Question:

Backgrounds?

Reverse stamping effect with a brayer and pigment ink

Achieve a reverse stamping effect with this technique: brayer 2 or more colors of pigment ink across some glossy cardstock. Take an uninked stamp and stamp it onto the brayered surface - it will actually take the ink "away" from the cardstock. Do this until you have created a look that you like. Emboss or apply fixative to your finished product.

Using Bubble Wrap

A very easy and effective way of creating an interesting background is to get a piece of bubble wrap and press it onto your ink pad. Then just press the wrap across your card/paper stock and you have a very interesting "honeycomb" effect.

Wax Paper Resist Technique

For this technique you need a sheet of waxed paper, which you scrunch up into a ball and then smooth out again. Lay this over a piece of cardstock and place a scrap piece of paper over the top.
Iron this "sandwich" with a hot iron (no steam) making sure that you are pressing down rather than running over the paper. It only needs around 5-6 seconds pressure all over.
Separate the layers and then you can ink up a brayer or a very slightly dampened sponge with the dye ink color of your choice. Roll this gently across the cardstock and you will have a great background pattern! Set it aside until the ink has dried completely.

Quick and Easy with a Brayer and Cheesecloth!

For an earthy, worn "shabby chic" look, lay a piece of cheesecloth over your cardstock, and brayer ink over the cheesecloth. Try this with a deep blue ink for a faded denim look!

Flora's Background

Soak a piece of cardstock in water and spread on a table. Drop two or more metallic acrylic paints on it - just a few spots. The paints begin to spread. While the paper is still damp, mix gold poster paint in a spray bottle with water. Then spray this mixture onto the paper covering the whole paper. This leaves puddles on the paper. Use a heat gun to push the gold water anywhere you'd like, so that certain parts have a layer of gold whereas most of the paper is covered with a thin film of transparent gold.

Use Wallpaper!

You can use wallpaper to create background papers for your cards! Just cut a piece of textured wallpaper and brayer or sponge some dye ink over it. This can look really pretty (or very striking).

Sponging - how to use a sponge.

Sponging is very easy and quite within everyone's capabilities! Just choose your sponge and your ink, then pat your sponge onto the ink so that you get a SMALL amount of ink on the sponge. Then "pounce" the sponge onto the card making sure that you turn your wrist every now and then so that the sponge "marks" face in different directions. You can also "wipe" the sponge across the cardstock to create a different look.

Marvy Metallic Markers - background technique

Just scribble random squiggly lines on glossy card then mist with water and turn the card so the
colours run into each other. Then allow to dry. Give a great marbled
effect.

Draw randomly with your pen onto glossy card. Mist with water and tilt the card so that the colors run into each other (you can use as many colors as you want, but 2 is usually a good number to start with). Allow to dry flat once you have achieved a look that you like. This can make great "marbelized" backgrounds!

Marvy Metallic Markers - use on black cardstock!

Marvy Metallic Markers show up beautifully on glossy black cardstock! Just splotch some colors across the gloss black and tilt till you're happy with the result. You can also give them a spritz of water and they will run into each other even more.

Marvy Metallic Markers - rolling a background

Splotch some random patterns on some gloss cardstock with your Marvy Metallic Markers, and then roll your brayer across the card. The colors will blend together and create a great metallic background. You can also do this on matt cardstock, but you have to work quite quickly before the inks dry into the card.