Recently I went to an event at a local scrapbook store and they hosted a make and take using these mini albums as individual pieces and they had us use the "Sizzix Texture Boutique Embossing Machine." I have to admit my personal opinion on this machine is that is wasn't worth the time it took to manufacture it. When I did the make and take, my piece did not emboss at all and others around me were having the same problem. We were all disappointed in the overall make and take that they were showing us. It is my opinion that if someone is going to teach you to do something that it should be well executed. This one was not. I do not know if it was the machine, the person running the make and take, or a faulty embossing folder.
With that said where there is a will there is a way. So I bought a package of the acrylic blanks and came home and started playing with my QuicKutz Epic 6 Machine and a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. The results were much different that what I saw with the Sizzix machine. I got perfect results with deep, beautiful embossing the first pass through the machine.
So I played a little more and decided instead of using a "glimmer mist" product to color the back side of the piece as they did during the make and take, I would use "Stickles" to highlight the embossed part of the piece to give it even more depth. I love the results.
Here is a step by step look at a blank, an embossed piece, and an embossed "Stickled" piece:
Then I played a little more with another shaped acrylic album, the snowman. I put him in the embossing folder from the brim of his hat down, used "Stickles" on the back of the snowman's hat making sure to put a ribbon of another color across it. I also used "Stickles" in the embossing channels on the back of the snowman, and after allowing that to dry, added some different sized jewels for eyes, a mouth, and buttons, and a piece of ribbon for a scarf around his neck.
I won't leave you hanging with out more detailed instructions. When I told others of my results they didn't believe me so I did a video proving that I used my QuicKutz Epic 6 Machine to do it.
I don't know if I would have tried using these acrylic blanks in my machine if I had not seen them do it in the Sizzix machine in the store first because let's face it sometimes I am a little chicken. (I have broken not one, not two, but three Revolution tools and learned not to be such a dare devil.)
Enjoy this Christmas season and use a few of those acrylic blanks to deck the halls.
Happy Scrappin' ! ! !
Brenda
6 comments:
Wow Brenda...that was really cool! Who's the manufacturer of the mini acrylic albums? I'd like to try that one day.
Aloha!
Randi
"Clear Scrap" is the name on the mini album Randi.
This is so neat! Wow! I wish I lived closer to you and maybe some of your wonderful talent would rub off!
I'm really stumped - I tried using a cuttlebug embossing folder in my Epic 6 and it got stuck! I used the same sandwich as you so I don't know what happened!
Does anyone have any ideas?
Rachel I've been using the same "sandwich" to do this. Do you have the old Epic 6 or the new one? The new one has been shimmed and that might be why it got stuck - the Epic 6 that I used was the first release of the machine. This video was made just before they did the recall.
I tried this same technique in my Big Shot and didn't have any problems with that machine.
Thanks Brenda - I was inspired by your video to try again, I think I was just being too cautious and not being forceful enough, thinking I might break it.
I tried again and it worked, and I now have beautiful damask tags!
Thanks so much!
I'm not sure if it's the old or new machine as I bought it second hand - I'm quite new to this so I'm not sure how it would be shimmed? I know you can shim dies... excuse my ignorance!
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