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Friday 22 March 2013

Distress Inks and its Magic + Colgate paste wonders !



Hello Crafters ,

This is Mallika and its my turn to share something exciting with all the lovely crafters .

This time I have decided to talk about Distress Inks - The magical world of these 2.5  by 2.5 inch boxes .
Limitless possibilities and endless experimentation can be done via them .
As far as , in my two year experience of Distress Inks , knowing them via more than 50 videos on you tube I cant imagine a single project without their use .
I am trying my best  to summarize each and every aspect which I have learned from these .
You must have noticed , that almost every tutorial on Crafters corner has a part of distressing in it .
In short , Crafting begins with distressing . There might be a possibility where you think I am wrong with colors , in that case please please please free to correct me via comments below  , as we all know - in distressing - knowledge never ends .


What is Distress Inks ?
Distress inks are produced by Ranger Industries { USA } under the guidance of Tim Holtz . Probably when he made it , he even had no idea about the possibilities .
They are basically a pad soaked with ink in a box measuring 2 .5 by 2 . 5  inches approx .
Till now 36 + 12 colors have been released and crafters corner is proud to say that we hoard all .





What is Distressing ?
Distressing is basically giving simulated marks of age and wear to clothing , leather , furniture or paper . 
It is basically giving a weathered look . It is referred as refinishing technique although it is opposite of finishing in a traditional sense .  { Source - wiki for definition } 

Which all colors to buy first ? 
All of us , when we start our journey towards this beautiful world of crafts we always have this question what to buy first , where to invest first . Keeping this in mind when I bought my inks , I decided to go for one pad in every primary and secondary color + The king of all - VINTAGE PHOTO .
The most important color and I guess the most sold color is Vintage Photo . That should be the first buy of every crafter .


I hope you can see the color chart used in the picture above . '
To start with - I bought
1)Work lipistic for Red
2)Peeled Paint to cover Yellow and green
3)Broken China for blue
4)Spice Marmlade for orange
5)dusty concord for Purple
And ofcourse Vinatge photo .
This picture was used in my blog Dated March 17th ,2011  when I got mine .


Now the question - Why  I chose them ?
Basically the main idea behind taking these inks at first was to have one member from every color family . As a starter I could apply pressure to get variations in the shades .

How to store these Magic Boxes ? 
I basically stack them onto one another . I bought a self adhesive label from a local stationary shop and distressed them with the respective color , wrote the name and pasted  it as a strip on the four sides .
Result - I can see the name and color effect which I will get via them .
All the distress inks can be stacked onto one another and they take hardly any space .



What Basic tool I need to get the best effect ? 
The must buy along with these inks is a Blending tool .  For starting you can have just one tool , and a pack of foam for easy replacement and other colors . They get stuck in and out easily as a velcro patch is there on the tool .
The picture of ink blending tool and blending foam is below .

ALSO THE ITEMS MENTIONED ARE LINKED TO THE PAGE WHERE YOU CAN BUY THEM , SO SIMPLY CLICK THE ITEM AND YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED ON A SEPERATE WINDOW .





Now onto  the local jugad - Basically when I started I bought the local Makeup Foam to use these . Believe me , at that time I was happy with the result but now when I use the local ones - I can see the effect was bad.
These blending tool foams  are specially designed  to tag along with the distress ink pads . They basically blend the ink on the paper  - Blending is basically mixing symmetrically . What local foam does is that it gives you clear patches . See the picture below , you will clearly see the difference .



What I have done  is have one tool for every color and one foam for every color . 
Always keep some extra foams as they worn out with time . 
I store these in a wall panel which i got for all my tools . 






What Base to use while distressing ? 
In our busy life , we generally distress keeping the media onto the cutting mat . Remember - the effect is bad with the cutting mat or table . Ranger has introduced distress mats but you can replace them with simple ohp sheets or pvc bags .
Check the picture of distressing done with ohp base and cutting mat .



What more you should have along with these ? { not mandatory } 
Always keep the sprinkle bottles on your table along with tissue .
You should have a distress tear tool - Heart attack for example .
Reinkers of these inks - popular ones { I have vinatge photo }
Heat embossing materials , templates , stamps etc .




