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Embossing With Stencils


Did you know that you can run a plastic stencil through a die cut machine and emboss with it to get a raised, textured background?  The results are very similar to using an embossing folder.  During the stencil blitz, we are covering how to run a stencil through the Grand Calibur and the Cuttlebug machines.  I am going to tell you how to use the Big Shot.

One of the best things about using a plastic stencil to emboss your paper is that you can then put the stencil back onto your raised background and use it as a mask.  For my card, I embossed some white paper with the Pop Dots stencil (88554).  After I made the raised dots, I put the stencil back on top of the dots and used it as a mask to color one yellow, one red, and one blue dot.  Here are the inks I used:

Here are some close up shots of the raised dot background and the colored circles:

To finish the card, I added some stars from the Precious Stars die (98546) and the Thank You Script die (98579).

Emossing stencils with a Big Shot "sandwhich"  (This is the order of the items to be placed on your Big Shot)

  1. Multipurpose Platform opened to Tab 1
  2. Big Shot Plastic Plate
  3. Plastic stencil
  4. Paper (front of paper facing down onto stencil)
  5. Rubber Mat*
  6. Big Shot Plastic Plate

*Note about the Ruubber Mat…  I used the No More Shims rubber mat from Scor-Pal.  It is a rather thick mat.  I also own the rubber mats from Spellbinders.  They are thinner, so to get good results, you need to use both of the rubber mats.  I know that some people use mouse pads as their rubber mat.  However, mouse pads can vary a lot in how thick they are.  You would have to experiment with them to find one of the right thickness.  However, DO NOT force your plates through your machine.  If your sandwhich is too thick, you could break a plate.

I also made a quick video on YouTube to show you the process.  I am sorry the video is zoomed in so much.  I couldn't get my tripod to extend.

 

If you want to view the video directly on YouTube, you can see it here.

For a chance to win the Pop Dots stencil, leave a comment to this post.  You have until Sun, May 18 at 6pm EST to win this stencil.  Winners will be chosen at random and posted on the Outside the Box blog on Monday, May 19.  Good luck!

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105 Comments

  2. Terrific ideas! I would LOVE for someone to give a demonstration on how to use the stencils and metal dies to emboss using the Epic 6!

  6. Wonderful idea! Had not thought about using the stencils to emboss. The video was great to see how you achieved the embossing. Thanks a bunch.

  7. That is a very clear explanation of how to use the stencil in the machine and then color as if it were a mask. Wow, I have to try this!

  8. Love to emboss with stencils. Thanks for the chance to win this cool stencil.

  12. Hi Laura,
    What a great idea to stencil over the embossing. I also want to thank you for the sandwich order and advice. Will have to give that a go. Great job.

  13. Who ever thought you could emboss with a stencil, thanks for showing us. There are so many ways to use the new stencils. This is a great blitz!!

  14. Great card…love the idea of dry embossing then using the stencil as a mask. Brilliant.

  15. Love the stencil and the bright colors used to embellish.
    Those colors remind me of Summer!

  17. I love the techniques you have shared with us. I am learning a lot about stencils that I never knew. TFS Sandy

  21. Really nice card. It put me in a happy mood straight away. It’s great to learn new techniques too. Thank you.

  23. Fun card! Thanks for sharing the tips about using the stencils for embossing and the rubber mats!

  26. Thank you for sharing this great idea! I don’t have a Big Shot, but I do have a Grand Calibur and a Cuttlebug, so I’m looking forward to finding out about the “sandwiches” required for embossing stencils with those machines.

  27. Really cool card!! Thanks for the tutorial. Great to find even more ways to use our stencils.

  28. Thanks for the video showing how to sandwich the stencil for this technique. I love your card!

  29. What a bright, fun card! Thanks for sharing the techniques in a video so it’s easy to see the process!

  30. It is really helpful to know the proper sandwich order to emboss the stencils. Thanks for the great video and love the card you created !!!

  31. I never thought about using a plastic stencil in a die cut machine, good idea! Very pretty card.

  34. I would not have thought something as thin as stencil material would work for embossing – learn something new everyday!

