This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!
Hi friends! I am back with some more inspiration using some fabulous floral embossing folders from Simon Says Stamp (which just so happen to be on sale and in stock!), this time using a tropical, neon color scheme. I tend to shy away from neon as a general rule, which I have previously theorized is an overcorrection from the wardrobe of my youth in the early 1990’s, but I was inspired by a Hawaiian shirt that I saw in a sale ad this week and thought how fun it would be to apply the same color palette with the embossing folder + ink swiping craze that has taken over the crafting world! I pulled out my favorite “neon” inks from Simon Says Stamp: Rainbow Splash Canary, Lime, and Princess ink, as well as the vivid turquoise of the Pawsitively Saturated Ink Ocean. Let’s get started with the details!
In case you somehow are unfamiliar with the ink swiped embossing folder craze, here’s a brief rundown: emboss your cardstock with your embossing folder as normal, then flip the cardstock over so that the image is pressed down rather than raised up (debossed rather than embossed). Then, using blending brushes, add varying colors to the individual images to add interest to the debossed areas. The trend began by swiping a black pigment ink pad over the raised solid areas, but I found that the intense colors and squishy foam pad from the Pawsitively Saturated Ink line work splendidly! The trick is to select a swiping color that is dark enough to cover your ink blending in case some blending spilled over the edges of the images.
For my first project, I used the sadly-neglected Alstromeria Bunch embossing folder with coordinating die. I didn’t use the coordinating die for this project, but the details that you can achieve with the die and embossing folder combination is just spectacular! I used small blending brushes to blend Rainbow Splash Canary, Lime, and Princess ink over these tropical lily flowers. Once I had blended the colors on the flowers, I swiped the Pawsitively Saturated Ink Ocean over the raised areas.
Full disclosure: I did not have quite enough pressure on my embossing folder in my die cut machine, so the 3D embossed image did not end up as crisp as I would have liked. I am in the process of replacing my machine, which will hopefully rectify that issue. But, because the impression was not as deep, it caused my ink swiping to get in spots that I didn’t want it to, so rather than throw the entire panel away, I chose to add some extra steps to make it look a little more “artistic”… at least that’s what I’m calling it. I trimmed the panel down, added some Ocean ink blending around the edges, splattered the entire panel with some iridescent blue glitter watercolors, added some glittery fuchsia and lime watercolor accents to the individual images to help cover up some of the unwanted teal ink. It’s all about making it work to your advantage!
After I had finished “fixing” my embossed background, I mounted it on a slightly larger panel of holographic Luxe Glitter Cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. The iridescence of the glitter cardstock coordinated beautifully with the iridescent glitter watercolor splatters! I mounted that on a full-size A2 panel of Rainbow Splash Princess cardstock, creating a pretty, coordinating pink frame around the edges of my colorful debossed background. To help further camouflage some of my background, I die cut the detailed layer of the large Fancy Happy Birthday die from some holographic silver mirror cardstock and added it to a vellum die cut shadow layer. I popped up the die cut sentiment with foam squares, then added a white-on-pink embossed greeting from Birthday Basics.
For my second card, I used the same neon-ish color palette, this time pairing it with the beautiful Branching Flowers embossing folder, which I think looks very similar to a hibiscus or even a plumeria! I used the same technique described above, using small blending brushes to blend Rainbow Splash Canary, Lime, and Princess ink over these tropical lily flowers. Once I had blended the colors on the flowers, I swiped the Pawsitively Saturated Ink Ocean over the raised areas. This debossed panel had better definition than the first, so the deep teal ink did not get into the blended debossed areas nearly as much. I did add some more ink blending around the edges and some metallic glitter watercolor splatters and accents as I did with the first project, just because I think they’re so pretty! I added a very thin strip of the holographic silver mirror cardstock to the bottom of the panel, then added a thicker strip of Rainbow Splash Princess cardstock to the bottom so that it was peeking out from behind the debossed panel.
For the greeting, I die cut the It’s Your Birthday die from some more holographic silver mirror cardstock and the Let’s Party die from some more Rainbow Splash Princess cardstock. I popped both die cuts up on the card front with thin strips of foam adhesive, then added a few sparkling yellow gems for added textural interest and shine!
Well, that’s all for my projects today. I am having such fun playing with embossing folders lately; embossing folders and stencils definitely are some of the unsung heroes of the craft room, packing so much punch with so little effort and bonus: they’re super cost effective! Just a quick reminder that the Simon Says Stamp brand Embossing Folders are on sale until Monday, May 27 at 11:59 Eastern. Add code EFLDR at checkout to take 25% off of your embossing folder purchase! Simply click HERE to see all of the embossing folders. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!
