Once a beginning stamper has mastered the magic of embossing it becomes quite an addictive part of our repertoire. We are always looking for new and exciting ways to use the rainbow of embossing powders we have in our collections. One of the hottest new tools available for our embossing pleasure is the Hot Boss from Carolee’s Creations.
The Hot Boss is sort of a re-engineered wood burnisher that has been adapted to be used for stamping. Once the desired tip has been selected, plug in the tool and in about a minute you will be melting your art out! The variety of tips that come with the Hot Boss give rubber stamp artists a multitude of ways that we can add to and create our art work.
The Flat Headed Rake tip is really a 2-in-1 tool. By using the flat head of the tip, you can create smooth and colorful backgrounds that really stand out. Unlike plain heat embossing, which gives you a raised edge to your designs, the Hot Boss allows you to melt and smooth the embossing powder for a flat, solid effect. This Art Tag design uses this technique to create a dramatic background.
The second way you can you the Flat Headed Rake tip is by literally raking the tool through your embossing powder. By dragging the rake tip over two colors of embossing powder that had just been heat embossed, the Hot Boss allows you to add texture to your embossed areas.
In addition to being able to use the Flat Headed Rake tip to melt previously embossed areas, the Flat Chisel Tip will allow you to re-melt areas as well. The smaller size of the Flat Chisel Tip, gives you more control, making it easier to choose where you want to melt the powder. It will allow you to leave portions of your embossed design in their original condition, but still gives you the option to further embellish these areas. In this tag, the Flat Chisel Tip was used on the inside of the diamonds, but allowed an outline to be created, too.
The Hot Boss comes with a long, sharp, knife-like tip that allows you to literally draw designs into your embossing. This will help add additional texture and design into your embossed areas. The borders of this Maiden Tag have been drawn into to allow further dimension to be added to this design.
The Hot Boss is easy to use and there are only a couple of things to keep in mind when using it. 1. Use EXTREME caution and care because this tool, as the name implies, is HOT! Use a pot holder when changing the tip, or switching from one Heat Stamp to another. Don’t let children use this tool, unless there is adult supervision. 2. Unplug it when you are done and let it cool before putting it away.
The Hot Boss is sure to become a staple in our tool boxes. The Hot Boss Tool and Tips come packaged together and retail for about $20. There are also Alphabet Heat Stamps and Number Heat Stamps available separately for Hot Boss. For further information, tips and creations made using the Hot Boss, please visit Carolee’s Creations at www.carolees.com.
