There's something so satisfying about turning older supplies and leftover scraps into fresh new projects. These cards feature patterned papers that have been sitting in my stash for 14 years 😳
For this pair of cards, I pulled out some offcuts of Everyday Enchantment patterned paper from my stash that featured a playful blue background with red spots. The scraps weren't large enough to cover a full card front, so I pieced them together onto cardstock before creating my own custom background.
To add another layer of interest, I stamped solid hot air balloon images from the Above the Clouds stamp set across the panel and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.
Once the embossing was complete, I blended ink over the entire background, gradually building colour from rich reds at the bottom through pinks and purples before finishing with blue near the top. The finished result reminded me of a colourful sunset sky.
After blending, I used the ironing technique to remove the clear embossing. For this experiment, I placed a piece of Basic White cardstock over the embossed panel before ironing. The transferred embossing created the foundation for a second handmade background with a beautifully distressed appearance.
Although the transferred panel looked quite simple at first, it quickly came to life after I added a little extra stamping and soft ink blending. The imperfect transferred images created a wonderfully textured background that felt completely different from the original while still coordinating perfectly.
This experiment has been playing on my mind since I first experimented with Emboss Resist for my Autumn-inspired project back in May. At the time, I noticed that the clear embossing transferred onto the scrap paper I used to protect the project from the iron. I wondered: what would happen if I transferred that pattern onto a piece of cardstock instead?
That simple question led to a fun two-for-one technique, creating two completely different backgrounds from one creative process.
It reminded me that some of the best creative discoveries happen simply by asking, "What if I tried this?"
Watch the Video Tutorial
This project was inspired by my original Emboss Resist experiment, where I discovered the unexpected pattern left behind when removing the clear embossing. You can watch that process here while you wait for the next two-for-one transformation.
The new video tutorial featuring these sunset hot air balloon backgrounds will be available on my YouTube channel later this week.
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