DIY Metal Embellies

I'm certainly not an expert on working with metal, but boy, is it a lot of fun. With the use of a couple of tools, you can create your own one-of-a-kind metal embellishments, which will look fab on all of your art projects. All of the tools used in these photos are by Ten Second Studio.

First, I started by stamping an image onto an aluminum sheet of metal with Staz On ink. I trimmed the image out with a pair of sturdy, but sharp scissors.

Second, working on a foam mat, I used a stylus to deboss around the shape of the heart on the front (stamped) side. I flipped the heart over and on the back I used a paper stump to rub out the area inside the heart. This creates a dimensional effect on the metal and makes the heart appear to be round and full.

Next, I flipped the heart over to the front and debossed all of the areas that I wanted to appear to be "impressed" into the metal.

Finally, I flipped the heart over to the back and embossed all of the areas that I wanted to "pop" on the front of my image. It takes a bit of work, but if you go back and forth between embossing and debossing the metal, you will end up with an awesome metal embellie that looks nothing like what you started out with.

It took me roughly 10 minutes to make this sacred heart from beginning to end, so there really is not a lot of time invested here. Also, for my project, I like the look of the black ink against the metal, because it gives it a rustic look, but you can easily reverse the project and end up with a nice clean silver embellishment if you like. Try it, you'll like it ;D