Hi I’m Alexis I am part of the team at The Creative Slant. The Creative Slant is full service graphic design company that specializes in event graphics. One of the items we design is wedding invitations and custom monograms. Monograms are very popular way of adding sophistication to any wedding decor. Monograms are very versatile they can be used on the napkins, coasters, glasses, cake toppers which are very popular right now and they can continue to be used for the Thank You cards and wedding photo albums. What is cool is that The Creative Slant offers rubber stamps of your monograms. Right now for $99 we are offering a monogram design and an actual rubber stamp! Now I wanted to tell you what you can do with this stamp once you get it home. A really neat inexpensive way to add dimension to either your invites or your any card for that matter is using embossing powder to create a tactile and dimensional element to your design. What you will need: A deeply-etched rubber stamp (just like the ones you can get from The Creative Slant) Embossing powder and quality pigment inkpad (they sell these at Michaels or any specialty stamp store) You can choose either clear powder if you want the see the color of the ink you choose OR you can choose colored embossing powder It depends on what color you find that works with your color scheme A heat gun And good quality cardstock Application The best way to apply ink to the stamp is to lay the stamp on its back, rubber side up, then dab or pat with the ink pad. This way it is easy to apply a thin and even coat of ink. Apply the inked stamp to the cardstock and press down firmly. Try not to rock the stamp (which will result in a blurred image). I find it easiest to stand while stamping to get better even pressure. Remove the stamp, and apply a gnerous amount of embossing powder immediately all over the image. (The trick is to get the powder onto the stamped image before it dries. Turn the stamped image over and tap the back of the card to remove any excess embossing powder. Keeping a piece of scrap paper under the cardstock helps to catch any excess, and makes it easier to the powder back into its pot to use next time. Be sure to flick away any excess powder as it will only result in a fuzzy, blotched image. You can use a brush to dust away the excess if its helpful but DO NOT blow away the excess powder because your breath will moisten it. Now take your heat gun (if u don’t have a gun you can heat the card from underneath waving the area back and forth over the heat source like an electric hotplate or toaster and hairdryers do not work! ) I really recommend a heat gun since it makes a difference for the end result. Aim at one area of the powdered image once the image starts changing color and becomes shiny move on to the next area. Don’t wave around the card since it heats the card too much and wont emboss properly. And don’t heat too long or the image will look greasy. Too little and the image will feel rough and the grains will fall off. And now you have a monogrammed card that is a dramatic visual reminder of your new life together. Go to www.thecreativeslant.com for more ways we can make your event exceptional!
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