NEW distress minis & a GIVEAWAY!

the last 3 sets of mini distress pads are HERE!

FINALLY...brushed corduroy! I waited a long time for this cute little guy...

you might want to read all the way to the end...

I have a set of ALL 3 to giveaway!

today I wanted to share another way to use distress inks...

this is a little something I figured out one day & I really like the look...

if you've taken my Ranger technique class, you know that I LOVE the snowcap white pigment pad...

for all it does, it should cost $50.00!

get it quick, before the Ranger guys figure this out...

it's a bargain at only $5.99...

this post will show you a few of the reasons why I LOVE it...

to create my card for today, I started with Ranger's kraft card stock, cut to 4 ¼ x 5 ¼ inches...

the photo below shows that I masked off half of  the NEW vintage lace background stamp, then inked it with the snowcap, removed the tape & stamped it at the bottom of the card...

while the snowcap ink was still wet, I sprinkled on some frosted crystal embossing powder & heated it to melt the powder...

next, I positioned my basically bricks stencil right above the lace & used the tape to protect the lace area...

I used the blending tool & tapped it on the snowcap ink pad, then stenciled over the brick stencil...completely covering the all bricks...

***one thing to note***

the snow cap white pigment pad has a foam pad, not a felt pad like the distress & archival pads...

it's important to tap the blending tool onto the pad & NOT rub it, like we do with distress & archival pads...

brisk rubbing can tear the foam pad...

tapping works just fine...

***one more thing***

when using the white pad, make sure your stamp is clean...

trust me on that one!

with the stencil removed, you can see this snowcap white ink looks great on darker card stock...

$50.00

I dried the ink before proceeding...

***this is IMPORTANT***...

if the ink is still wet, you won't get the desired results...

next, I inked the mini blending tool...

it's the perfect size for the mini pads!

and I applied peeled paint over the lace, going over the entire bottom of the card...

I used a paper towel to remove the ink from the embossed lace to make it stand out more...

the next step is to ink the top portion of the card with broken china...

just remember to dry after adding ink...

you'll notice that the snow cap slows the drying process when adding distress inks on top of it...

do you see how the snow cap changes the distress to a beautiful chalky matte finish? 

and best of all...

that one magic white pad can be used with every color of distress ink to create this chalky finish...

I'm telling you...

it's worth $50.00~

now for some embellishments...

I had 2 scraps of clearly for art (CFA) that were covered with vintage dictionary text...

using jet black archival, I stamped the pansy & the leaves onto the dictionary paper side...

the pansy is a 2 part layered stencil...

position the stencil over the stamped image & use festive berries to stencil the outer edge of the flower petals & the center accents...

                 

reposition the stencil...

this open stencil allows coloring inside the petals...

I used festive berries again, but I kept it much lighter...

***one thing to note***

this stencil was designed to allow 2 different colors to be added...

to create an authentic looking pansy, use a yellow ink on the outside & a purple inside...or do just the opposite...

or any 2 colors that you'd like...

the pansy is a SiSi (stamp-it stencil-it)...meaning you get the stamp & the coordinating stencil in the same package...

because the leaves will be cut out, I just inked right over the scrap with shabby shutters...

then cut out the leaves & the pansy...

here's my pieces...

I heated them to soften the CFA, then shaped them a bit to add a little dimension...

I stamped the sentiment toward the right, above the lace, using jet black...

I test drove my cut out flower & leaves with the flourishes stamp on the card, to help me decide where to stamp the flourishes...

the flourishes got stamped with jet black...

the color is weird here..sorry...

archival inks are awesome for altering metal...

I used carnation red archival, and pressed the heart charm onto the pad to ink only the raised edge...

then sprinkled it with frosted crystal embossing powder before heating it...to melt the embossing powder...

hemostats are a very useful tool...

I grabbed the little loop & that allowed me to blast the heart with the heat tool...and NOT blast my fingers...

***remember***

heated metal is HOT! be careful...

when it cooled off, I added the "love you" insert that comes with the heart charms...

hmmm...

the brick background looked too plain...

I replaced the brick stencil & randomly stamped text using tree branch archival...

***one thing to note***

by replacing the stencil, it keeps stamping off the grout area & you'll only see stamping ON the bricks...

it's a small detail...but it DOES matter!

***another thing***

when stamping thru a stencil it's much easier to use an UN-mounted stamp...

it's much easier to press wherever you need to...

you can see that subtle text adds another layer of interest to the background...

to alter 3 long fasteners, I used festive berries distress paint...

it's great to have coordinating products in the same color palette...

just shake the bottle, press down lightly on the craft sheet & then tap the fastener onto the wet paint dabber top...

again...

that hemostat makes it simple to hold,  cover with paint, then heat the fastener to dry...

distress paints are awesome on metal...

this is not a tool that I use every day...

but when you NEED it...nothing else works...

I wanted to add the heart with a mini fastener, but the hole was too small to fit the prongs...

I used this tool to enlarge the hole...it drills right thru like magic!

sad to say...it's discontinued...I hope you snagged one!

if you don't have the tool, you can change things up & use the heart  charm with a jump ring instead...

no project is complete without some brushed corduroy around the edges...

it sort of adds a frame...

and leads the eye to the main images...

now...the last details...

I added the painted fasteners to accent the lace on the card bottom...

and then added a piece of red/cream trimmings & the little altered heart charm...

the flower & leaves were added with hot glue...

the hot glue is a good way to adhere the CFA to paper...

next, some pen stitching detail...

and some black glaze pen dots...

and here is the finished project...

added to a black card...

tada...it's pastel distress!

this photo shows how awesome the frosted crystal embossing powder is...

see the texture it adds? I LOVE it with the lace...

and I think it's the perfect compliment to the pastel distress on the card, to create a vintage feminine effect...

this technique works just fine on manila cardstock too...

try it...it's a lighter/brighter look, but still chalky matte & pastel...

but...I think it's extra special on kraft cardstock...

DID I MENTION THAT 

I HAVE A GIVEAWAY?

it's compliments of Tim & Ranger...

if you would like a chance to win ALL 3 sets of the new distress minis...

just leave a comment on this blog post...

it's that simple!

I'll draw a random winner on Tuesday, August 19th at 4PM Chicago time...

well...right now I'm in Connecticut...

getting all set up at The Papercraft Clubhouse...

I have big plans to get inky, meet some new art friends, have fun,  &

make art!

wendy