Ready, Set,...Reverse!

Today I'm going to show you one way that you can get the reverse image of your stamps. I saw this technique used on a card once, and I was stumped for the longest time trying to figure out how they had done it - and the answer is quite simple! It involves heat embossing with clear embossing powder.

For this example, I am going to be using one of CTMH's new background stamps from the "Distressed Backgrounds" set. It's a cool chicken wire image, and here's what it looks like stamped in grey on white cardstock:

Now let me show you how you can get the reverse of this image. Start by stamping the image with VersaMark ink (or any other clear embossing ink you might have) onto white cardstock. Then cover with clear embossing powder:

Tap off all of the excess powder and funnel it back into the jar. Now use your heat tool to melt the powder:

Next, using a sponge dauber, sponge, or brayer, apply ink to the surface of the cardstock, going right over your embossed image:

You can put as little or as much ink on as you like - the darker you go, the better you will see your embossed image. When you have completed this step, take a paper towel and rub off the excess ink. The embossing with resist the ink, so your image will appear white on your inked background:

Pretty cool, huh? Here is the card I made with this piece:

Of course, you could also try and get this look by using white ink on colored cardstock, or just using white embossing powder on colored cardstock. However, you can only achieve the following variation with clear embossing powder. This time, instead of stamping onto white cardstock, stamp your image in VersaMark ink onto a piece of colored cardstock. NOTE: Make sure your cardstock is a color that is lighter than the ink you will be using to ink over it.

(Powder has not been heat-set yet, so that you can see the pattern better. I have used Blush cardstock.)

After heat-setting, follow same procedure as above, using an ink color that is darker than your cardstock. I chose to use Hollyhock, and this time applied it with a rubber brayer. The result - your image shows through in the color of the cardstock that you stamped it on, giving a nice tone-on-tone effect, as opposed to the straight white of the first example. Here is the final result:

Nice, right? You can, of course, use this technique with any of your stamps - it doesn't have to be a background stamp. I hope you have fun experimenting with this! I would love to see what you come up with!