Weddingbee Blog

Awhile back I shared with you guys my first DIY project gone awry, my monogramed napkins. What I figured would be an easy project turned out not as I had imagined, and I was on the verge of giving in and just buying them. Then, Miss Eagle pointed me in the direction of this tutorial from Project Wedding for their embossed cocktail napkins. I’ve seen embossing many times on the hive before, but never with napkins…

I was quite intimidated. I had no idea what embossing even was, and when I researched it and saw that you had to use heat, I thought “this is way out of my league.” But it was in the back of my mind, and on a recent trip to Michaels, a sale on all Martha Stewart crafting supplies swayed me:

And before I knew it, I was embossing. Who would have guessed?? And guess what—it was not at all intimidating and actually super easy.

Here’s all the supplies I needed:

• cocktail napkins
• clear embossing ink and pad (or just pad if it already has ink)
• embossing powder
• heating tool
• stamp

Step 1: There are regular already inked pads, and some that come with ink. I chose this kind because…it was on sale!! Either way, I made sure to find one that said “embossing” on it and was clear. I inked up the pad and was on my way. Don’t use too much—you really don’t need a lot for the powder to stick.

Step 2: I stamped my napkin with my trusty “G” stamp. Some people recommended using clear stamps with regular ink, which I think is a great tip; however, this one worked great for me for embossing. I simply stamped the napkin with the ink. It’s very light/invisible/secret-code-like. Have no fear: if it looks too clear, the powder will still stick.

Step 3: Pour the powder. I should probably mention now that the powder can get a little “all over the place.” I did this whole project in a box cover to avoid embossing myself and my dog in the process. Make sure all of the ink is covered in powder.

Step 4: Pour the powder off. When I initially did this, I got too excited and forgot this step. If you do, too, you will get sprayed with powder. Don’t do what I did. Think ahead. You want to keep the powder to reuse on the next napkin. Think glittering something—same concept. Now, you’ll have this. Already we have progress.

Step 5: Now comes the fun part. I bought the Martha Stewart heating tool, just because they only had two available at Michaels, and this one was on sale. (I’m a sucker for sales, obviously.) It worked great. Work several inches away from the napkin, and you will notice a dramatic change when the ink starts to bubble and change color and texture. You’re done! It takes just a few seconds. Don’t overdue it. It will burn. You kind of have to be more careful with these since the napkins are so thin, but you will notice immediately if they start to burn.

Step 6: Voila! Like magic, the powder transforms to shiny goodness and you are done!

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of my last attempt and this one:

I’m very happy with the results. The best part? This was SUPER EASY and not intimidating at all. It also didn’t take a lot of time. I was able to do six at a time; I used the ink and then stamped three to four napkins at a time, poured the powder on one, and then poured the excess on the next napkin. Once they were all powdered, I heated them quickly, one after another. So quick! I finished a package of 125 in about an hour. I think it was worth it for the results, and the price tag.

I’m so excited I did this project and am now looking for anything else possible that I can emboss. Have you guys surprised yourself with any DIY crafting skills?

(all photos personal)