embossing is awesome makes ur cards look professional! but u can do it on metal card stock wood and much more anything that's not to water soluble check this site out for a how to: http://www.craftsnthings.com/HowTo/HeatEmbossing.aspx
yes it would work to do shrink wrapping, i used mine and done it before works great just have to keep th heating tool moving around so you don't scorch any spots...lol