A Fresh Take on Designer Series Paper
Today’s cards are all about taking something you already love and giving it a completely fresh personality with just a couple of simple steps—embossing and a little light sanding.
For all three of today’s cards, I used the Brushed With Beauty Designer Series Paper. This pack works well because many of the patterns have that softly brushed, tone-on-tone look with subtle variations in color. That means when you emboss and sand, the texture really has a chance to shine without competing with a busy pattern. Any paper you love with work, though, if it’s not too busy.
For my first card, I chose a Petal Pink piece and ran it through the Floral Spray 3D Embossing Folder. Right out of the machine, you can already see hints of the white core peeking through—and that’s exactly what you want. After placing the embossed piece on scrap paper, I used a simple nail buffer to lightly sand the surface. You don’t need much pressure at all. As you gently sand, the raised areas begin to reveal that lighter core, and the texture just comes to life in the prettiest way.
I paired that panel with an Early Espresso card base and created a layered circle focal point using Calypso Coral and Early Espresso. The sentiment, “Wishing You a Lovely Day,” is stamped on Very Vanilla and popped up with dimensionals in the upper right corner. A Linen Thread bow, Pearls of Beauty, and a few Metallic Gems add just enough detail while still letting that embossed background be the star of the show.
Of course, once I saw how beautiful that turned out, I had to try it with a couple more embossing folders. The second card uses a Lost Lagoon piece of DSP with the Paradise Garden Hybrid Embossing Folder. Before sanding, the embossing is very subtle—almost easy to miss—but once you start sanding, everything changes. The detail becomes so much more visible and adds incredible depth to the paper. I built out the card front with additional pieces of the same DSP, added a “Just Because” sentiment stamped in Pretty Peacock, and included a die cut image from the Paradise Garden bundle. A few Pearls of Beauty in Crumb Cake and Calypso Coral tie everything together beautifully.
For the third card, I went with a Mossy Meadow pattern and the Fern & Flora 3D Embossing Folder. This one has a more earthy, layered feel, especially paired with a Very Vanilla card base and additional DSP accents. I added small squares from the Stylish Shapes dies, along with a “Thankful for You” sentiment stamped in Secret Sea. The butterflies stamped on Darling Duckling and Soft Sea Foam bring a soft touch of movement, and a few Muted Palette Dots and In Color Flat Pearls finish everything off.
What I love most about this technique is how much variety you can get just by changing the embossing folder. Even using papers from the same pack, each folder creates a completely different look and feel. It’s such an easy way to stretch your supplies and create something that feels new and unique every time.
I’m sharing the full process in my video below so you can see exactly how this transformation happens from start to finish. Watching the embossing and sanding in real time really brings the technique to life, especially when you see how that white core begins to peek through and highlight all the beautiful texture.
I’ve also created a free downloadable PDF tutorial for the card featured in the video that includes all the measurements and step-by-step instructions so you can recreate it with ease.
I’m also excited to be entering these cards into several fun challenges: Inkspirational#365, As You See It #370 (I make more thank-you cards than anything), Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge, Love Those Pretty Papers, and Sketch-N-Scrap #296. It’s always inspiring to see how different prompts and sketches can spark new ideas, and this technique fit right in.
If you’ve never tried embossing and sanding your Designer Series Paper, this might be the perfect time to give it a go. It’s simple, a little bit unexpected, and just might have you looking at your paper stash in a whole new way. 💛
Supplies Used – and Floral Spray 3D Embossing Folder (No. 167946):