How To Emboss with the Debossing Tool
Embossing creates a raised design on your material, and it is a great way to add texture and interest to your paper projects. Create a luxurious feel to invitations, personalized cards or decorations with this technique by using the debossing tool with your craft cutting machine.
For best results, choose a design with thick lines and simple shapes.
What you need
● Heavy Cardstock (for the Stencil)
● Light to Medium Cardstock
● Standard grip mat 12” x 12”
● Basic Blade
● Debossing Tool
● Weeding Tool
● Brayer
● Painter’s Tape
Directions
1. Start with a blank Canvas. In this example, we are creating a monogram using Fonts. We will first cut a “stencil” and then use the debossing tool to press down the material around the edge of the stencil to make the design raise. You can also use Shapes or images from Library to make the stencil. For the best results, choose a design with thick lines and simple shapes.
2. Type in the letters you would like for your monogram. Choose a font that has thick lines. Change the size and spacing to fit your project.
3. In the Path-Cut menu, select Add border.
4. Set the Margin to 0.03” (0.7 mm). Tick the box for Holes and untick Keep Grouped.
5. Select the border layer. If you open the film strip and use Multi Select Tool, it is easy to select only the border. Then change the operation Type to Deboss.
6. With the border layers still selected, click Attach. To be able to move the monogram on the canvas without the risk of a layer shifting, select All then Group.
7. Add the monogram to a Project. If you would like to add the monogram to a project like a card or an envelope, insert the project from where it is stored. Otherwise, you can add a shape from the Shapes Menu. For this example, we selected a shape for a card. To move the card layer to the back, you can select and drag it in the film strip, or from the top Object Menu, select Arrange then Move to Back.
8. Arrange and align the monogram on the project and place it in the top left corner of the Canvas. Ungroup the monogram, select the debossing layers and the card shape using the Multiple Select Tool in the film strip as before, then click Attach.
9. Go to the Output menu and select Send to Machine. Select Mat Size (12” x 12”) and Material (Heavy Cardstock) to cut the stencil. On the Craft Project screen, select the second layer (the monogram cut file) click “Do not Rearrange”. This is important as we want the stencils and the debossing to be in the same spot as on the canvas.
10. Place the cardstock on the mat and feed the mat into the machine. Make sure you have the basic blade in the right carriage. Follow the steps to cut the paper. Do not eject the mat! While the mat is still loaded, remove the excess paper, leaving the letters on the mat. Make sure they stick to the mat properly.
11. Now it is time to emboss. Insert the debossing tool and change Material input to Light or Medium Cardstock depending on your material. Now the first layer should be selected (debossing layer). Remember to select “Do not Rearrange”. Place your cardstock on the mat, use a brayer to adhere the material to the mat and follow the steps to deboss then cut your project.
12.
Remove the card from the mat. Now you can reuse the stencil and emboss more cards or projects.