filters and you will save on powder. As well, you can reuse the same filter over and over without ever having to change it when you change powders as well. I use the round filters rather than the cone shaped ones simply because I can just flatten them out. It is easy to dump your EP back into your container because the filter is flexible. I place another coffee filter under the EP container when I am pouring the EP back into it. Using the two filters also allows you to just pour from the filter directly onto your next project as well, rather than always putting it back in its original container. -- Gayle
  
  
• Save a bundle by making a bundle! Rather than buying ready made anti-static magic bags, simply make your own. For those who have never used one, these are little bags of powder that you wipe over your cardstock prior to embossing. By doing so, you will eliminate some of the static cling of embossing powder on your newly stamped image and save the hassle of trying to brush off the excess powder that always seems to plague our projects.
  
  You will need: Fuller’s Earth (available through your pharmacist….ask them to order it for you if they say they don’t carry it.) It comes in a small bag or container…mine came in 250 gram bags or ½ lb. And cost only $2.95 (Canadian) or $1.95 (U.S.) When you buy one little one ounce magic bag it costs anywhere from $3 to $6 for one bag! We can make 8 from a half pound for 2 or 3 dollars and a little bit of fabric. The type of fabric used is a fine knit cotton jersey, like you find in babies onesies. The finished “bought” bag is 1 ¾ “ wide by 3” long….so simply make a tube by cutting your fabric 3 ¾ inches to 4” wide and cut whatever length you choose (for as many bags as you want, in other words…i.e., 3 bags would need about 10 – 11 inches of material in length. If you have a serger you can simply serge the tube and then cut each bag out of the tube length and serge or sew up the ends. Place one ounce of the Fuller’s Earth in each bag and don’t forget, they will make great RAK gifts!! -- Gayle
  
  
• I like the contrast of embossing with gloss EP on matte cardstock but I had a little difficulty as my embossing inks would absorb in spots and not hold the powder well. Now I spray my paper with a couple of lightly misted coats of clear acrylic spray to seal the surface. If you mist lightly, let it dry a few seconds and repeat a few times, you don't lose the matte finish, and the inks stay on the surface a few seconds longer, giving the EP a chance to grab hold.Another... I mix a lot of my own inks due to a stingy budget :-) and I use sponge wedges to apply them. If I'm embossing a patterned background, I find it awkward to hold the sponge in one hand while dab-stamp-dab-stamping with the other. Now I just saturate the whole sponge in the embossing ink and drop it into a plastic sandwich bag, squish the top of the bag out of my way and dab the stamp on the wider, flat side of the sponge. When I'm done I just twist the bag closed and fasten it to the ink jar with a rubber band. -- Raven
  
  

Do you have a frugal stamping tip that you would like to add to this webpage? Then send an email to Dana Marshall at dana.marshall@danawheels.net.

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