I generally make and sell between 150 - 200 greeting cards per year, and I like to emboss the backgrounds, and then color them so that the raised pattern stands out.  I tried all sorts of ink pads until I finally found this Distress Ink pad from Jim Holz.  It's advertised as creating "an aged look on papers, fibers, photos & more" which wasn't quite what I was looking for.  But it also works very well for coloring a raised pattern after I've run my cardstock through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder.  Please see the customer image for a birthday card that I embossed with a graduation-themed folder, then colored with the tattered rose Distress Ink pad (the background to the main image).  Tattered Rose is more beige than rose, but I like the color.