Elegant Embossing

I recently purchased some Coredinations paper at Joann's when they had a sale price of 6 sheets for 96 cents. This paper is made with a "core" of one color with another color on the surface. The paper comes in several varieties with different color combinations. It usually retails for 50 to 60 cents a sheet so this was a great price. Here is a LINK to the Coredinations website if you'd like more information about this paper.


I used the type called "Black Magic" for this card - the surface is black with another color below - in this case red.



I embossed a piece of the cardstock using my new "Victoria" Cuttlebug folder. Then I sanded the paper to remove the black layer and reveal the red on the embossed areas. I found the sanding took a while and I did have a lot of dust on my table when I was done. I ran the paper through the Cuttlebug a couple of times to enhance the embossing after sanding it for a while. I still didn't get all of the black off the raised areas but I think the effect is pretty.



I decide to use my sample piece to make a card. I used a dark green cardstock for the card base. I added a couple of pieces of white satin ribbon - taping them to the back of the embossed layer.



I tied a couple of short pieces of ribbon to the horizontal ribbons on the front of the card to imitate the look of actually tying the knots. It is much easier to get a nice effect by doing it this way (Robyn, The Pink Stamper, calls this the "cheater method").



To keep the ribbons in position, I placed a small glue dot under each knot.



When I add an embossed piece to a card, I always put the adhesive on the card itself and then add the embossed layer - it is too easy to "erase" or flatten the embossing with your tape gun if you apply the adhesive directly to the embossed layer.



I had a couple of embossed angels left over from my June ATC swap (above is a photo of that ATC) so I decided to use one for this card. With the dark green cardstock and red layer it was starting to have a "holiday" look. The angel is from the Joys of the Season cartridge.



The angel was embossed with the "Textile Texture" Cuttlebug folder. I used foam squares to raise the angel and make her "fly" on the card front.



Here is the finished card - very simple, but still interesting with all of the colors and textures. It is always fun to try new products and techniques - I think next time I will use a coarser grade of sandpaper and see if that makes the color removal quicker and easier.

For those of you who have been asking, Jen and I will be teaching a couple of Design Studio classes on Thursday and Friday this week- details are available on the Let me Show you How to Do that blog.