10 Best Embossing Powder For Paper & Jewelry Crafts In 2023
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Many crafters make their fortune through embossing art. You need the best embossing powder and other embossing supplies to develop the most intricate card designs, stamps, scrapbooks, and even polymer clay jewelry.
We rounded up the best embossing powders for this review and some hacks that will make your crafting easier. We also included a buying guide and FAQ section that will prove helpful, especially if you are new to heat embossing.
Our Top Picks
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Best Overall - Ranger Embossing Powder (Tinsel Bundle)• Professional, glittery finish |
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Most Versatile - Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (Clear)• Large-particle embossing powder |
Best Starter Bundle - Stamp A Mania Embossing Powder (Essential Colors)• Ideal for intricate details |
1. Ranger Embossing Powder (Tinsel Bundle) - Best Overall
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What Customers Have To Say
According to customers, the Ranger Embossing Powder melts just fine, but the glitters don’t, leaving some of them finish’s surface. This partial melting results in removing the glitters when you touch them, so other crafters recommend tapping off the excess powder and glitter before heating.
Why We Think It’s Great
Professional card makers make season crafts months ahead to come up with unique designs before the holiday rush. This five-color bundle is the best embossing powder you can get for your Christmas and other holiday-themed cards.
Each shatterproof jar comes with a tightly sealed cap and contains 0.63 oz (18 g), except for the snowflake tinsel that comes in a 1-oz (34 g) jar. The bundle includes five of the most commonly used colors for Christmas: red, green, gold, snowflake, and clue.
Even if you have no experience with embossing, this embossing powder is effortless to use, colorfast, and won’t penetrate the other side of the cardstock you’re using. However, do not expect a super fine powder. We don’t recommend it for fine lettering stamps and different intricate designs for the same reason.
Who Should Buy It
This five-color embossing powder bundle is best for crafters looking to decorate large-format embossing projects.
2. Wow! Embossing Powder (Clear Gloss)
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What Customers Have To Say
Many crafters love the Wow! Embossing Powder (Clear Gloss) and recommend it to their crafting friends. It melts quickly and works perfectly as a UTEE for their polymer clay projects.
It is clean to work with a super fine finish. You cannot even think you started with an embossing powder, according to one customer. When used to emboss over watercolor cards, it does not blur the details, making the focal points of the artwork stand out.
Why We Think It’s Great
The Wow! Embossing Powder Clear Gloss is an excellent product for your embossing needs. It finishes with a clear and delicate texture, thanks to its superfine powder.
The packaging is small, with the jar being a little over 3 ½ inches in height and weighs only 0.26 oz (7.5 g). However, the actual content weighs only 0.19 oz (5.3 g). The screw-on cap seals tightly while the container is high-quality and crack-resistant plastic, so you don’t have to worry about accidental spills when it topples over or falls off your desk.
Although some crafters suggest using alcohol ink to give it some color, we recommend using embossing powder of the color you like. The purpose of adding some colored embossing powder is to provide it with a hint of hue without being too overwhelming.
Who Should Buy It
The Wow! Clear Gloss is the best embossing powder for crafters who love subtle highlights and tone-on-tone embossing in their projects.
3. Ranger Embossing Powder (Clear)
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What Customers Have To Say
Many users of Ranger embossing powders are happy with the quality of this product since it does not bleed, seals in ink, and adds an excellent gloss to their artwork for a professional finish. Another crafter used it over gold pigment, and it highlighted the ink perfectly.
The Ranger clear embossing powder also works well in sealing decoupage art and diamond paintings. According to a professional card maker, it’s a game-changer, showing how a clear gloss gave her cards a new dimension.
Why We Think It’s Great
Ranger sells its embossing powders separately, so you don’t have to stock on colors you don’t need. The downside is the expense since you end up spending more when buying individual bottles.
Each container has 1-oz of super fine clear embossing powder packed in a tightly capped and crack-resistant container. This packaging lessens the chances of breakage and spilling of your precious embossing powder.
The embossing powder works as a finishing glaze or custom sealant for many paper and polymer clay crafts. The finish is super fine, glossy, and does not discolor. Paired with Ranger Emboss It Clear Embossing Ink Pad, you can make lovely and clean clear embossing to highlight your invitation, greetings, and all-occasion cards.
Who Should Buy It
We highly recommend this as the best embossing powder for crafters who love working with supplies that do more than one job. It’s a great way to add value to your products.
4. Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (Clear) - Most Versatile
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What Customers Have To Say
The Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (Clear) leaves a crystal-like finish on the customers’ crafts (paper beads, buttons, polymer clay sculptures, custom keychains, etc.). Some of them melted the embossing powder using their heat gun and used it as a glaze or sealant for their artwork.
The finish is coarser and thicker on paper, which some users love because it gives a different texture. Another crafter added three layers of this embossing powder and then used a stamping tool for clear 3D art on his cards.
Why We Think It’s Great
The Ranger Ultra Thick Clear Embossing Powder is also known in the crafting world as a UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) because it does more than just embossing patterns on cards and other papercrafts. You can use it on fashion jewelry pieces, magnets, trinket boxes, frames, and craft embellishments as a custom sealant or glaze.
It has the largest packaging for embossing powders. The bottle contains 6 oz (170 g) of thick embossing powder with a rougher finish to the touch than other superfine brands.
It is the best embossing powder to use as a UTEE. Just heat it in an aluminum foil tray or any heat-resistant vessel with a heat gun. If it turns a bit dry, use the heat gun to melt it again. Reheating the dried embossing powder doesn’t affect its glazing or sealing capacity.
Some embossing powders only work on paper, but the Ranger Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Powder is also compatible with fabric and other fiber surfaces, polymer clay, and terracotta.
Who Should Buy It
The Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (Clear) is the best embossing powder for crafters who love to use multi-purpose supplies in their craft shop.
5. Ranger Embossing Powder (Gold and Silver)
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What Customers Have To Say
The Ranger Embossing Powder (Gold and Silver) is the best embossing powder to try, even for newbies. Between the two colors, most users prefer the quality and finish of the silver variant. It doesn’t clump like other embossing powder brands, and the finish has a high pigmented shine after heat application.
Why We Think It’s Great
Ranger embossing powders have been consistent in their quality over the years. Even with intricate stamped lettering, you always get the desired effect. No wonder that most professional embossers prefer this brand.
Each plastic jar weighs 1 oz, but the contents only weigh 0.5 oz (14 g) for the gold and 0.56 oz (16 g) for the silver. However, the new packaging reflects the net weight and not the contents as in the previous packaging.
We prefer working with this embossing powder because of its super fine powder and smooth finish. The colors are also true to their metallic quality with very crisp lines, giving each card a touch of elegance and class.
Who Should Buy It
The Ranger Embossing Powder in gold and silver is a perfect addition to any card maker’s arsenal of embossing supplies, especially for those who love working with colored cardstock.
6. Stampendous Embossing Powder (Scenic Selection)
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What Customers Have To Say
According to users, the colors are lovely with a very fine finish. It is also an extensive bundle with 14 colors, giving you enough creative freedom. It even works with polymer clay, perfect for crafters who love making polymer clay jewelry and sculptures.
The Stampendous Embossing Powder is an excellent starter kit for anyone new to embossing. The jars are small, but the colors gave more artistic leeway to customers, which they love. It also comes in different finishes, such as metallic, glossy, and matte.
Why We Think It’s Great
Anyone who loves painting will be delighted with this embossing powder set. The vibrant colors with a mix of matte, metallic, and shimmery finish will give your artwork a different edge. You can use it to highlight images or create paintings out of them.
The individual bottles have 0.28 oz (8 g) of embossing powder in 14 vibrant colors - Ruby Red, Chinese Red, Paprika, Honey, Golden Sand, Sunny Yellow, Clear Lemon, Baby Blue, Periwinkle, Lettuce, Olive, White, Stardust, and Clear Bark. It also comes with two small scoops for applying powder to small areas.
Unlike other embossing powders with a smooth finish, these are more grainy, which we recommend if you prefer the textured result. It works well with medium-width calligraphy and stamping, but not on intricate designs.
The manufacturer recommends this embossing powder for melt media painting techniques with its extensive collection of colors. You can also check out YouTube for some fantastic melted powder painting methods that you can do with this set.
Who Should Buy It
Artists will love this embossing powder set for various art projects, such as card making, scrapbooking, stamping, powder painting, and embossing. It is perfect, especially if you would rather have a textured finish for your crafts.
