You may or may not have heard me refer to burnishing in the past. It’s an important ‘technique’ that you should know about.
The handiest burnishing tool for stamping projects is the Bone Folder.
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Now, what is burnishing?
It is to rub with a tool that makes something smoother, such as the crease in a card front, or that makes a bond stronger, such as rubbing firmly or burnishing adhesive before attaching two layers.
Here’s a visual for the “language” of stamping: After scoring an 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ piece of card stock at 4-1/4″ and folding it in half you want to make a nice firm crease. You can do that with your thumb nail (not tacky but not classy either) or with a Bone Folder. Lay the bone folder on it’s flat side and drag it along along the crease, creating a nice crisp fold.
If you’re creating a box and want your seams to stay adhered, the best adhesives are either Tear & Tape Adhesive or Fast Fuse.
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In the case of the Tear & Tape, apply the tape to the flap of the box and, before removing the protective backing, rub back and forth firmly over the backing with your Bone Folder thus pushing the card stock fibers and the adhesive into each other. This makes a stronger bond. Then remove the Tear & Tape backing and attach as appropriate to create the seal of the side of your box.
In the case of the Fast Fuse, apply the Fast Fuse to the flap of the box and lay one flap (or side or whatever) of the box onto the other flap and rub over the new fused layers firmly with — you guessed it — the Bone Folder.
And that, my friends, is how one burnishes a stamping project.