How are new distress inks ? 
The new twelve distress inks are beautiful , They have more rich look .
I had been using vintage photo alot , but somehow these days I love using gathered twig .
I recommend all the new colors , At present I hoard only 3 of the new ones .

Festive berries and Squeezed lemonade .


How to distress - proper method ? { SINGLE SHADE USE } 
Always keep a ohp sheet below . Start from out side the paper rolling and come inside . Give a flicking motion for light shade and more force for dark .
Always start with rubbing the edges first with foams and they do the rolling motion for ink distribution . After that blend more for proper coverage of space . The picture will demonstrate a better explanation .
Try to avoid full foam print , It can always be avoided by the sliding motion .
One super trick - Use the ink pad directly to make edge super defined .









How to use heart attack tool to give fabulous Tearing effect ? 
Take your distress tool , rub it with the edge . After sufficient tearing , distress it with your desired color to give a fabulous vintage and torned look - The weathered look .







How to make Beautiful Backgrounds ? { Multi Tone } 
Now in this via pictures and words I will try to make a beautiful background .
We will basically create a gradient .
I started with Faded jeans , I used the ink pad directly on the the edges to make them more defined . After that start blending from outside to inside in rolling motion .
Once all the sides are done with faded jeans , take your broken china and start your second layer .
After that take crushed olive and peeled paint and mixing those two give a gradient .
In the end blend entire Cardstock with faded jeans again .

\\







Mixed media with distress inks ? 
Now this might shock you , I will now teach you to create a background with the help of COLGATE PASTE !!!
Simply take a white / offwhite piece of paper .
Distress the edges by Walnut Stain , and inside by vintage photo .
After that simply take a paint brush and spread colgate paste unevenly on the surface . REMEMBER UNEVENLY .
Now take your heat gun and heat the the paste till becomes dry .
Once it is dry Distress is again with vintage photo or walnut stain  , this step will refine the uneven distribution.
Take your mist bottles , sprinkle the mist .
Let is dry or dry it via Heat emboss Tool .
Result - A beautiful Background . I created this box using the same   and a tag .
Pictures below to explain better .























Blending Ink Combinations - How to make them ? 
I am illustrating a set of pictures of the combination which I generally use .
There are many more which you can use , Just a rough idea of what I generally use .
Try to take same tones and create a gradient .












I have tried my best to illustrate each and everything which I know about inks above . Please rectify me if you want to add on more information .
For any queries on this .. write in comments below .
For any queries on the products write to info@crafterscorner.in

VISIT OUR WEBSITE - WWW.CRAFTERSCORNER.IN

All the products used are linked for easy reference .

Have a great day ,
Mallika

51 comments:

  1. i was about to place an order for distress inks soon .... and i was soooo confused of whether what colors to buy ...ur tutorial has been so helpful and in all of us crafters best interests ... thanks and keep the good work going ..

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  2. This is an awesome post Mallika.Love the colgate idea.

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    Replies
    1. Thankyou pallavi
      You try colgate on ur mixed media project

      Delete
  3. What a study.....AWESOOOOOMMME

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  4. Wow ! THanks Mallika for such a informative post ! The colgate paste idea is fab !

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  5. love colgate idea . i recently purchase my inks .thanks for nice info.

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  6. OMG Mallika, this tutorial is super awesome, love love love all the details, esp the colgate paste idea and also appreciate the time and effort you've spent in creating this tutorial. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Thanks so much Mallika. I have never tried distress inks and I had so many FAQs related to them in my mind. Your post answers almost all of them. I will grab my pack soon.
    I also wanted to know how long does one ink pad last. Does it dry if not used for a long time?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indira di , Believe me once you try distress inks - you wont finish a project without it .
      See the pad works for like really long , totally depends upon tha usage . The first six colors which i got was two years back and only vintage photo required refilling with reinkers , rest still rock . I use vintage photo alot .
      They dont dry , if you close the box properly and keep them upside down .

