Emboss Resist with a Twist

Hi, welcome back! 
I am honored to be joining the group at Retro Rubber Challenge as guest designer today! This challenge is to use the colors red, orange and brown for your card. Definitely put me in the mood to make a fall card.

I used the emboss resist technique with a twist. Beginning with Distress Oxide inks in Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral and Candied Apple, I blended a background onto Bristol Smooth card stock. Next the leaves were stamped and embossed with clear powder. The twist, is to use a damp brush over the inked background and blot with a paper towel to remove some of the color. This leaves a soft wash while the stamped images retain the contrast of the darker color underneath. 

The stamps from Clearly Besotted have been on my shelf for at least 4 years. I love the variety of leaf images and they are perfect for making backgrounds.  Playing at Retro Rubber has opened my eyes to new ways to use my older stamps and I am always surprised to find new color combos or techniques for using them. It's  a win - win! We hope you will play along too! Give those older stamps a chance to shine again.

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Leafy Accents, PTI - Colorpop Autumn MIM sentiment die 

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Bristol Smooth, DSP from my stash, Gold foil

INK: WPlus9 - Coconut Husk, Gala Red, Versamark

Accessories: Bold Banner Die, gold cord

Shimmering Butterfly Mandala

There is nothing I like better than trying out new products and new techniques. Always learning something new and having the ability to play are two of the factors that keep me in love with stamping! 
You can see the result in today's card.

I began by embossing the Butterfly Mandala stamp (WPlus9) in white onto Ranger Distress Watercolor Paper. This is a huge stamp that is intricate in detail and covers most of a card front with lacy leaves and butterflies in a circular shape. Isn't it gorgeous?

Then I added Nuvo Shimmer Powders in Atlantis Burst and Falling Leaves. When you sprinkle the tiniest bits of these powders and add water, they burst into many colors and flow together to blend beautifully. The result is AMAZING! Varying the placement of the powder and the amount of water enables you to watercolor a gorgeous background. I can't wait to do this again! 

This card was sent to a friend who is quite amazing herself. I die cut the sentiment, using three layers of the die to give dimensions. I doubt using the sequins was a good idea in the end for this card. But you know I just couldn't resist a bit more sparkle. 

Thanks so much for taking time to visit my blog. I hope you have a fabulous day!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!