I love finding new ways to stretch the supplies I already own, and this project was the perfect excuse to experiment with a technique that gave me an unexpected bonus — a second handmade background!
I started by digging through my paper scraps and found several narrow strips of the Merry Little Christmas green leaf patterned paper on a white background. Knowing I wanted to try this emboss resist technique one more time, I pulled out an older dinosaur stamp set, No Bones About It, featuring solid image stamps, and created my own custom patterned paper.
I first patched all the strips together on a piece of scrap printer paper to create a single panel ready for stamping. I then filled in the remaining spaces with coordinating elements, including footprints, spots and small accent stamps. These extra details helped create a fuller, more interesting pattern.
Next came the fun part! I stamped and heat embossed the dinosaur images with clear embossing powder before blending several shades of green ink over the entire panel. Once the ink blending was complete, I removed the embossing using the ironing technique, revealing the original stamped pattern beneath.
This time, I placed a piece of Basic White cardstock over the embossed panel before ironing. As the embossing melted away, it transferred onto the clean cardstock, creating the beginnings of a second distressed background.
After adding a little more stamping and soft ink blending, that transferred panel became a completely different piece of handmade patterned paper.
I finished both cards using the same Just Add Ink sketch challenge. This sketch was perfect for these projects. Because I had used scrap strip offcuts of patterned paper to build the background, embracing those cuts helped disguise where the ink caught along the edges of the strips and made the imperfections look intentional.
I also love that this particular layout allowed each background to shine while keeping the overall designs clean and simple.
Both finished cards have their own personality. The original panel has deep jungle vibes, while the transferred background has a wonderfully distressed, imperfect look that gives it plenty of character.
Sometimes the most interesting techniques come from experimenting with what would normally be thrown away.
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 dinosaur backgrounds will be available on my YouTube channel later this week.
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