7. Lindy's Embossing Powder (Autumn Leaves Set)
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What Customers Have To Say
Delighted customers shared their wonderful experiences with Lindy's Embossing Powder. One newbie crafter said that her cards looked professional, and her friends can’t believe it’s her first time trying powder embossing.
One artist bought this set for her scrapbooking class, and the results were fantastic. The powders are super fine, and the pigment colors blended well with the embossing powder for that lovely two-toned finish. It’s was better than expected.
Why We Think It’s Great
The two-toned embossing powders in this bundle give an attractive finish to your cards. The first color is Terracotta Rust which has a terracotta base highlighted with a sheen of red rust. Midnight Copper uses a black base with a copper shimmer.
Meanwhile, Green Gold has green base powder and gold shimmer. Cleopatra’s copper is shimmery copper on metallic copper, and Midnight Teal features a black base over turquoise shimmer.
It uses mica powder to achieve the two-toned effect. You can pile the embossing powder and heat it from under and using an ink pad or a sprinkling of water. With the ink pad or water method, add your pattern by stamp, embossing pen, or brush. Add the embossing powder, remove the excess, and apply heat to melt.
Lindy’s embossing powder comes in five autumn-themed colors in a 0.5 oz crack-resistant jar with a black screw-on cap. Lindy’s also has a spray set in the same autumn palette that you can activate by adding hot water. The two-toned embossed finish comes out after heat application.
Who Should Buy It
We love to work with this two-toned embossing powder, and we’d like paper crafters to try it, especially if you want to try something interesting for your cards and other projects.
8. Wow! Embossing Powder (Metallic Bundle)
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What Customers Have To Say
One shopper got so excited with her embossing powders that she already started doing her Christmas cards in March! The Wow! Metallic Bundle is a nice collection of shiny embossing powders that are super fine and leaves a fine finish. She just wishes it comes in bigger containers.
One crafter who is new to embossing finds the Wow! Metallic Bundle easy to use and leaves an impressive finish. Another customer who used a different brand found Wow a better, albeit more expensive.
Why We Think It’s Great
With people being more open to using black paper or cardstock on cards, these lovely embossing powders are a great addition to your embossing toolkit. Each crack-resistant jar with resealable caps comes with 0.5 oz (15 ml) of embossing powder. The metallic bundle includes gold, silver, platinum, and copper that looks great on black cardstock.
A hack you can try when using embossing powders is adding a little loose powder to your cardstock before stamping. This process evens out the finish and lessens the residues.
The Wow! Metallic Bundle melts quickly and leaves a smooth finish, thanks to the super fine powder. The embossing powder is true to its color, so that you won’t be surprised by the effect. You only get perfect results every time, even if you are working with very intricate designs.
Make magnificent cards or scrapbooks with this best embossing powder and these lovely sentiment stamps or spring/summer-themed stamps. Be sure to get an acrylic stamp block for easier stamping.
Who Should Buy It
Any crafter who loves super fine metallic finish for their cards, scrapbooks, and visual boards will want to have this embossing powder in their supplies.
9. Stampendous Embossing Powder (Floral Garden)
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What Customers Have To Say
Although one crafter said that the Stampendous embossing powder might need a bit of getting used to, she still loves working with it because of the vibrant colors. With 14 colors per pack, the users can make lots of artwork without worrying about running out of colors. However, the set does not have browns or blacks, which is essential when making floral garden art.
Why We Think It’s Great
We love adding texture to our embossing projects. That’s why we speak highly of Stampendous embossing powder kits, especially this floral garden collection. The colors are vibrant, and although it dries in a semi-gloss finish, you don’t need gloss in all your projects. You can always overlay clear gloss embossing powder if you want to add shine to your cards.
However, one drawback of this embossing powder set is the bubbly finish on some colors, and the pinks and purples turn dull and even whitish. Controlling the heat during the melting process helps, but it needs a bit of practice to perfect.
Each jar contains 0.23 oz (6.6 g) of embossing powder in 14 colors - Lilac, Purple, Violet, Sky Blue, Blue, Forest Green, Moss Green, Peach, Old Rose, Red, Hot Pink, Pink, Orange, and Gold.
Most of the colors stayed true after heating. The colors are semi-glossy, so if you prefer a glossy finish, you can try the Ranger Letter It Embossing Powder Set instead. The set comes in Cranberry, Wisteria, Liquid Platinum, and Sage.
