There’s always the same pressure with going back to school: be new and fresh, but still yourself. And that can be hard when we’re all shopping the same discount stores and back-to-school sales. Here’s a fun way to customize your school supplies!
Step 1: Get some cute supplies that could use a little sparkle
I love this floral journal I got at Target for under $5! It’s just my style… but it needed some words on the cover.
Step 2: Doodle with an Embossing Pen
I got the Ranger Perfect Pens 2 pack, which includes a brush pen and a bullet pen. I went with the brush pen for this book — I needed bold lines to speak over the busy floral print.
Step 3: Sprinkle with Embossing Powder
I used my weekly Michael’s coupon to get this little jar of Recollections embossing powder for 40% off. Amazon has a better variety of colors, though! I got this blush pink for pretty cheap.
Pro tip: put your notebook/item on a piece of paper before sprinkling liberally. It’ll make cleanup a lot easier!
Step 4: Tap and Brush off the Excess
It is so satisfying to lift up that notebook and drop the excess onto a piece of paper! But be warned: that embossing paper is so fine that it will stick to anything. This notebook came with a huge sticker on the cover. Even though I had carefully peeled it off, there was still enough sticky residue left that my book was covered in glitter. I had to use dry paintbrushes to carefully take off the excess.
Another warning: the embossing pen “ink” isn’t really sticky, so the powder will brush off… but it’s very slow drying, so you can re-sprinkle if you need to and you’ll be just fine.
Step 5: Heat it Up!
This is THE BEST PART! Grab a handheld heat embosser and hold it over the glitter powder. It’ll take a few seconds for the powder to react, but once it does, you’ll see it shine! It’s such a cool reaction!
I used my Michael’s weekly coupon to get this $25 embosser for 40% off, but you can also grab one like it on Amazon!
Step 6: Stare at the shine, then go emboss ALL THE THINGS
So shiny. If you look closely, you’ll see where I was a bit messy with the powder. There are a some rough edges that look bumpy, plus a bit of scattered gold speckles. I don’t mind these imperfections–I think they add a bit of charm! But if you aren’t feeling that, just take a little more time to even out edges and brush off excess in Step 4.
Final Supply List
- Heat embossing pens
- Heat embossing gun
- Heat embossing powder
- Brushes
- Your school supplies
I will admit, at about $25-30 for supplies, many of you may not have room in your Back to School budget to do this project. Don’t fret! You can get a similar effect with Sharpie metallic markers. Check out what I did with my project notebook a couple years ago!
And, yes, you can get those Sharpies to blend as long as you combine colors before your first color completely dries. Happy crafting, friends!
The Nerd Lady 