Happy President's Day! Distress ink coloring tips, some cool links and a great video

Happy President's Day, and Happy Birthday to my wonderful Dad who is 82 today and going strong. I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day (my husband gave me a gift certificate for Michaels, and I have a 20 percent off coupon to use today with the gc : )  I am going to try to get some flower embellishments and watercolor paper today.  Why the watercolor paper?  I am becoming addicted to coloring my images with Distress Ink, yes, addicted : )

I made Valentine's Day cards for the family, here is the card I made (same card for everyone):

From 2010-02-15

The Tilda is colored with Distress Ink, my first attempt, and I had so much fun coloring with the ink that I then went on to make this card yesterday:

From 2010-02-15

Here is a close up of the coloring:

From 2010-02-15

Some things I learned while trying to get this technique down:

1.) Less is more! You need very little of the ink, and by little I mean tiny, tiny, amounts of ink! 

2.) Start with a watered down ink for a very light layer of color, spread the color (allowing the darker part to remain where you want shadows.)

3.) Use a darker color to go back into your shadows, I added "Soot Black" to the "Weathered Wood" to get darker shadows on the dress.

4.) Allow the paper/ink to dry in between your layers of colors. Take your time, this process is not quick, but the results are well worth the time.

5.) Use a regular brush (not a water brush) for better control of your ink.

6.) I stamped the image on water color paper with Versamark Black, and then quickly embossed with clear embossing powder.  The embossing helps to keep the colors from bleeding into other areas.  At some point I won't take this step, but for now this helps keep me coloring "inside the lines."

7.) Use water color paper, I used cold press 120 lb.  My paper has a smooth and rough side, I used the smoother side.  When I go to Michaels today I am going to try to get some "Hot Press" water color paper which is supposed to be much smoother then the cold press.

8.) I used a paint pallet for my inks, and the ink can be "stored" this way as you can "reconstitute" the ink with just a bit of water, here is a picture of my pallet:

 

From 2010-02-15

When I go to Michaels I am going to try to find something that will hold 24 to 36 colors so I can put all of my inks in wells (I ran out of room on my little pallet and had to put ink on the areas between the wells).

If you like this technique but haven't tried it yet, remember to experiment!  Don't be afraid to just dive right in and figure out what works for you.  The Distress Inks are wonderful to paint with and I hope you pull out your paint brush and try this technique.  NOTE:  If you do not have the reinkers, just take a Distress Ink pad and smear it on a non-porous surface ( a cd cover, plastic sheet of some sort and so on)  

Ok, enough of the Distress Ink, how about some links and a GREAT video of a technique I can't wait to try.

Distress Ink Sale:  Ok, so I lied, one more mention of the Distress Ink : )  Jo Ann's has a GREAT sale on the reinkers, 2.39 per bottle!  Here is your chance to get some of the reinkers and paint away. 

Punched Circle Border:  Loved this technique and can't wait to try this on a card!  I do not have a crimper (mmmmm, maybe something I should add to my Michaels list for today), but I imagine that you could also fold the border, though it would take some time.


Scrunchy Flower:  Same blog with a different technique to try, and this one is fast, easy and gives you a great flower!


Notebooks to store card/scrapbook sketches:  Really cute idea and a great way to store sketches for your cards/scrapbook pages. 


Organizing your sponges:  Michelle Zindorf has a GREAT idea on how to store the sponges that you use for inking up your cards. I have to try this as I am always having to wash my sponges because they have the wrong colored inks.

And here is a FANTASTIC video for you!  I LOVE this technique and can't wait to sit down and use this technique on a card.  Jennifer McGuire always does an amazing job on her videos, this one is no exception:




Ok, that is all for now, hope you have a wonderful week, and thank you so very much for stopping by and visiting the blog.