  37. I really appreciate your tip about embossing a stencil and reusing it to color some of the image of your choice.

  38. Thanks for showing an actual demonstration. I am inspired to give this technique a try!

  39. A bright and cute card!! Great idea! Thanks for the demonstration of using Big Shot to emboss with stencil. Now I could give it a try with my Big Shot:)

  43. That’s brilliant 🙂
    I have not done this before but after seeing your video I feel quite confident about trying it, thank you so much.

  44. Great video. Love re-using the stencil to color the circles with. Thanks for sharing with us.

  48. Beautiful creation you made!Like the technic you showed,it´s very interesting.Thankyou for this gorgeous inspiration and happy crafting all time,hugs die waldfee

  49. Love this card and thank you for the video. Love the idea of using stencil for mask.

  54. It is so interesting to see the multi use of products. This is really neat. Thank you!

  55. Wow! I have never tried this–thanks so much for the tutorial! This is a great card–I love the simplicity!! Beautiful job!! Thanks so much!!

  57. Thank you for the “sandwich” recipe! I really needed one to use the stencils in embossing. This is a very happy card!

  58. Cheerful look on this card and so simple when you point out the possibilities!

  59. Thank you for the step by step video!! I use a Big Shot and now I will try to use my stencils another way! Like the card, and using the stencil as a mask, as well. Very helpful!

  60. Love the idea of using one tool for different looks. Getting an embossed look from one stencil is great. Thanks for showing us. Maria

  61. What a cheerful, bright card! Such a neat use of stencils, to use them both to emboss and as a mask.

  65. Amazing what you can do with just the stencils and adding dies to them awesome looks….

  68. Thanks for the tutorial. Love how you can use the stencil so many different ways!

  69. So easy but so effective. Thanks. Will definitely have to try embossing and colouring. Have previously only done 1 or the other.

  71. Perfect for a birthday card, too! I’m loving the different ways to use stencils.

  72. Excellent idea for “beyond” stencilling with only embossing folders. I just received some of your great stencils and will definitely be trying out this techqnique…thank you!

  74. I absolutely love this idea, I don’t know why it never crossed my mind to try. Love your card and the bright colors.

  76. I just love circles no matter what size. This card is terrific. Thanks for sharing.

  79. Thank you for the Big Shot sandwich! I’ve been wondering what order to put these together. 🙂
    Thanks too for the reminder about putting the stencil back on top in order to colour parts of the raised image afterwards, it’s something I forgot was possible.

  80. Thanks for telling how to arrange the big shot sandwich. I love the simplicity and versatility of this card.

  84. Great idea to emboss and also use the stencil to sponge color. Great job! Love the die with this too. Thanks for sharing.
    Katie B.

  87. Have always wondered about the big shot sandwich…Thank you so much for sharing the tutorial and Thank you for a chance to win the pop dot stencil

  89. Thanks for the steps to emboss with a stencil using the Big Shot. This opens of lots of new possibilities.

  90. Laura, Thanks for sharing this use of reverse imaging with stencils. I love your card because it is so like my taste in cards – clean, simple and gorgeous – all at once.

  91. Thank you for the video tutorial, using the big shot. This is the machine I use and the video tutorial is just what I needed. I appreciate your speaking pace, it’s not too fast, just right. Very inspiring. I am definitely going to use this technique. I have been wondering if I could emboss with the stencils and now I know. I love learning outside the box uses for my stencils and dies. Thank you!
    Jacquelene L
    Canada

  92. Great tutorial & thanks for sharing. There are so many different ways of using these stencils – awesome!!!!

  96. Thank you for the tip on running plastic stencils through machine – I did not know that!

  101. Funny how we never get tired of circles, but keep inventing new ways to incooperate them in our work, and this looks really good too. I honestly think, we could all use one of these for really lots of things, if we would. Such a useful stencil.

  104. Thanks for the tutorial. Would never think to emboss with my stencils!

  105. I’ll definitely have to try this with my Big Shot – a really cool technique!

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