Close To My Heart sent me a sweet care package of embossing goodies to try with calligraphy. I've had a blast ever since they showed up on my doorstep! It's been so fun to make cards and address envelopes with my new gadgets. And now I want every color under the sun to use for embossing! The raised texture is fantastic. And I've been able to get reliable results time after time with my pointed pen and my pointed brushes. It's definitely a worth-while investment.  Materials used:  Gillott 404 Nib  Oblique Holder  Strathmore Bristol Paper Size 2 Liner Brush CTMH Embossing Powder CTMH Heat Tool CTMH Watercolors Glycerine I found that the Versamark liquid (for refilling stamp pads) was too sticky to use as ink, so I opted for glycerine. I'm glad I was able to find a suitable substitute as the glycerine doesn't gum up my nibs or brushes. That said, I do like to use my cheaper nibs and brushes for this particular activity. I don't want to be destroying my sable hair brushes in the process!  Check out the video or read through the post details to find out how to emboss your own lettering!  

1. Dilute 1 part glycerine and 1 part water to make your ink. It helps to use a pipette to dilute with water so you have good control. 
2. Pen or brush your words/phrase/name on the paper. Use a nice quality paper so the glycerine doesn't bleed. Before lettering, make sure to scrape or drip off excess "ink" so you're not laying down too much glycerine. It can affect how the embossing happens. 
3. Place your paper over a scrap sheet, I like using a thin sheet of paper so that I can easily clean up excess embossing powder. 
4. Pour a generous amount of embossing powder over your design. Tap excess off the paper onto the scrap sheet. Set project aside and funnel excess powder back into the embossing powder jar. 
5. Heat your design with a heat tool. Keep the tool 2-4 inches away from  your work and move the tool as the powder melts. 
6. Optional: Add a watercolor wash over your work. 
7. For best results, the watercolor wash should happen after. The watercolor resists the embossed work, so no need to do it prior. If you do happen to do it beforehand, you may find the glycerine bleeds over the wash and your lines will get fuzzy. 

Products from Close To My Heart (CTMH) were provided for this video. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The affiliate links used help support this blog and the tools used for making more tutorials, reviews and content. Thanks for your support!