Creating Backgrounds - PART 1

The market is flooded with patterned papers and I basically love them all BUT...you can also create your own background papers. There are so many kinds of coloring mediums, mix those with some stamps and you can come up with a look that is custom. I am going to take you through a few simple steps today for creating a neat look that is really very easy and it started with plain white paper.#1. Take a piece of plain, white cardstock. I used a swiss dot background stamp by Stamp Camp. It was stamped with black, ColorBox ink and then embossed with black Top Boss embossing powder. The ColorBox ink is a pigment ink meaning it is great to use for embossing because it stays wet for awhile allowing you to pour on the powder, etc. I didn't have to emboss my design but the embossing does give a great look to the dots, they are now raised and that also allows the dots to stand up against the painting process I am going to do.
#2. To color my background, I used these pearlescent paints by UsArtQuest. They are basically pearl ex powders in a form that works by just adding water. They come in this little palette as pictured. I used a water brush to paint my paper. I LOVE water brushes!!! They have a barrel that contains water and they are ready at any instant for watercoloring. The dried paints need a little more water then what is going to come out of the brush, however, so I did squirt some water directly into the paint too. I just kept adding paint with the brush until my paper was coated. When the paint was dry, I buffed it with a soft cloth so that my shiny, embossed dots would show up well.
#3. Now for a little added interest, I used this purple Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. You do have to shake the container very well before using because the metallic portion of these inks settle very quickly in the bottom of the bottle. I didn't want a lot of this ink so I just did a little squirt at two of the corners.
#4. I also wanted to show here that when the bird is stamped on white cardstock, the bird is black because of the color ink I used and the flowers are white because the paper is showing through those places. I then added color to the flowers with the same watercolor brush and pearlescent paints.

This is my finished card.
I hope you can see the shiny black, embossed dots and the pearlescent look of that paint.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (aka lbpost)

THE ROAD TO A FRIENDS HOUSE card :
Materials list:
Cardstock Dot stamp – Stamp Camp
Bird stamp – Inkadinkadoo
Pearlescent Stargazers – USArtQuest
Glimmer Mist - Fully Purple/Tattered Angels
Fancy Label – K&Co.
ColorBox stamp pad – Clearsnap
Top Boss Black embossing powder – Clearsnap
Greeting stamp – A Muse Rubber Stamps
Watercolor brush - YASUTOMO