Saturday StepXStep: Vintaj Deco Emboss & Patinas

Hi Frilly & Funkie lovers and happy Saturday!!! Anita Houston here to bring you a Saturday StepXStep tutorial on how to use the Sizzix Deco Emboss plates on Vintaj Blanks and then using the Vintaj Patinas on them. Once finished, you don't have to use these pieces as jewelry as so many people think. They are great on paper crafts as charms and embellishments. The Vintaj Blog just put out a new video with another cool way to use these Blanks with your stamps as well. The possibilities are endless for their use.

The Vintage Deco Emboss Plates are basically the same as a Texture Fade or Embossing Folder, except that they are metal and are for metal pieces. You can use them for paper, but you cannot use the plastic folders to emboss metal plates. They are smaller than the others as well, so it's very easy to store them. The Vintaj Blanks come in various sizes and shapes, even animals and vintage images. I am using the 1.25 inch brass circles here along with the Acorn Hollow and Moonlit Night plates.

Open up the emboss plate and place a metal blank inside where you want your image to be. Take note of where the tiny hole is for attaching jump rings so you don't emboss your image in the wrong position. You can do more than one piece of metal as long as they don't overlap.

Close the plate and hold it tightly so your metal does not move. Notice that on one side of the plate it reads "Place this side down." That is the side that will face down between your acrylic sheets when you sandwich your plate. Hold the sandwich firmly so the plates don't slip causing the metal to move.

Run your sandwich through your embossing contraption. I've used a Vagabond here.

Open up your plates and you will now have an embossed metal piece.

The Vintaj Patinas are specially formulated to adhere to metal and give it an aged patina look. You can use them directly by painting them on with a paintbrush, mix them together to make a new color, or dilute them with the Glaze for a softer shiny effect. It's best to use a little paint at a time as it doesn't take much to cover...they are rich and opaque, and they dry very quickly. The paint easily comes off a craft sheet for clean up, and they are water based and will come off your hands easily (clothes I am not sure of ). Once dry on metal though, they will not wash off. Keep in mind that when painting an area, you will want to extend the color over the raised embossed parts, because those higher areas will be sanded down, and you don't want to lose your color effect. Being a precise painter here will not be good for your ending results. Paint outside the lines and forget what your primary teachers told you.

When your pieces are all painted you can let them dry naturally or give them a little bit of heat from a heat gun, but not too concentrated or you will get bubbles and texture. I used a regular Vintaj metal piece here that already came embossed. You can paint those as well.

Here are the painted pieces up close before sanding or glazing.

Using a Vintaj Reliefing Block (I used a regular fine grit block first and then used the Vintaj block for the finer detail.) sand away the layers of paint and metal tarnish to reveal a shiny metal surface underneath. It doesn't take much effort to do, and it doesn't matter which way you sand. You might miss a few spots, so inspect each raised area to make sure you have removed the paint. You want the paint to be gone so your image really pops (I should have taken more pictures here...sorry.) and stands out. Notice how those finer areas with less detail still look enhanced with color because the color was over the sides of the raised parts. If you want to seal your paint for added durability and a little shine, you can give them a light coat of the Glaze with a paint brush. It dries very quickly as well.

To see how I made the rest of the tag, click on over to my blog.

*Note: The Funkie Junkie Boutique will be carrying the Moonlit Night (tree) Deco Emboss plate shortly.
Supplies:

Sizzix Vintaj Deco Emboss Die In Acorn Hollow	Vintaj Cherry Leaf	Vintaj Patina Ink Kit In Rusted Hardware	Vintaj Patina Kit In Weathered Copper	Vintaj Patina Kit In Antique Window
Vintaj Patina Kit In Retro Highway	Vintaj Reliefing Block	Vintaj Metal Glaze	Vintaj Jump Rings 7.25mm	Vintaj Jump Rings 4.75mm
25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Adirondack Color Wash in Sailboat Blue (FJ)	Adirondack Color Wash Dye 2 Ounce Spray-Butterscotch	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Walnut Stain	Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool-With 2 Blending Foams
Adirondack Gold Acrylic Paint Dabber (FJ)	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Bundled Sage	Distress Markers (FJ)	Burlap String	Rayon Seam Binding