Time to Get Organized - Swatching my Distress Ink Products

Hello and welcome to a stay inside and stay cool summertime project. 

It's over 94 here today and promises to get hotter and muggier as the week goes on.  Why not make the most of my time inside to get my Distress Ink products sampled and organized? I had already made swatches for my glazes on a tag.  But that was just one product. 

I had the print outs from Ranger Ink for my ink pads- how could I get swatches of all of my products?

l was certain that this would help me keep track of my inks and allow me to compare colors before I put them on a future project.  Creating swatches was something Tim Holtz reiterated over and over again during his Spring 2020 videos, so I decided to give it a try. 

My predicament was first, what kind of paper I wanted to use? Second, how to make it cost effective? I use mixed media heavy stock most frequently for my project, but it isn't readily available in my area.  Most importantly , this would not have been a cost effective method to swatch all of the distress inks, sprays , crayons, glazes and paints.  I also use Dyan Reavley's journals (I often cut the paper our of the journals to use) so when I found the creative flip journals on sale a light bulb came on!  Why not use the pages from those journals and put all of my products on one page?  I have to say the results were better than expected.  Now I can see the sprays, inks, crayons, paint and glazes all on one page. 

I am pleased with the outcome.   I used the printed labels from Ranger's website to label each page.  Then I decided to put the Spray Stain at the top.  A stencil made from chipboard gave me the rectangle  so it didn't just go all over the page. I used my splatter box.  I cut a piece of chipboard the slightly larger than the page so I didn't have to cover other parts every time.  Then I used a circle punch to create two circles for the oxide inks.  I used one of the stamps to stamp the Distress and Oxide inks as well.  I think that many of the inks look different when stamped rather than on a blending tool.  On the third row I placed a scribble of crayon twice.  The first, on the left side is straight crayon to paper, the second one I smudged with my finger which had a little water on it.  I wanted to see how the crayon would look if I used it as a watercolor.  Next I dabbed a little paint and finally on that row the glaze (if available).  Finally at the bottom I used my second rectangle stencil for the Oxide spray. It was easier to make a second template that fit the bottom than reusing the top one.  

A couple of tips if anyone decides to mimic this approach.  First, make sure one medium is dry before you place the second one so you don't smudge.  Second, when I sprayed I made a concerted effort to spray from the same height and angle and the same number of pumps.  I purposely did NOT remove any of the splotches from the sprays.  Sometimes I want those so I thought it was good to see how they would look.  Finally, make sure that your inks are dry before you use your glaze unless you want some of your ink embossed.  Later I thought I probably should have done a few water drops on the oxide ink to see it oxidize but I think I can imagine what that outcome might be.  

This was a great way for me to rediscover colors and really look at how the intensity varied between the two sprays and the inks.  It also gave me a really good inventory of what I was missing.  Now, I will remove the pages from the journals and put them on rings.  I considered leaving them in the journals but I want to be able to compare colors side by side. I wrote what each item was with my Pitt Pen. 

Now, before someone asks...why aren't the markers on here? Well I have the markers, but I don't use them very often and they are being phased out.  I could always add them later but for now I'll leave them off. 

Here is the link on the Ranger page for the labels https://rangerink.com/pages/organize-your-ranger-products.  

I think this will become a valuable tool for me.  It is expandable as colors are added and gives me a true picture of how the mediums differ on the same paper.  By the way, the Picket Fence will be on black.  Later I may add all of them on black, for now I'm happy. 

I hope you have time today to get some ink on your fingers! Take care - Pamela 

A Celebration of Independence and Freedom

Today I wanted to share with you a vignette box I made to celebrate the 4th of July. 

The idea behind this scene is the man on the suitcase has just arrived to town and is waiting on his cab.  He is sitting on his trunk in front of a building that has been painted for the 4th of July. A parade has gone by and the remnants of the parade are still hanging on and all over the street.  The others are watching that last of the parade go by. 

Here is how I created my scene; a list of the supplies is at the end of this post. 

First I painted the box with Distress Paint in Weathered wood.  Even though you can't see the sides and the back I like to have it finished.  Next I covered the back of the box with Typeset tissue paper using Collage medium. I sat that aside to dry.

