Colourwash Backgrounds & Embossing

Tonight's atc class is on Colourwash Backgrounds. The Ranger Colourwash Sprays have a fantastic range of beautiful colours, same range as the alcohol inks. This one below has lettuce and cranberry with a bit of butterscotch sprayed over the top. I then used my new Inkadinkadoo Bat Flourish stamp and embossed it with white embossing powder. I think embossing powders are highly under-rated! They are an old stampers favourite, I don't mean "old" stampers....but an old technique. There are many different ways of incorporating stamping into scrapbooking, altered books and all types of mixed media. It works on fabric too!

"Flight"...

Another neat trick with embossing powders is to mix your own colours! I do this for the girls in my atc classes and I have written on the jars the amounts to use of the various colours to get the same effect. This next atc is one that has what I call "Copper Dreams"....4 parts copper embossing powder to 1 part copper glitter. Very subtle copper shimmer and such a beautiful colour, unfortunately once again, the scan doesn't do it justice! Try it out.....you never know, you might just get adventurous and do some yourself. There is another couple of colours I use - Antiquities Cool and Antiquities Warm as well as Antique Pewter. When I go to work today I'll write down the quantities to make them and then post here as an Edit.

Below are some of my embossing powder "recipes"...

Antique Pewter is 1-1/2 parts black and 2-1/2 parts silver

Antiquities Cool is 2 parts silver to 1 part copper

Antiquities Warm is 2 parts silver, 2 parts gold and 1 part copper

Patina Gold is 2 parts black, 1 part gold

Granite is 5 parts black, 1 part white and 1 part silver

Antique Brown is 1 part black and 1 part copper

Copper Dreams is 4 parts copper and 1 part copper glitter

I use a tiny little measuring spoon for measuring the quantity, that way I still have enough of the original colours left over to use them as they are.

The copper/glitter colour embossing is the filigree stamp across the bottom and also the line above each set of words, wish you could see how good this looks irl! The image is done with transparency/rubbing alcohol transfer onto scrapbook paper, then a fine crackle stamp was stamped over the whole piece, some etal metal paper in the top corners finish it off.

"If you wait"...