Distressing, clear embossing powder and acrylic paint

I found this new technique in the latest issue of the Do Crafts magazine and I have been meaning to try it for a few weeks. Being as it makes use of my favourite product - clear embossing powder, I couldn't ignore it for long.

Here is a version of the card that was shown in the magazine so you get an idea of what I am talking about:

The technique involves stamping with Versamark clear ink onto coloured card. Make sure this is the colour that you want to show through the paint. Then emboss the image with clear embossing powder.

Then, paint over the whole image with your chosen acrylic paint and leave to dry. When it's completely dry, use a damp cloth (I actually used a face wipe but I think this might have been a bit too wet) to wipe over the stamped image to lift the paint off the embossing to reveal the colour of the underneath card. Then leave it to dry. You might also need to flatten the paper as well as it's prone to curling after heating and painting. Putting it under a heavy book or box will do the trick.

Here is a close up of the card:

On the flowers, once they had dried, I added a bit of turquoise ink to make it slightly darker. I painted on the gold elements in the background and on the flowers centres with sunshine sparkle perfect pearls powder. I then added some jewels.

I then tried a variation on a theme:

For the main image I used red card and the metallic bronze paint. For the background, I used black card and then covered it which Tim Holtz picket fence distress stain as I didn't have any white paint. This didn't work quite as well as the paint, but it did still work. I had to apply quite a bit to get the white you can see in the picture and I rubbed it away before it had dried. Once the background had dried I inked the edges with victorian velvet distress ink and left to dry.

The ribbon was secured to the back of the card and then twisted and fastened on the other side. Two lengths of the same ribbon were tied into a bow and secured to the front using glue dots. Some grey pearls where added to the corners of the main image:

I love this new technique and although the cards aren't perfect, there is plenty of room for experimenting and perfecting the technique. It is a little bit messy and time consuming as you have to wait for each piece to dry, but the effect it creates is certainly worth the wait.