I don't have a lot to add about embossing pastes. I always use Dreamweaver's EP. As Jan said, the Wendi Vecchi pastes are also by Dreamweaver.
Jennifer's video comparing TH's Texture Paste and Wendi Vecchi or Dreamweaver's EP is interesting. In her current video about stencils, she talks about Ferro Texture Paste, and that looks like a fun one to use but not for regular use.
The Dreamweaver's Paste comes in regular (The jar doesn't say Regular.), Glossy, Translucent, Crackle, and Metallic. I use the regular one most often. I also use the metallics especially if I'm going to add foil. Some of these also come in limited colors, but I don't seem to use those even though I bought some on sale once. I do use black. I have made my own colors by adding a tiny amount of mica powder, and you can also add heavy body acrylic paints to change the color. Thinner paints aren't recommended since they can alter the consistency of the paste.
Rather than change the color of the paste, I normally color the images with inks or mica powders, but I usually use metal stencils to paste emboss images rather than use plastic stencils to add texture to backgrounds. I do plan to do more of the latter soon.
Paper: I usually use watercolor paper. It can take the abuse. Lynell Harlow of Dreamweavers cautions not to overwork the paste. The paper absorbs the moisture and expands causing it raise up. Pretty soon you're scraping against paper and not paste. I don't seem to have that problem with watercolor paper. Also, I do work quickly.
Palette Knife: I use the offset palette knife from Dreamweavers, and it only takes a swipe or two to add the paste and then scrape away the excess. Dreamweavers also sells a large spreader that I love. You pick up the paste with the palette knife and lay it along the straight edge of the large blade. You hold it on the curved edge, and it's a breeze to apply paste to larger stencils. Again, I usually work with metal stencils. Maybe the plastic knives work better with plastic stencils. Whichever one you use, it's easier to use an offset knife. BTW, you pick up the paste with the bottom of the knife, not the top (which I've seen in several video tutorials).
I second what Yankee said about having a container of water ready so you can just put your used stencils in water as soon as you take them off your project. I add a tiny bit of Dawn dish detergent to the water.
Another tip--clean the top of the jar and close it. If you leave bits of paste on the lip of the jar to dry, they can fall into the paste. That can mess up your next project.
Crackle Paste--Don't apply crackle paste directly to paper. It can flake off. First apply another embossing paste, and when that is dry, apply the crackle paste over the dry one. If you use a dark color on the bottom, tht will help accentuate the look of the cracks.
Now that I'm writing all of this, I realize that I've said a lot of it before. I wrote up detailed descriptions of the workshops I attended when I posted my paste-embossed pieces on Two Peas. Those posts are now available on Scrapbook.com.
I'm going to post this. Then I'll look for some links for you.
Daria
LINKS:
Jennifer McGuire's Embossing Paste vs Texture PasteStencils and Embossing Paste -- Tips & Techniques (Jennifer McGuire)My GalleryBelow the heading, there's a search button; just click on it and input "embossing paste." That should take you to two pages of posts with cards made using EP.
Jan, thanks for your help with the links.
HTH.
Daria