Altering Cardstock to Match Designer Papers

I can't get enough of designer papers. However, sometimes cardstock feels naked or stark against it. Lately, I've been trying different ways to alter plain cardstock to make it more textured looking. This card uses two of those ways: 1st--stamping a subtle pattern on it before doing your main image and 2nd--using a wheel (or texture stamp) to add white stippled texture.

This Angel Island paper does all the work in this card (Pheobe Basic Grey phe 757.) It has colours to match Stampin Up paper, but it also has a huge depth of colours. The flowers in the new sab set Friendship Blooms seem to match it perfectly image-wise. To make them match even more, I stamped them on naturals card stock that I had altered first. How?

1) Brayer Going Gray ink onto the Paisley stamp
2) Stamp off once (top of picture below)
3) Without reinking stamp again (bottom of picture below)
4) Let dry a little & you have a subtly altered cardstock to emboss the flowers onto.
It matches the flowers that are already on the Basic Grey paper because they have a mottled light gray pattern through them:

Stamping tip: Don't have craft ink in the colour you want to emboss? You can emboss any colour by adding a layer of versamark before you add colour.

1) Put versamark on the stamp first,
2) Then before stamping, apply the classic ink colour to the stamp as well.
3) Stamp it on your paper
4) Then cover the stamped image with with embossing powder quickly.

I did the flowers that way here with Basic Gray ink (since there is, alas, no Basic Gray craft pad.)


The pink & green flower centers are made using cardstock that has been mottled with the Speckled wheel. You can also use any texture stamp. How?

1) Put the Speckled wheel into your Stampin' Around Handle
2) Ink it up with White Craft Ink (unless you have a cartridge with white) Or use a textured stamp.
3) Just roll your wheel (or stamp the texture stamp) repeatedly on a square of paper. I like to go over the paper several times.
4) Punch out the flowers. (If you'd like to see the speckling just click on the picture above and look at the pink centers; they're punched with the retired SU flower punch.)

It looks neat on full square of paper as well, or in versamark and other ink tones--you could stamp a full image over it or just use it like d.p.

Thanks for reading; have a great day!
Mel

P.S. Want other ways to alter your cardstock? You can also tint it with markers, paint (or sponge!) on Pearlex-tinted Mod Podge or Lumiere, sponge inks on, make homemade sprays of reinker wash to apply colour or Pearlex shimmer spray (with old Stamp'n'Mist bottles,) Layer several background/image stamps, brayer on colours, or use a direct to paper application (rub your stamp pad on it.) I'd LOVE to hear your tricks. :0)