Embossed multi-ply tissue products

A method of manufacturing an embossed multi-ply fibrous structure, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a first through-air dried fibrous ply having a first outer surface and an opposed second outer surface and a background pattern disposed on either the first or the second outer surface, the background pattern consisting of a plurality of spaced apart line elements;
• (b) conveying the first fibrous ply through an embossing nip formed by an embossing roll and a backing roll, the embossing roll having an outer surface having a surface area and a plurality of discrete non-linear embossing elements disposed thereon and arranged to form an embossing pattern, the plurality of embossing elements covering about 10 percent or less of the surface area of the embossing roll outer surface;
• (c) embossing the first fibrous ply in the embossing nip such that the plurality of spaced apart line elements forming the background pattern are intersected by the discrete non-linear embossing elements;
• (d) providing a second through-air dried fibrous ply;
• (e) applying an adhesive to the embossed first fibrous ply or the second fibrous ply;
• and
• (f) adhesively bonding the first embossed fibrous ply and the second fibrous ply together in a face-to-face relationship to yield an embossed multi-ply fibrous structure.