Who Should Buy It
If you love working with many colors to give you more freedom with your embossing projects, you’ll appreciate having the Stampendous Floral Garden Embossing Powder Collection.
10. Stamp A Mania Embossing Powder (Essential Colors) - Best Starter Bundle
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What Customers Have To Say
Embossing powders are costly, but the Stamp A Mania Bundle is very affordable. The quality of the finish surprised most crafters since it has the same delicate texture and sheen as the more expensive brands.
Another newbie was ready to give up on embossing until she found this brand. She realized that the powders were the problem since she got everything perfectly with the Stamp A Mania embossing powder.
Why We Think It’s Great
The Stamp A Mania Embossing Powder is super fine, perfect for card making, scrapbooking, stamping, and calligraphy. You can use the clear gloss to finish or seal paper beads, polymer clay, and other porous crafts. It also works for powder painting, though the colors in this bundle limit the designs you can do.
The bundle comes in two metallic finishes (Mirror Gold and Silver Dollar), two glossy finishes (Midnight Black and Glacier White), and a clear high gloss finish. It also conforms to ASTM D-4236 certification, meaning it is safe to use for art and crafts.
It is the best embossing powder for newbie crafters. It is sold by volume, so some containers have more embossing powder than others, but every container has at least 1 oz. At the same price as other embossing powders, this bundle is among the cheapest on the market.
Who Should Buy It
The Stamp A Mania Embossing Powder is excellent for beginners to practice with embossing cards, scrapbooks, and even stamped lettering or calligraphy.
Best Embossing Powder Buying Guide
Before you buy embossing powder, read through this buying guide, so you don’t get confused with all the choices available.
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Texture
You have three textures to choose from - superfine, regular, and ultra-thick. Usually, the manufacturers label their containers as superfine or ultra-thick. If the label is not specific, it is generally of normal texture.
Superfine embossing powder is best for intricate designs such as finely detailed stamps or fine calligraphy. Regular embossing powder is your go-to powder for general use. This texture also works for powder painting, wide-font types, and stamps.
On the other hand, ultra-thick embossing powder is best for layered embossing since it may have a grainy effect, depending on the brand. Other crafters may also use the clear embossing powder as a UTEE (ultra-thick embossing enamel) to use as a custom sealant for polymer clay or paper bead crafts.
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Finish
You can choose from the different embossed powder finishes (metallic, shimmer, or matte) that work best for your projects. Some leave an opaque finish, while others a clear one. Each of these finishes has its specific purpose.
Most clear embossing powders also have a glossy finish. They are best for adding a watermark effect or highlighting an artwork.
Metallic, shimmery, and matte embossing powders are usually opaque and work best for adding color, shine, and definition to your cards and other crafts. Metallic embossing powder lends an elegant and sophisticated finish to your work, especially on contrasting paper, like gold on black cardstock.
Shimmery embossing powders sometimes have added glitters or a mix of metallic to achieve a two-toned effect. Matte embossing powders, on the other hand, have a flat finish. You can highlight it with shimmery or metallic embossing to add more character and definition to your projects.
Besides, you can also add glitters by using sticky embossing powder.
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Colors
Metallic embossing powders usually come in gold, silver, copper, platinum, and brass. These colors even come in different shades, so be careful when choosing. For example, you can find rich gold, pale gold, or other fancy colors. Check out the sample finish before buying.
Matte and shimmery embossing powders have a wider variety of colors. Some brands even boast shades and hues of primary and secondary colors.
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Response to Heat
Not all embossing powders respond to heat in the same way. It is best to stay on the safe option of using heat guns. Aside from being designed explicitly for crafts, the heat gun’s temperature is lesser, and the airflow is much slower.
Embossing Powder FAQ
1. How do you use embossing powder without a heat gun?
A heat gun is essential when doing embossing projects. How about if you don’t heat gun, you can use the following:
- Electric Grill or Electric Stove - This method depends on the type of paper and embossing powder you use. Observe the temperature settings and the effect so you can adjust your heat setting to get the best outcome. You may have to raise your paper higher to control the heat that it receives for better results.
- Too Low Temperature - The powder takes more than two minutes to melt.
- Too Hot Temperature - The melted embossing powder has a waxy look.
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Just the Right Temperature - The powder melts within a minute and has the desired look.
- Flat Iron - Add the design using embossing ink and powder, shake off the excess, then heat underneath the paper with a flat iron to slowly melt the powder. Be sure to set the flat iron to the highest heat setting. Observe the same temperature and effect as when using an electric grill to get the best results.
