I have dozens and dozens of patterned papers. And yet, sometimes I can’t find just the right one. Tell me I’m not the only one, right? I’m also an avid card maker and stamper and belonged to a stamp club for years. The techniques and ideas I collected from those Sunday afternoon craft sessions are some of my go-tos. They’re pretty common among card makers, but why shouldn’t we use them for scrapbooking too? One of my favorites? Embossing.

There are all sorts of embossing, but I think the emboss resist technique has a little extra WOW factor, so I decided to use it for this photo of my daughter at The Louvre. To celebrate her high school graduation, her and I spent a week in Paris taking in the sights and eating amazing food. After a long day at the museum, we took a break in the sculpture garden. I snuck away to take a couple of photos of her sitting on a bench in the middle of all these gigantic sculptures. I love that it reflects that time of her life- one small girl in the midst of a big world.

The hardest thing about the layout was deciding which colors of ink to use with the emboss resist technique. I have a Pinterest board of color combos and I looked through it, trying to find something that fit the mood and tone of the picture. After a little experimenting, I settled on this combination of moss green, marina, and light navy. You want to be sure to pick colors that blend well together and don’t create a muddy brown when mixed.

I’ve had this large scripted background stamp from Stampin’ Up for years and have used for several of my fall cards, but thought it was just right for this photo. It has a very classic, elegant style that I love. I stamped the script in Versa Mark several times, overlapping and tilting slightly to keep it from looking too “blocky”. VersaMark ink doesn’t have color and instead leaves a faint watermark. It’s perfect for using with embossing powder.

There are a million different colors of embossing powder (that’s only a slight exaggeration). Because I wanted the white of the paper to show through my colored inks, I chose clear embossing powder. I sprinkled it on right after stamping and tapped off the excess. To keep the paper from warping, I let the heat gun warm up for a few minutes before melting the powder. You know it’s done when it get shiny and smooth.

I used cheap make-up sponges I bought at the grocery store to apply the ink. I started with the lightest color and just rubbed it over a few spots, leaving plenty of room for the other two colors. Next was the middle color and then finally the dark color, overlapping and blending as I went. Once I was happy with overall look of the embossed area, I buffed it lightly with a paper towel to reveal the raised white script underneath.

For the title, I cut the word “art” out in black on my Silhouette Cameo. I stamped the other words in a variety of alphabet stamps from Lawn Fawn. I grounded the title on the edge of my photo to keep it from “floating” on the page. I usually type out my journaling and add the strips directly to my layout, but I decided to keep it simple by using my own handwriting.

I’m a huge fan of layering papers or making embellishment clusters, but I really wanted the emboss resist to shine, so I used a silver mist and added just a few splatters. It’s something I rarely do, because I tend to be too heavy handed with it, but I’ve seen Jen Schow do it on many of her layouts and I love the added detail. I didn’t spray it directly on the layout. Instead, I unscrewed the sprayer and tapped it against my other hand.

There are so many ways this can be used- with ink, water colors, or even chalk. And the color combinations are endless. So what so you think of the embossing resist technique?

Related Posts: Using Cut Files to Make Custom Backgrounds, A Return to the 12×12 Layout, Brush Lettering in Project Life