perfect partners...distress & archival inks...

today's post is to celebrate the release of 

the 3 new sets of tim's mini distress pads ...

and the good news...

there's no long wait...

they start shipping to stores TODAY...

yippee!

what's a celebration without a giveaway?

pssst...keep reading...

from the moment I opened my first distress pad (vintage photo) I was HOOKED...

TOTALLY hooked because of the beautiful colors & the special properties of the distress inks...

so today, I wanted to share how well distress & archival inks work together...

like the title says...

they're perfect partners...

in a previous post, I showed how to create a stamped spotlight frame...

the post is here...

below is the finished large art journal page, made to fit my art parts journal covers...

I used my fav specialty stamping paper as the page base...

the subtle brown in the background is created with brushed corduroy distress ink...

because archival inks are permanent & waterproof when dry, I knew I could stamp the weeds with archival inks, then add the detail shading/shadows with distress inks, working right over the archivals...

I knew my archival stamping would remain crisp & clear with no bleeding...

it's a cool effect...

the weeds were stamped with dandelion & fern green archival...

then dried...

I scribbled some distress ink onto my craft sheet, then picked up the color with the detail waterbrush & painted away...

make sure it's not perfect...

it should be more of an uneven watercolor effect...

distress ink in any form will work...I especially like the cute new mini pads, the regular size distress pads or the distress markers...

I painted tumbled glass & iced spruce distress inks unevenly around the weeds & added some peeled paint to accent the centers, all using the detail water brush...

iced spruce is the perfect color for adding shading...it coordinates with everything!

even though the weeds are completely flat, they look very dimensional because of the distress ink shading...

and that's another reason why I think distress inks are MAGIC!

the sweet girl is one of tim's new found relatives...

I cut her out &  accented her with several of the distress markers...

and gave her a heart charm to hold...

I thought the page needed a few remnant rubs...

I added some stamping...

the lacy background inside the circle is the lace background stamp...

it was inked with tree branch archival...

then stamped inside the circle frame...

***TIP***...use the left over typing paper that was used to cut the circle as a stencil/mask...

position it in place over the circle...

it will allow you to easily stamp inside the circle & keep the background masked off...

a sentiment (be true) & the lace borders were stamped in jet black archival...

I added some stenciling with the checkmate stencil, using watering can archival...

and some stenciled dots using orange blossom archival...

oh...those extra leaves were cut from the thistle stamp...

I traced around the circle & the background stamp with the Stabilo pencil & rubbed it with my finger to soften the pencil line...

below is the result...

I LOVE that the weeds look raised!

now it's...

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I have 3 new mini distress sets to GIVE AWAY to a lucky blog friend...

just leave a comment & I will be back on Wednesday to announce the winner...

congrats tim!

I adore your new distress minis!

well actually...I  LOVE ALL your distress products!

remember...

distress & archival...

are perfect partners when you...

make art!

wendy

ps...pop over to tim's blog & you'll see a list of our friends who are participating in the mini distress giveaway!

visit all the blogs, leave a comment & you'll have LOTS of chances to win new inks to...make art!