Pigment and embossing powders in scrapbooking

Do you like glittering and glossy design? Are you fond of interesting structures? Then pigment and embossing powders are just right for you. They are easy to use and you conjure up amazing details on your projects in a while.

The main difference between pigment and embossing powders consists in their final attachment. Embossing powders must be fixed by means of a Heat Gun while pigment powders are just slightly sprinkled with water and let dry on air.

1.Pigment Powders

Our offer includes Perfect Pearls and Pearl-ex powders. They differ in colours and composition.

Perfect Pearls by Ranger are pigment powders containing resin.

Pearl-ex are pigment powders by Jacquard.

There are many ways how to use pigment powders in scrapbooking. The most difficult is to choose the technique you try out first... Both the brands can be mutually combined. They are perfect for use with inks.

Pigment powder accessories:

- You need Perfect Medium / Perfect Pen or clear embossing pad. It is useful to use the same brand of Perfect Medium and the powder (but you can choose another medium as well). From time to time it can happen that some media are not compatible with some types of powders... So, e.g. you can combine Perfects Pearls together with Perfect Medium. You can choose: Perfect Medium Pad or Perfect Pen.
- Quality brush with fine hair
- Spray

Basic technique – powder application by means of stamps

- Dampen the stamp in Perfect Medium and print it on paper. Perfect Medium is clear and invisible.
- Take a brush and spread a small amount of powder over the stamp. The powder adheres only on spots where Perfect Medium is applied.
- Finally, spray it slightly with water. Aim the spray upwards and let a few drops fall on the paper.
- The result is a glossy motif of the stamp on your project.

- Or, vice versa, you can spread Perfect Medium on the entire background of your project (colour or black sheet of paper).
- Then spread powders of various colours on the whole surface.
- Dampen the stamp in Perfect Medium and print it on the powdered paper sheet.
- The output is a sheet shining with powders of various colours and the stamp print of the paper colour is standing out.

Other techniques:

- Perfect Pen is great for making details. You can simply colour in only a stamp detail with the powder. Spread Perfect Pen only in a part of the stamp, e.g. a petal of a flower. Then apply powder on it using a brush. The powder adheres again only on spots where Perfect Pen is applied.

- The powder can be also poured into the spray, mixed with water and shaked. Spray your project and it will get glittering tinge. Great when mixed with pearlescent Perfect Pearls.
- The powder can be also used as watercolour. Spray water on a craft sheet, pour some powder in it and mix it together. Dampen a thin brush in the mixture and colour in what you want to. You get a beautiful glittering glossy detail again. Stamps of such designs have new dimensions. Or, dampen directly a tag or a part of your project in the mixture of water and powder.

- Powder can be also applied through stencils. First spread Perfect Medium on the stencil, then remove the stencil and finally apply powder.

Pigment powders are perfect for Polymer Clay work. You jewellery will get glossy look.

Watch following videos with instructions on how to work with pigment powders:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbeTZ_ztgO8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjGuaogsNr0

2. Embossing Powders

Embossing powders by Ranger company are also in our offer. They are in a wide and beautiful range of colours as well. Embossing powders must be always fixed with a heat gun.

Embossing powder accessories:

- Clear embossing ink is necessary for application of these powders. But you can also use other types of embossing ink pads. Embossing inks work well with various types of embossing powders. Inks suitable for embossing are those drying slowly.
- Heat Gun

Basic technique – powder application by means of stamps

- Dampen the stamp in embossing ink and print it on paper. Clear embossing ink slightly shines on paper.
- Pour embossing powder on the stamp motif. Put the rest of the powder back into the bottle. Tap on the back of the sheet to remove excess powder. The powder adheres only on spots where embossing ink is applied.
- Fix the motif by means of the heat gun. When heating you can watch the stamp motif standing out. Attention! – observe safety instructions when working with the heat gun.
- Finally, pass your hand over the motif to remove excess powder.

Other techniques:

- Powders can be applied also by means of stencils. First, spread embossing ink over the stencil, remove the stencil and pour the powder. In the end, fix it with the heat gun. Attention! – when using self-adhesive stencils, the glue can stick to paper and the powder adheres to wrong spots. So, take a brush and remove the glue carefully from inappropriate spots prior to fixation.

- Embossing powders are also for use with Polymer Clay. They can be blended with clay or applied on baked clay and fixed afterwards.

Watch video below for instructions on how to work with embossing powder: