Softening Bold Black and White Patterned Paper with Ink Blending

When I saw the current  Festive Friday Challenge celebrating World Bee Day, I immediately thought of this gorgeous black and white bee-themed patterned paper that has been sitting in my collection for years.

I’ve always loved the paper, which is probably why I could never part with it, but I also found it surprisingly difficult to use. The pattern is quite large for cardmaking, and the stark black and white contrast feels very bold, even with the beautiful gold foil floral details throughout.

After experimenting with ink blending last week, I was inspired to see if I could soften the look of this paper and transform it into something that felt a little more like my style.

Using Ink Blending to Soften High Contrast Patterned Paper

I reached for my blending brushes and started layering yellow and orange ink over the patterned paper. The original paper already had the black base and beautiful gold foil accents, but the warm ink blending completely changed the feel of it. I loved how much softer the background became once the colour was added.

To add a little extra detail, I stamped some subtle hexagon elements using the retired Touches of Texture stamp set — an old favourite from my collection. The hexagon pattern worked perfectly with the bee theme without overpowering the design.

Card Sketch Inspiration from Atlantic Hearts Challenge

Once the background was finished, I needed to figure out how to actually use it on a card. I was inspired by the current sketch challenge over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, and used their layout as the basis for pulling the design together.

Because the patterned paper was still fairly bold and busy, I decided to keep the focal area smaller and simpler. For the centre panel, I stamped and coloured a simple floral image from Touches of Texture using similar yellows and soft neutrals to tie everything together.

When I finished the card, it still felt like it needed a little something extra, so I added some soft blue spotted stamping behind the flowers. I also layered in a piece of blue ombré patterned paper from my desk stash to help frame the focal panel and add a little contrast against all the warm tones.

Of course, I couldn’t resist adding the tiny bee from the Touches of Texture stamp set. I popped it up on dimensionals for a little extra detail and fun.

This project was such a good reminder that sometimes all a piece of patterned paper needs is a little colour and experimentation to completely change the feel of it.