library makers: Craft Lab: Embossing School Notebooks

Got some boring looking notebooks and folders for school? Here's an easy way to embellish them!

Today's project: Embossing
Supplies:
cardboard (cereal boxes work great!)
die cut machine and dies (or... an exacto knife and a self-healing cutting mat)
gluesticks
bone folders (or Sharpie markers)
water in a spray bottle

What we did:
First of all, I need to say that this entire post was inspired by this post by Design Mom (who did a much better job of photo styling than I did...) which I discovered only a few short days before the September Craft Lab, but in just enough time to still take advantage of the Back-to-School sales where I snagged these folders for ten cents apiece.

Now, on to the project! First, we created our embossing templates. I decided to go the super-easy route and have everyone cut their shapes out using the library's die-cut machine. (Locals--Did you know the library has a die-cut machine? And that you can use it? And that there is a vast collection of dies shared between all the South Central Libraries? Call the library to learn more!)

I let the teens browse our collection of dies and choose their favorites. Then, each person cut out 3-4 identical cardboard shapes...

And glued them together in a stack with the gluesticks to create something like this (which we'll call an "embossing plate"):

Next, they lightly misted the "wrong" side of their folder with water and rubbed it in until it looked dry (but still felt slightly damp). This helps the material to relax over the shape and be coaxed over the edges of the embossing plate.

Then, they used tools to help them press the edges of the folders/notebooks over the edge of the embossing plate. I didn't have any bone folders, but I had some point turners from NeedleReads. The broad end worked okay...

but the pointed end made creases that were too sharp (and sometimes poked all the way through!).

Since we only had three point turners and six participants, they got creative and tried other tools. The cap of a Sharpie pen works quite well for this purpose!