Emboss Resist - A Second Look

I know that I have done a blog post before on the technique of Emboss Resist, but after getting my hands on the April Stamp of the Month, "Life in Pictures", I just couldn't "resist" doing it again! (See what I did there?) This incredibly fun stamp set lends itself to ir-resist-ible focal images, as well as diverse and retro-feel backgrounds.

I urge you to pick this one up! Here's what I did with it - just the first of many!

Emboss Resist:
Step 1 - Gather your materials.

You will need your stamp, a clear embossing ink (like VersaMark), clear embossing powder, your card, scrap paper to catch your excess powder on, as well as a heat tool and, later, sponge daubers, ink, and a paper towel or tissue.

Step 2 - Ink your stamp.

Step 3 - Stamp image onto front of card. I stamped the image multiple times down the left side.

Step 4 - Sprinkle/pour embossing powder over the stamped image(s). Make sure all stamped areas have been covered. (Tap excess powder off onto the scrap paper when all of the image has been covered, and pour powder back into original container.)

Step 5 - Emboss. Hold heat tool above image and slowly move back & forth until you see the powder start to melt and turn clear. Move the heat tool around the entire image, small areas at a time, until the entire image has melted and turned clear.

Step 6 & 7 - Apply Ink. Now comes the fun part. Now we are going to make the image "pop" from the page by adding color with ink. First, ink up a sponge dauber with your choice of ink. I chose "Slate" for my first color. You don't have to use more than one color, but for this example, I chose to use two.

Next, using a circular motion, apply the ink to the cardstock. As you do, the embossed image "magically" appears - and resists the ink that you are applying!

Repeat Steps 6 and 7 for any other colors you may be using. (My second color is Sapphire.)

Step 8 - Wipe off excess ink. You can really brighten up your image by wiping it with a paper towel or tissue after you have finished inking.

Step 9 - Complete your card!

I absolutely LOVE this stamp set - it brings me back "to the good ol' days"! I can't wait to use it some more...in fact, I think I will do that right now. Thank you for reading & have and ir-resist-ible evening!

****Purchase your "Life in Pictures" stamp set during the month of APRIL ONLY for $17.95 or ONLY $5.00 with a $50 purchase. Shop on my website at http://funforyou.ctmh.com.****

Fun Techniques - Emboss Resist

OK, this isn't the first time I have posted about the emboss resist technique, BUT this time there's a little twist. After reading the "Stamp It! Techniques" column in the September/October 2013 issue of Paper Crafts Magazine, I knew I was going to have to test it out. The twist here is that you stamp a pattern or background onto your base project first, then proceed with the emboss resist. Let me show you...

First, stamp a background image onto your project base. In my case, it's a card front:

Next, choose the image you will use for the resist. I chose the cupcake image from this month's Stamp of the Month, "A Chocolate Affair". Using VersaMark ink, random stamp this image over your background:

Now, cover the images with clear embossing powder and heat emboss:

Next comes the fun part! Using one or more different colors of ink and a large sponge dauber, swirl ink onto the base using a circular motion.(NOTE: For a more pronounced result with your embossed images, make sure the inks you use are darker that the color that you stamped your background in.)

After applying all of your colors, use a paper towel to wipe off any excess ink:

Isn't that so cool?! Here is the finished card:

I made the note above because I think my result would have been better if you couldn't see as much of the original orange background through the green and blue inks.

So, I decided to try another card, only this time I used a patterned paper instead of stamping a background. I used a nice, small pattern from the "Frosted" paper pack, and stamped on it with the image of a small piece of solid washi tape from the "Washi Wonders" set. This time, I used Twilight ink to cover the background, and I think it looks much better!

That is just so cool. It looks like I cut small pieces of the patterned paper and glued them over a blue version of the same paper. The snowflake patterned paper on the opposite side is also from the "Frosted" paper pack, and the snowman and sentiment are from the "Flakey Friends" stamp set. This was snow much...I mean SO much fun! I would LOVE to see what cool results you get with this technique!