Partial Embossing Variations

Continuing my experiments with partial embossing (see posts here & here), for this red one I tried it with just a strip left un-embossed.  I used to pieces of chip board top & bottom from this strip as diffuesers to keep the strip from being embossed.  The one thing I noticed was that the demarcation lines between the two were not well defined - so I used border Dazzles to help with that.  Once again I used the Damask embossing folder (Darice) - this time with red ink.  The stamped sentiment was from a HOTP set called Christmas Labels and Trims. 

Then I went back to my home-made circle diffuser and tried a different scene & color set:

Here I used a stamp from Divinity Designs (Our Savior's Birth) for the focal.  This time I used a yellow-tan ink (Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide) in the center of the focal & then the blues I've been using (Salty Ocean distress ink, darker blues from my stash).  When it came time to add color to the embossed area, I did something similar.  Naturally, the yellow & blue blended a bit to form some green tones.

I stamped & heat embossed the sentiment in black on tan paper using a stamp from the Great Joy stamp/die set (Divinity Designs). Using a die from Antique Tags One (JustRite), I die cut the sentiment & matted it on black (trace around die for the shape).

Here's the inside:

It's hard to see many of the features here, but the inside insert started with the same tan paper used for the tag.  I started adding my colors around the edges & discovered that I could not get it dark enough to actually look blue - it was very green.  Things improved when I went to my distress oxide colors & tried them before using the darker blues on top of that.  I then sprayed the whole with shimmer spritz. The wise men were created using stamps and dies from the Great Joy set (Divinity Designs).  You really can't see it in the picture, but the crowns, gifts, and borders of the garments are all colored with gold paint (Golden Glow Opal Polish by Cosmic Shimmer - thinned with water).  The stamped sentiment is from the Our Savior's Birth set (Divinity Designs).