Paper Crafts Rubber Stamping

How to Use Flocking Powder for Rubber Stamping Projects

senior woman handmaking cards

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Adding textured embellishments to rubber stamping projects is all the rage. Interesting effects can be produced easily at home with flocking powder. When applied to a surface with an adhesive, the flocking powder or flock gives a soft, velvet, textured surface.

Flock is extremely versatile. It can be used in many different ways to add texture to a rubber stamp or craft project like handmade cards. Flocking powder is available in many different colors, and there is likely to be a color that is suitable for every project.

What Is It?

Flocking powder is made up of masses of tiny fibers. The flocking powder adheres to an adhesive or sticky surface such as glue or an adhesive powder teamed with pigment inks, which is the case with the product VersaMark. Flocking powder only adheres to a sticky surface. It can be used to emphasize or highlight design elements. Flocking powder is sold in small tubs which are similar in size to embossing powders. Flocking powder is very light and a little goes a long way.

How Is It Used?

There are many different ways that flocking powder can be added to rubber stamping projects. One of the easiest ways of using flock is to simply add glue to the surface of a project and pour flocking powder over the top.

Another way of using flocking powder to create a velvet texture on rubber stamping projects is to use a glue pad and rubber stamps. Glue pads are similar to ink pads, however, instead of containing ink, they contain glue. You simply take a rubber stamp that you would normally use with an ink pad and use it with the glue pad. You stamp an image in glue onto a page and then cover it with flocking powder. The fibers adhere to the sticky glue.

Use It With Double-Sided Tape or Stickers

A quick and convenient alternative to using glue is to use double-sided tape or stickers. To use double-sided tape simply cut it to the right shape (or use a special hole puncher customized to punch certain shapes) and attach this to the surface of a rubber-stamping project.

Remove the protective paper and cover this with flocking powder. Stickers are a convenient way of adding flocked shapes to projects. Use a self-adhesive sticker and carefully remove it from its protective backing, pour flocking powder over the exposed adhesive surface and use glue to attach the sticker to a project.

Other Ways to Use Flocking Powder

Another way of using flocking powder is to use an adhesive powder. These powders are applied to images that have been stamped using a pigment or other slow-drying ink and then heated. This creates a sticky surface, and the flock will adhere to it.

Freehand images for flocking can be created by drawing with a pen such as a VersaMark pen and adding an adhesive powder to it. This pen is useful for highlighting parts of a stamped image with flocking powder.

Tips

  • Use your fingers to firmly press the fibers onto the sticky surface. This will ensure that the fibers are well attached.
  • Return any loose flocking powder to the pot for future use.
  • Apply flocking as one of the final stages of a project to avoid damaging it.
  • Make sure that glue is dry before touching a newly flocked surface.
  • Try mixing glitter with the flock for added sparkle.