Metal embossing with Magdalena

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I had the good fortune to meet Magdalena Muldoon during my travels and she told me all about her company, MercArt, and all of the wonderful things she does there with metal and our stencils. When I finally got to see some of her samples, I realized that I needed to share. So here goes, in Magdalena’s own words:

A little bit about us:
MercArt was founded by my mother Magdalena Barrena in Mexico City in 1970. In 2002,I moved to Texas and opened MercArt USA. It was exciting to be the first company in the US to offer the professional tools and laminated metals for Metal Embossing.
We now offer (in my humble opinion) the widest variety and best quality of tools, metals, patinas and certification workshops.
When I started using stencils, I realized they can also be used with metal and they are a fast and easy option to the more traditional Metal Embossing techniques that we have taught for decades.

Stencils have a big advantage over the embossing folders and embossing machines: they allow you to place them in any part of the metal or use just a part of the design if you want, as they are not constricted to the area of the machine or folder. You can also add textures and free hand details when working with stencils. The result looks richer and no so “machine made”.
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Using navy blue aluminum and the Circle Grid & Mayan Calendar stencils, place the stencil under the aluminum and rub with a paper stump so that you can “see” the image.
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After you outline each part of the design with a pointy Teflon tool, you can decorate using any decorative wheel. Be sure to work from the back, placing your project over a piece of suede. This allows the tool to leave a deep impression.
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With a sanding block, remove the color from the embossed areas. Use a fiberglass tool for the small detailed areas like the circles on the sides.
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Place the metal over a piece of suede on its back. Emboss or push the metal using a cup-and-ball, paper stump or wooden thumb. This will make your project “puff”.
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Fill the back of the high embossed areas with Filling paste to keep their shape.
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Come back on Wednesday to see more of Magdalena’s work!

4 thoughts on “Metal embossing with Magdalena

  1. hi there hope every thing is fine at ur end i am from pakistan just wana know is there any way to make the filling easy at home becouse in pakistan we dont have craft shops from where i can buy i will be greatful if u can help me
    regards kamal malik

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