As a former Tool and Die designer I came to appreciate the power of SolidWorks when designing Embossing Dies. Most of the times, I would use the face of the part sent by my customer for either "Extrude to Surface" or "Cut with Surface" commands as a reference in designing my embossing punches and die sections.
There are situations when this approach does not work. One workaround, involving the "Thicken Cut" is presented in this video.
