How great do those variegated stamped images look?  This is the emerging colour technique, which I have used with the bold and beautiful Leaf Collection background stamp to create a Father's Day card...

Stamps: Leaf Collection (cling: 163610), Adventurous Sky (cling: 163439).  Ink: Peach Pie (163810), Summer Splash (163809), Basic Beige (163806), Misty Moonlight (153118), VersaMark (102283).  Card/Paper: Basic Beige (164512), Basic White (159228).  Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder (Basics Wow! Embossing Powder: 165679), Embossing Additions Tool Kit (159971).  Tools: Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine (147653), Spotlight on Nature Dies (163580), Heat Tool (129056), Blending Brushes (153611), Stampin' Brayer (162936), Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430).

Leaf Collection Stamp Set (cling: 163610) - $42.00

Here is how I created the colourful background on this Father's Day card using the emerging colour technique.  It begins with a piece of Basic White cardstock sized to fit the front of a standard greeting card.  Peach Pie, Summer Splash, and Basic Beige inks were applied in large concentrated areas with Blending Brushes, so the whole piece of cardstock was covered in rich colour.  Here's a tip for this step: you want to leave this to fully dry, as we will be adding embossing powder and you don't want the powder to cling to this damp ink.

Once the background colour is dry, rub the entire cardstock with the Embossing Buddy (to ensure the embossing powder only goes where we want it), stamp the Leaf Collection background stamp in VersaMark ink, add Clear Embossing Powder, and heat set the image.  This step seals the beautiful inked colours behind the embossed image.

Then for the fun part... use the Stampin Brayer to apply a "quick and dirty" layer of Misty Moonlight ink.  This will cover most of the background colour (the bits between the stamped leaves) but, because the Stampin' Brayer is hard and flat, the ink will not adequately get into the detailed parts of the leaves.  That's where a Blending Brush is handy.  Use the Blending Brush with Misty Moonlight ink to add ink in and around the embossing to bring out crisp edges and leaf details.  The final step is to use a soft paper towel to buff the leaves and remove any excess ink from the embossed image.

I used Basic Beige cardstock with a simple z-fold design for the base of my Father's Day card - a standard greeting card with the left 3 cm (1-1/4") folded back.  The finished panel using the emerging colour technique was cut at 7 cm (2-3/4") and this portion was added to the card front (tucked behind the folded back collar).  The smaller strip was added inside the card on the right edge, so it is viewed when the card is closed.  This creates a lovely contrast with the Basic Beige cardstock that runs down the card front.

The "Happiest Father's Day" words are from the Adventurous Sky stamp set and die-cut with one of the fun circles from the Spotlight on Nature Dies.  I have stamped the Leaf Collection background stamp in Basic Beige ink onto Basic White cardstock and cut out some of the lovely branches to tuck behind the words on the card front.  I have added more of those leaves inside the card too...

How fun is the emerging colour technique?  Just think of all the colour combinations you could use to create unique backgrounds for any occasion!

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