When I posted a photo of these panels nearly a year ago on my social media, the one question everyone asked was: How did you do that? With just a few craft supplies and a few minutes, I’ll show you exactly how I did that!
To start with, I cut a panel of heavyweight black card stock. This really needs to be heavyweight. A thinner card stock would not emboss as well and would not stand up to the rubbing. Before embossing, I use a damp baby wipe on the back on the panel. I feel water is too much and the baby wipe delivers just enough moisture to make the paper pliable.
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I am making 2 panels today: one with a 3D embossing folder on the right and one with a regular embossing folder on the left.
The medium I use is a wax base medium. It’s distributed by a taxidermy company but they are available on Amazon. I have 4 different sets of these. They are a wax – and that’s the secret!
I apply this medium with my finger. You only need a little bit on your finger and it glides onto the paper so smoothly. This colored wax is the perfect consistency to do this. You can go heavy or light or mottled for interest. I prefer an even coverage on my panels.
You can see by these 2 examples how nicely the wax hits the high points in the design, but not the low points. This only takes a few minutes to apply. There is no need to “set” the wax or use any kind of fixative. The wax, after it dries, really doesn’t transfer.
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This is one of the cards I made with one of the original panels. It has an “industrial chic” look to it and is perfect for masculine cards – always a struggle for me! I simply adhered the panel to a black card base and for the sentiment I die cut out of mirror card stock…so easy! So striking! I have tried other colors of card stock but I like the black the best. Experiment, have fun and find the color combination that sparks your joy!
Betsy Birge is from Liberty, US. She has been writing for TPC since 2023. Betsy started paper crafting in 2006 and she mostly makes cards. Her style is a bit of everything and she loves watercoloring both her cards and fine art showing in local galleries.