We don’t recommend using a hairdryer or commercial-grade heat gun because it gives out too much heat and the airflow is too strong.
2. How do you color embossing powder?
A clear powder is the safest way to start with embossing. If you want to add colors to it, you can try adding mica powder or alcohol ink. To use the alcohol ink, you’ll need the basic color bundle and follow these steps:
- Add a scoop of clear embossing powder to a small cup.
- Add 5-6 drops of embossing ink and give it a good stir to color the clear powder.
- Combining the alcohol inks gives you secondary and even tertiary colors. Adjust the inks as you go to get the color you want.
For the mica powder method, get an excellent mica powder collection. The good thing about mica powder is that you can also use it for other crafts like epoxy resin, soapmaking, or making makeup. Ensure that you have the same or similar-sized grains for the clear embossing powder and mica so they melt well.
- Add a scoop of clear embossing powder to a coffee filter.
- Slowly add some mica powder and mix well until you get the right color.
3. Is embossing powder the same as glitter?
No. Embossing powder is made of thermoplastic polymers, while glitters combine aluminum or PET plastic. However, you can add glitters to the embossing powder to give more body and definition to it.
Glitters add sparkle to your crafts and even to your clothing and shoes. It can range from dust-sized particles to larger ones. However, it needs glue to adhere to the surfaces, primarily porous, for the adhesive to do its job. When applied with heat, it does not melt as quickly as the embossing powder since glitters are for melting but as a physical adornment as it is.
Embossing powder, on the other hand, needs to be melted to do its job. It needs embossing ink to make it stick to the paper. Then heat is applied to soften it so you can see the design under the powder.
4. How do you get embossing powder to stick?
You can use the following methods: (a) embossing pens, (b) embossing ink pad and stamp, (c) embossing ink and paintbrush, and (d) water.
Embossing pens are best when you’re doing calligraphy or highlighting your artwork. Just add your words, apply the embossing powder, shake off any excess powder, then heat it to melt it.
For the embossing ink pad and stamp method, wet your stamp on the ink pad, then stamp your design to the paper. Remove the excess powder, clean up any remaining powders, then heat it as usual.
The embossing ink and paintbrush method is a more advanced technique. You need more practice working with the brush to make your designs. Draw your design on paper, add embossing powder, shake off the excess, then heat it as usual.
You can also use water instead of embossing ink or pen. Spray or sprinkle water on your paper, apply the embossing powder as usual, then heat up to activate the embossing powder.
5. Does embossing powder work on glass?
While embossing works best on porous surfaces, it also works on non-porous surfaces such as glass and glazed ceramics. Check out item #4 in the FAQ section to apply the patterns on your glass or glazed ceramic mugs and plates.
An essential tool in embossing glass or glazed surfaces is the anti-static bag. Rub the anti-static bag to increase the friction and remove any static on the area to be embossed. Add your patterns, apply the embossing powder, remove excess powder, then apply heat.
Choose the thicker glass like a smooth mason jar, so it doesn’t shatter when applying heat.
Stamping on curved surfaces may be tricky. This step may take a lot of practice before you can perfect it. Unlike stamping on paper, where you’ll need an acrylic block, you only use the silicone stamp when embossing on glasses, mugs, and bottles.
Try it on before adding ink so you know how to work with the curve. Add ink, stick one side of the silicone stamp and roll the rest of the pattern slowly to retain the design. Remove the silicone stamp slowly.
Conclusion
After a thorough review, we came up with the best overall embossing powder bundle. The Ranger Embossing Powder (Tinsel Bundle) is the winner because of its professional, glittery finish. The packaging is shatterproof, making your investments secure, and the powder is non-toxic and acid-free.
The first runner-up goes to the Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (Clear). You can use it as an embossing enamel (UTEE) for paper beads, polymer clay, and other papercrafts. As an embossing powder, it leaves a grainy and very textured finish for added effect and dimension.
Another runner-up is the Stamp A Mania (Essential Colors) for the best starter embossing powder for newbie crafters. It is fine enough to work with intricate designs, non-toxic, and a smooth and glossy finish. It is also more affordable than other brands, making it perfect for practicing and perfecting heat embossing craft.
So, which brand of embossing powder works best for you? Let us know in the comments.