      Delete
  8. Mallllllliii you are a cheeti! thank you for the colgate tip! I will be doing this inshahallah!

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  9. ahh mallliiii !!! U are just so amazing ! Thanks for the colgate tip :D Such an amazing little thing ! :) Will try it for sure ! :)
    Keep it up Hugs !
    pooja

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  10. Woww... Mallika.. this is simply awesome.. U can always be a wonderful guide and an intelligent tutor.. love ya.. :)

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    Replies
    1. aww di love ya too !
      Thankyou so much for the good words

      Delete
  11. Thnx 4 d tutorial. I'm sure to buy the entire distress collections..

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  12. Thnx 4 d tutorial. I'm sure to buy the entire distress collections..

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    Replies
    1. do buy these . i cant finish a single project without them

      Delete
  13. THANK YOU FOR THIS INFO. IT IS VERY VERY USEFULL FOR BEGINNERS.ONE QUESTION CAN WE USE THEM FOR STAMPING ALSO? AND WOULD LOVE IF YOU MAKE A POST FOR USE OF INKS FOR EMBOSSING WITH EMBOSSING POWDER.

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    Replies
    1. hello asmita ,
      Thankyou so much .
      We already have a wonderful post on embossing , February was our embossing month . Check our funerary posts.
      Incase you still have queries fell free to ask me here .

      Delete
  14. Woow ..quiet an info out there Mallika....am not too much of a distress ink lover unless I want my edges done or when I want my tags and projects to look vintagy or bright with their newer and fresher shades like the summer or spring limited edition......My crafting never ever began with distressing inks but yes they surely came along the way....I love your Colgate idea but am not clear if Colgate is the only toothpaste that works for this technique or any toothpaste would do the trick???

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    Replies
    1. Hello di ,
      See i chose colgate as it is pure white and I have seen it drying .
      Basically dont use gel paste , the wont dry the way colgate does .
      hugs
      mallika

      Delete
  15. ohhh so u mean any "white toothpaste" and not a colgate only...of course avoiding the gel toothpastes...thanks for the answer

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  16. I am simply in love with this post ...this is so ultimate informative that my jaw dropped out.....beautiful effort done.....mindboggling post....

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  17. Mallika!! Tim Holtz will certainly be proud of you.

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    Replies
    1. aww di ! Thankyou for such a compliment

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  18. Mallika!! Tim Holtz will certainly be proud of you.

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  19. Tis is my favouriettest post!!! Loved the colgate part!! The grocery store in yur vicinity must have been rich by now ;) :D

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    Replies
    1. Hello Samreen ,
      You just made me day , night , week , months - by saying that this is your favoreittest post !!
      Thankyou :)

      Delete
  20. Thank you Mallika for sharing this treasure of knowledge with us. It must have been a tedious job combining soo much in one post and that too in a way that everything is crystal clear and understandable!! Truly appreciate your efforts, u r a good samaritan! :)

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  21. Wow...super info post....Thanks sooooooooo much for such elaborate effort in explaining every detail so well,Mallika!!!!!

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  22. thanks so much for sharing your views and ways , it really helps people like me who are new to this crafting world.

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  23. really nice tutorial and info shared about distressed inks thanks a ton !

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  24. That was an impressive and very very helpful tutorial.. I had just started with distress ink.. This tutorial will help me very further..

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  25. Glad didnt miss out on this post, indeed very informative and given ur writing style,must say u have really explained the imp of the ink blending tool so aptly .......TFS

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  26. Very informative post.and shows your efforts in each pictures and techniques. .....loved it. colgate idea rocks.♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡

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    ReplyDelete
  28. Inspired by you I have created something here http://snehalscreations.blogspot.in/2013/08/masculine-scrapbook.htmlon my blog.Please have a look and let me know what you think

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for the post! It's very useful and informative, specially for beginners. I was wondering if you knew any alternatives for the Distress Ink pads. Some help would be great!

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  30. That's a great informative post! Thank you so much :)

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  31. Very informative article Mallika. Thanks for that. Kudos.

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