Still Stuck with Paper I'm not to Crazy About

I find myself obsessing over that Floral Shoppe paper from Hobby Lobby.  I'm going to use every last sheet of it, if it's the last thing I do. 

Here are a few ideas:

If your “ugly” decorative paper is too dark, you can stamp on this paper using a bold stamp with light pigment ink or a white ink pad.  These inks will sit on top of your paper.  If you attempt to use dye ink, the image will disappear on the paper because it will absorb into the paper.
If your “ugly” decorative paper is too light, stamp a darker bolder image on it.

Either of these methods will change the character of the paper.

Take a foam brush that has been dipped in watered-down acrylic paint, and ring out as much of the liquid as possible.  Now rub the brush in one direction across the decorative paper.  Keep doing this until you obtain the desired degree of “white washed”.  I really like this technique for very bright paper.  It tones down the brightness.

Instead of using a stamp, use a sponge.  This will give you a faded look if you use white or light ink or a distressed look if you use dark ink.  

Actually I used a few sheets as wrapping paper to wrap a few presents for a cardmaking event and the gifts looked retro cute.  

Flower Shoppe paper used as cute retro wrapping paper

Bottle Cap Hints and Liner Removal Tutorial for Embellishments

Disguising paper using a brayer

I know you have a brayer collecting dust in a corner of your craft room.  I just dusted mine off a few days ago to see what I can do to refresh less than loveable scrapbook paper.
Here are a few ideas:

1) Kissing:  No don't go smooching your brayer.  Brayer, with ink, over a large background stamp that has quite a lot of detail.  Next, roll the brayer onto a solid image stamp.  You have now transferred the image of the detailed stamp onto the surface of the solid stamp.  Take this sold stamp and press it onto your cardstock or decorative paper.
Actually, as an aside, you can put lip stick on your lips, kiss the paper and then sprinkle embossing powder over the kiss print.  Heat emboss.  You now have an embossed imprint of your kiss.  This is great for a sweetie Valentines card.  It works.  Honest!
2) Ghosting:  Stamp an image on your cardstock several times in clear embossing ink.  Do NOT emboss.  Next, brayer over your invisible images with a dye ink stamp pad.  Your images will magically appear on a velvety colourful background.
3) Drywall Tape Printing:  Wrap your brayer with drywall mesh tape at the hardware store or even the dollar store.  It looks exactly like Magic Mesh.  Remember Magic Mesh - I still have some in a drawer.  Since the drywall tape is sticky on one side, it will adhere to your brayer.  Next, roll your wrapped brayer into a white, gold or any other pigment stamp pad.  The stamp pad has to be pigment because it is like a paint.  It sits on top of your paper instead of soaking into it like dye ink.  Finally, roll it onto a decorative paper to create a weathered grid-like paper.

Drywall Tape Printing

4) Colouring cardstock:  Do you have a really nice coloured ink pad, but not have the paper to match it?  Roll your brayer in the ink pad and then roll it onto your white cardstock over and over.  You will achieve a piece of cardstock that matches your ink perfectly.  You may want to reserve this technique for small pieces of cardstock such as punched out flowers.  Otherwise, you will use up your ink and wear out your arm muscles.

Like I said, dust off your brayer and give these ideas a test drive.