Hi - Neil Burley from the Wow! Design Team here... I thought I'd just share some tips on choosing the right 'grade' of embossing powder for your projects. Wow! currently supply three grades of powder, which more or less determines the size of the powder granule. The three grades are known as:
Here's a few snapshots of the different grades in action. I'm using a Penny Black stamp (Letters and Flowers 4035K) as it has fine detail:
SUPER FINE
Firstly, Wow! Super Fine Gold Rich - this is a very fine powder which shows up all the detail. On the close up, you can't see much height to the embossing. The very fine powder can leave a nice 'halo' effect if you choose not to brush down your card stock round the image before heat setting the powder.
REGULAR
Next, the Wow! Regular Gold Rich - to be honest, there isn't much difference between this and the Super Fine, except may be a little of the detail has disappeared and the lines are a little thicker. There's no halo effect with this grade of powder. The close up shows that there is a little more height and there's more 'fill in' on the larger areas as the granules have melted into one another more.
ULTRA HIGH
Spot the big difference! The Wow! Ultra High Gold Rich has the largest granule size available from Wow! and as a result none of the detail is kept. On the close up, you can see how much higher the eventual embossed layer is. It's so tactile that a clear version is available for Braille dots! The granules blend with one another, covering small gaps that the other two granule sizes wouldn't. So this is great for getting thick, even layers of embossing, whether for covering items with a clear 'varnish' or 'resin' layer, or for layering and then triple embossing.
I hope this mini-tutorial helps you choose the right grade of embossing powder for your projects. Not all powders are available in all grades: when you go to the Wow! Embossing Powder shop and choose your colour, if there is a choice of grade, it will be in a drop down box under the size of jar that you'd like. I'd normally have all three grades in at least a black, a white and a clear powder, as well as gold and silver metallics.
- Super Fine - ideal for detail work
- Regular - an all-purpose grade
- Ultra High - a large granule powder ideal for thick layers or triple embossing
Here's a few snapshots of the different grades in action. I'm using a Penny Black stamp (Letters and Flowers 4035K) as it has fine detail:
Firstly, Wow! Super Fine Gold Rich - this is a very fine powder which shows up all the detail. On the close up, you can't see much height to the embossing. The very fine powder can leave a nice 'halo' effect if you choose not to brush down your card stock round the image before heat setting the powder.
REGULAR
Next, the Wow! Regular Gold Rich - to be honest, there isn't much difference between this and the Super Fine, except may be a little of the detail has disappeared and the lines are a little thicker. There's no halo effect with this grade of powder. The close up shows that there is a little more height and there's more 'fill in' on the larger areas as the granules have melted into one another more.
ULTRA HIGH
Spot the big difference! The Wow! Ultra High Gold Rich has the largest granule size available from Wow! and as a result none of the detail is kept. On the close up, you can see how much higher the eventual embossed layer is. It's so tactile that a clear version is available for Braille dots! The granules blend with one another, covering small gaps that the other two granule sizes wouldn't. So this is great for getting thick, even layers of embossing, whether for covering items with a clear 'varnish' or 'resin' layer, or for layering and then triple embossing.
I hope this mini-tutorial helps you choose the right grade of embossing powder for your projects. Not all powders are available in all grades: when you go to the Wow! Embossing Powder shop and choose your colour, if there is a choice of grade, it will be in a drop down box under the size of jar that you'd like. I'd normally have all three grades in at least a black, a white and a clear powder, as well as gold and silver metallics.
That´s a perfect tudorial! It really can be sometimes very tricky to use the perfect embossing powders! x Bianca x
ReplyDeleteEven smoother thick finishes can be achieved by putting superfine powder on top of the ultra high powders before heating them - the fine fills in the gaps between the ultra high and a nice smooth finish results... though if you want the hammered effect, don't use the superfine!
ReplyDeleteGood informative piece Neil, Never forget us all huddled around the table at the NEC trying this out!!
ReplyDeleteHello It is me again TheJunkingDataGirl :) I noticed some of the powders come in sets do you have a list with a color chart? Thank you for everything.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/BLwhtdThxQk/ how to make photo glitterise what is the best poised for this thanks I'm new to embossing
ReplyDelete