Week of Wonder: Two-Color, Too Beautiful!

This week’s artwork is stunning on many levels—first, it delivers a great wow of color in hearty Cocoa, warm Sunset, and crisp Heavenly Blue. I haven’t seen these colors together much, but I think the result is dramatic and gorgeous, and the contrast is ideal for the two-color embossing technique showcased today.

Many of you are already in love with embossing (and if you don’t already own a heat tool, invest in one—I promise you’ll use it again, and again, and again!). Today, I’ll show you how to get an amazing crackle/watercolor look from embossing, which typically delivers a single-color, smooth finish. Here’s how to get the great two-tone look;

Step 1: Stamp your image or pattern in desired ink color. Here, I’ve used a flourish shape from the February Stamp of the Month, “Friendship,” (D1453) stamped in Cocoa.

Step 2: Next, heat set the image just to ensure it’s completely dry.

Step 3: Now, using a sponge dauber, apply VersaMark clear embossing ink to selected areas of the stamp image. You won’t want to cover the entire image with VersaMark ink—just here and there. You can choose random areas for a “crackle” look or edges for a gently watercolored look. Repeat this step as needed—for my card shown here, the flourish is a repeating background, so the process needs to be repeated for each stamp image.

Step 4: Here’s the fun part. Shake a contrasting color of embossing powder over the stamped images. Here, I’ve chosen Heavenly Blue—notice how the powder doesn’t completely cover the Cocoa image underneath? Shake off the excess powder into a tray.

Step 5: Just set with a craft heater, and in seconds you’ll see the dramatic effects take shape, with the flourishes emerging in a wonderful, aged patina of blues and browns crackled together. Isn’t it beautiful?

Here’s an up-close look at the finished result. You can also see a similar technique used on the right page of my layout, where I’ve kissed the edges of my Sunset tiles (near the bottom of the page) in Cocoa. Rich and regal—it’s a technique that looks like it takes all day, but you’ll be finished and fabulous in just minutes!