Faux cloisonné is an extremely simple technique that requires very few items to achieve a great look. Your basic tools that you will need are a stamp with a good outline pattern, a pigment ink pad, matching embossing powder, a heat gun, and a magazine, catalog, or other glossy periodical with color pictures you don't mind cutting out. The better quality the paper the periodical uses the better. I like using ads that have patterned clothing or garden magazine pictures. Garden pictures can pack a lot of color and pattern into a small space.

The first thing you need to do is look through the magazine and find a few pictures with the color pallet you have in mind. Florals and patterns in clothing work well, for example. You then ink up you stamp and stamp the image on the place you have picked out in the magazine picture. Over a scrap piece of paper, then pour your embossing powder over the stamped image. Pour, then tap off excess embossing powder, and then turn the heat gun on the image until the embossing powder melts. Cut very carefully just around the outside of the embossed image (I use an X-Acto knife.) Be very careful as the embossing powder can chip off. Mount on your card or scrapbook page, and Voila! You have a faux cloisonné image.

Another, albeit more time consuming way to achieve a faux cloisonné which will give you the look with more control over the colors in the various recesses is to stamp your image on glossy cardstock. Emboss the image as before. Using stained glass paints color in the areas between the embossed lines. After the paint has dried, carefully cut out the image as before. This will give a raised glossy color in between the raised image. You will have to be careful though, as too much, or too thin paint will cause the paper to warp somewhat. If you have kids that have painted those stained glass kits with the little paint pots in them, those will work great, and if not, you can purchase the stained glass paint very inexpensively at your local craft store in the kids section.

You can also get a spectacular background image using this same technique and using a piece of good quality, glossy wrapping paper. Using your imagination, this technique can take you a long way, and by using any glossy patterned paper you can save a lot of time in the coloring of the image.