Distressing Collage Images

Distress Inks have given me a new appreciate for fine line, detailed images. Too difficult to "colour", I thought that images such as this were perfect for Distress Inks. Blending of the colours on the collage image creates beautiful results. Note that the Peeled Paint ink matches the Hillary cardstock and the Mustard Seed ink matches the Slicker cardstock.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Hero Arts
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), green & yellow cardstock (Bazzill)
Inks: Versafine Black, Distress Peeled Paint, Milled Lavender & Mustard Seed
Accessories: Spellbinder Rectangle Die, Cuttlebug Diamond Rough embossing folder, rhinestones (Kaiser), distressing tool

Distress Inks on Glossy Paper

Experimenting is always good. I was curious to see how the inks would work on glossy paper, but found the foam applicator would not glide across this type of paper. I changed my method of application by using a sea sponge and was quite pleased with the results. To soften the background I spritzed it with water. This "blotchy" look cannot be achieved with other dye inks. Lastly I stamped the 4 images with Soot Distress Ink in an effort to keep the black colour consistent. Because I stamped the images last, there was no concern that the black Distress Ink would be smeared when creating the blended and spritzed background.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: witch (Penny Black), sentiment & moon (Impression Obsession), border (Sandy Lion)
Paper: glossy cardstock (compliments of Wendy B.)
Inks: Distress Wild Honey, Marigold, Pumice and Soot
Accessories: sea sponge (stash)

Small Thanks

Despite having metres and metres of ribbon, I didn't have anything to coordinate with this card. I compromised by using a strip of double sided tape and Perfect Pearls. I was pleased with how it compared to the matte finish of the pewter brads and alpha stickers. After brushing on the Pearls, I removed the excess with a tissue.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Papers: purple cardstock (Bazzill), patterned (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Spellbinder Labels die, brads (stash), Pewter Perfect Pearls

Antiqued

This patterned paper lent itself to an antique image. Consequently, I antiqued/distressed all of the elements of the card. I did keep the Spellbinder die on the die cut and ink only the area surrounding the stamped image, but the border left off white was too stark, so I inked that afterwards. Once again, I also applied the same Tea Dye ink to the area of the card base left uncovered by the patterned paper.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Stampington & Company
Papers: off white cardstock (stash), patterned (MME?)
Inks: Staz On Timber Brown, Distress Tea Dye, Vintage Photo & Aged Mahogany (red)
Accessories: button & embroidery thread (stash), Spellbinder Label die

Resist with Distress Inks

Another fabulous technique for using Distress Inks is resist. I stamped the ferns in clear ink and then heat embossed the images in clear embossing powder. The remaining images were stamped and then I applied the Distress Inks. The green ink was resisted by the embossing, leaving the floral images white. I couldn't decide white butterfly I liked better, so I made one card with each. The smaller butterfly was stamped and cut out while the larger one was punched out of cardstock. Each were coloured with the Distress Inks.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: script (Stampin' Up), fern (Rubber Stampede), postage stamp (Stampin' Up), Post Card (Alpha Stamps), Happy Birthday (Hero Arts), small butterfly (Rubber Stampede)
Paper: Georgia Pacific white cardstock
Inks: Staz On Timber (brown), Distress Wild Honey, Dries Marigold, Shabby Shutters, Tumbled Glass
Accessories: clear ink and embossing powder (stash), butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), black rhinestones (Kaiser)

Pre-embossed Cards

I decided to experiment with pre-embossed cards from Die Cuts With a View. It's a good idea to practice working with Distress Inks to get the feel for using the blending tool and the inks. Stick pins are a popular embellishment to accentuate bows.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: CTMH
Paper: card (DCWV), white cardstock (Georgia Pacific)
Inks: Distress Shabby Shutters (green), Lavender & Spun Sugar (pink)
Accessories: ribbon (stash), stick pin (Jenni Bowlin), rhinestone (Kaiser), button (Basic Grey), embroidery floss (stash), Spellbinder Label die

3 X 3 Fancy

The same flowers I've used on other standard sized cards make a dramatic statement on 3 X 3 cards.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Inks: Versafine black, Distress Lavender, Colorbox (to edge card)
Papers: lavender cardstock (Bazzill), green cardstock (stash), patterned (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Spellbinders Dahlia dies, Cuttlebug Victoria embossing folder, Glimmer Mist Spring Violet, button (American Crafts), embroidery thread (Making Memories), leaf punch (Marvy)