One of my fave techniques is to "distress or grunge up" my mats and embellishments. To me it just adds an extra layer of texture and dimension. I know some of you love this look and some are just a teensy bit scared to even try it. Here are a few hints and tips to give Distressing a try.
On most of my favorite pages you will see I have used Tim Holtz Distressing Ink in a wide range of colors. This ink is wonderful and rarely do I complete a page without using them somewhere. Yes I admit I LOVE all things Tim Holtz and don't tell anyone but he is my scrap booking boyfriend! LOL If you have seen rubber stamping projects that use wonderful distressing techniques and have wondered how they are done, read on! Distressing paper creates unusual and interesting results and is great fun to do. These special inks help to make sure your results are great.
Tim Holtz Distress Inks by Ranger Inks have been specially formulated to give an aged finish to projects. You can use them in many different ways, from creating unique aged backgrounds for your pages and mats, to rubber stamping on, to adding color to photographs and much more. The water soluble dye inks have been designed to bleed and blend on the paper. It is so much fun to see what great effects you can get. These effects can be easily and quickly.
Here are 3 easy steps to get started using them.
Go to your paper stash and get a light colored piece of scrap paper for this first try. (ok if you count this as a step - then there are 4 easy steps)
1. Crumple your paper. Yes, I mean REALLY crumple it. Wad it up like you are a 5th grade boy and are going to make a trashcan basket while your teachers back is turned! Crumple it up, smooth it out, crumple it up, smooth it out. Try not to tear the paper, but if you do have some tears - no worries! Just proceed with step 2.
2 Take the Tim Holtz Distressed Ink pad of your choice. There are many choices of colors, but a good first choice is one of the brown ones. They give an aged appearance and really complement most layouts. Remove the lid of the ink and just rub the pad all over the paper. Keep pad flat to paper in order to give a consistent application. Ok that's it! Unless you want to go one step further!
3. Using a mister or a spray bottle - spray the paper with a light misting of water. Because the inks are water soluble you will get a very interesting effect as the ink bleeds and blends on the paper. You can vary this technique by spraying your paper before you ink it.
Don't be scared - give this a try. Distressing is all the rage and soon you too may be inking everything in sight
Where do you purchase the Tim Holz ink pads?
Posted by: Robyn Short | 03/27/2012 at 04:19 PM
You can buy them anywhere - Michaels, Hobby Lobby or me! ;0 I have lots of colors if you want to try before you buy next time we do a crop or a class.
Posted by: Connie Hopkins | 03/27/2012 at 04:21 PM