Unlocking the secret to faux metal

It's no secret I absolutely love our Piccolo Embossing Powders. I especially enjoy all the different looks that can be achieved with them - like the faux metal look of the door lock and key on this tag. I'm Linda, and if you would to like follow along, I'll explain how you can also achieve this look. Read on ...

Linda Neff
linda-neff.com

I started with a simple little book board piece from our extensive collection of Piccolo Accents and Charms. These pieces are from our Vintage Lock & Keys. After removing the pieces from their backing coat them with our Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive, which comes in a dabber bottle for easy application and great coverage.

Place your book board piece on a scrap of paper that you have creased in the middle (for easy pouring back into the jar). Roll the jar of Piccolo Embossing Powder a few times to blend all the granules (shaking can make the larger particles sink to the bottom so rolling the jar will give you greater success). Gently sprinkle the powder on top of the coated book board piece and tip off excess.

The different sizes of granules and color variations will give you a luscious look.

Place your covered piece onto a non-stick craft sheet and heat set till your finish is fairly smooth and shiny.

This is how it will look after setting the first coating. I prefer to add two to three layers, heat setting between each to create a rustic and aged appearance. When the piece is cool to the touch dab on another coating of the Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive and gently sprinkle another coating of Piccolo Embossing Powder on it. Gently tip the excess off (tapping the excess off may cause your larger granules to fall off and you'll lose all that great dimension and texture so I simple tip the excess off) and heat set.

On this second coating do not heat set till smooth. When you see the granules begin to melt move onto another area; heat set it just enough to hold but not till it is smooth. It may take a couple practice runs but this method really gives your the old-world look of metal. We call this the heat-flash technique and there is a video on the web site.

Second coat of Piccolo Embossing Powder using the heat-flash technique.

Once this is done (I did the key the same way) add a coating of Glastique Gloss and let it dry thoroughly. The Glastique has a chemical reaction with the Piccolo Embossing Powder and speeds up the patina finish.

A coat of Glastique Gloss added to the embossed pieces to create a patina.

I used Piccolo Vintage Copper Embossing Powder on these pieces and the Glastique will cause the green to turn almost black - really cool look! It's a quick, easy and very inexpensive technique for creating faux metal pieces from nothing more than compressed book board.

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These pieces were used on a tag that is attached to a scrapbook page. If you like this and would like to see another use of Globecraft & Piccolo products, hop on over to my personal blog to check it out! 

Supplies:

• Piccolo Vintage Copper Embossing Powder
• Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive
• Vintage Lock & Keys Accents
• Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
• heat tool

Check your local scrapbook or stamp for our Piccolo products or click the link below to shop if you can't find them locally.