Hi everyone! In today’s post/video I will be playing around with embossed paper and Distress ink pads and sprays.
I used white Distress Heavyweight Cardstock from Ranger that had been embossed in an embossing folder, and I ran a Distress Oxide ink pad in Uncharted Mariner over the top of the embossing just to get some color going on the background. Then I came in with some Distress Oxides sprays in Mermaid Lagoon and one of my favorites, Frayed Burlap, and you’ll notice that I directed it to different places following the design on the embossing. So having the image already embossed worked better in this case than embossing on cardstock that had been sprayed first. As usual, I followed up with a regular spray stain, this time in Salvaged Patina in order to oxidize the Distress Oxides that are underneath.
After it dried, I demonstrated the second idea behind this post/video- often when you spray the wet media over embossed paper, the embossing kind of dies down and flattens out a little bit. So once I’ve used the design to kind of help me direct the colors where I want them to go, and I let them dry, I then put the cardstock back into the embossing folder. I usually line it up with the back side. Sometimes you can visualize it, but a lot of times if you move the paper around on the embossing folder, it will lock into place. Shift it back and forth until it literally won’t move anymore. At that point you know you’ve got it in the right place, and then you can carefully close the embossing folder and run it through again.
After that second embossing, you can see the design much better because the image has popped up/down/through again. At this point you could leave it this way, but ofter I will bring something over the top of it again, just to punch up the highlights. Sometimes I use Sizzix Luster wax or sometimes I’ll use white paint, especially with this design.
In this video I tried Amsterdam paint- it’s a thicker, whiter paint. If you’ve got a gesso, you could try that too. Just lightly brush to accent the tops and edges of things. Take your time here because you do want some of those original colors to still show.
So the tip for today was using an embossed image from an embossing folder to guide you as you’re putting colors down with the spray stains. And after it has dried down you can add back some of the lost definition by running it through the embossing folder again.
I showed some other examples in the video and one which was interesting was a sample where I started out with black embossed cardstock. I followed the same steps and the Distress Oxides, because they have pigment in them, did color the black and it looked really nice. I also showed different samples with varying degrees of white highlights and then one with some added gold, and one with gold instead of white.
Hope you give this idea a try! Enjoy!
