Keep calm and… emboss

Challenge #12 at Craft Hoarders Anonymous is about embossing, embossing the way you like it – with powder, with folder or with UTEE – well as you know I like it all. So here is my spread:

So “Keep Calm, smile and create beautiful things!”. Are you interested how did I created this piece, than feel free to stay and read on. First I used France Papillon’s French journal page stamp for my background, I stamped it with distress embossing ink and embossed it with pumice stone embossing powder.

The reason I like this technique is that embossing on the page before beginning layering colors, means no matter ink, spray ink or paint, the embossed stamp stays resistant, so it comes through all applied layers. My first colors were bonjour butter and cafe au lait from Lindy’s stamp gang.

I was letting it dry and in the meanwhile I was digging into my drawers to find some paper stash to use. I found that left over circles stamped and it tempted me to emboss it with more circle pattern (Sizzix retro circle folder). Can’t stop with circles if I begin with them once.

Next I arrange my paper collage on my spread, each one of them is from a different left over. Doesn’t it happen to you when you craft and you cut the right piece, there is that small left over, that you don’t have the heart to get rid of ? I am sure it does. So here is my collage:

It seemed to harsh like that, so I blended the pieces in with gesso, added some more tints like pop rock purple and raspberry lemonade (also Lindy’s stamp gang), finally I applied some shadows with charcoal. (So let’s count: 1. two color layer 2. gesso 3. another two color layer 4. charcoal and tadaah the embossed journal background is still there.)

I made some shadow stamping with distress ink and with the splattered mug and design cube stamps. I colorized a tissue paper and stamped the text on it with distress embossing ink and embossed it with black UTEE. Finally I added some cambric and an self altered paper clip. I colored the edges with pan pastel to give it a darker shade.

So three different embossing techniques all in one spread, because that’s the way I like it. Hope you enjoyed it as well.