While I waited I pulled out some old idea-ology paper and cut the word America.  I inked the edges with black soot and put some small white marks to highlight the letters with a pen.  Then I cut the Old Jalopy BIGZ die 4 times   I cut one each from brown, metallic silver, black and the section of the doors in woodgrain paper.  I inked the car with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress ink.  I layered the pieces to create the cab.  I had to freehand the woodgrain paper to create the doors and the silver for the headlight.  You can't really see it but I also used some clear plastic on the windows.  

Then I colored the paper dolls.  I used distress crayons and also speckled blue embossing glaze.  

I die cut the suitcase from cracked leather cardstock and metallic for the buckles.  I inked the cases with Shabby Shutters distress ink and then embossed it with the glaze in the same color.  Inked the straps with Vintage photo Distress Ink.  I used a black soot crayon to outline the suit case just a bit.  

Next, I used the Impresslits folder Star Trim to create my frame.  I cut it from silver metallic paper and then I used alcohol ink to tint the trim and give it a little age.  While those were drying I went back to my background.  I applied crackle modeling paste through the stencil on the left. I dried it partially with the heat tool and then I let it sit overnight.  I find that with crackle paste a long natural dry time works best for me. Then I died some mica flakes with Poppy Red and Monsoon alcohol inks.  Those dried overnight as well.

When I returned the next evening, I used my Distress crayon in Faded Jeans to create the blue over and around the stars.  Next using the Barn Door Distress crayon I created a border around my edges and then faux stripes using a ruler.  I smudged the crayon with my finger which was damp.  Then I took a permanent pen and wrote the words to part of the Pledge of Allegiance between the stripes (I covered it up later but I know it is there and it peeks out in places) . 

I painted the pole for my flag and the star with Brushed Pewter Distress paint.  When that was dry I glued the flag to the left edge of the box.  I manipulated the flag to create the folds and secured that with some glue dots.   

Then I coated the bottom of the box with collage medium and sprinkled the mica flakes on there.  I added some that I had not died to create red , white and blue confetti, like a ticker tape parade.  I also used some collage medium in spots to sprinkle some of the confetti so it looked like it was caught as it rained down from the buildings above.  

I used score tape to adhere the Impresslits star trim.  Then I layered in my scene using collage medium and foam tape to create the depth for the scene. 

I hope you get time to enjoy some time to celebrate this wonderful country this weekend with your friends and family and perhaps find some time to get some ink on your fingers.

Until next time- Happy 4th - Pamela 

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Supplies:

 Paper- Tim Holtz Metallic 3, Classic , Woodgrain and Cracked Leather cardstock

Tissue Paper- Typeset

Distress Inks:  Peeled Pain, Vintage Photo Black Soot, Antique Linen, Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint.

Sizzix BigZ die Baggage Claim  # 664439; Impresslits folder- Star Trim # 663297 and Old Jalopy

Tim Holtz Distress Mica Flakes

Ranger Alcohol Inks : Poppy Red, Monsoon, and Mushroom 

Distress Crayons- Bard door, Faded Jeans, Worn Lipstick, Aged Mahgony, Fossilized Amber

Distress Paint- Weathered Wood and Brushed Pewter

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls 

Adhesives: Scor-tape, Distress Collage Medium, Golden crackle paste

Idea-ology Adornments - Star

Flag- Hobby Lobby

Distress Crayon Tag

I hope all of you are having a great weekend.  Today I'm sharing a tag I made after watching the Q&A on Distress Crayons with Tim Holtz on 6 June 2020.  I have to admit---I had the crayons but didn't use them very often.  However, after watching this tutorial I'm sure I'll get a lot more use out of them. 

So I started with a tag covered in  Collage medium.  While the tag was still wet I added ephemera from the Idea-ology Field Notes collection and some words from the Big Chat pad from Idea-ology.  I covered those with collage medium as well. I didn't need a thick covering, just enough to keep the edges down.  Then I added crayons to the card in the negative spaces.  I used Distress Crayons in Weathered Wood, Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves, and Fossilized Amber.  I blended them with my finger until I was happy.  Next, I used the stencil TH143 to add some ink in a couple of places.  I used Worn Lipstick Oxide Ink.  I heat set it to be sure it had set before I moved on..  It is very faint.   Next, using Tim Holtz Stencil TH130 I removed some of the crayon using a damp paper towel.  This stencil resembles splotches...I really like it.  I still felt like I needed something else so I pulled out CMS396 (Field Notes) stamp set from Stamper's Anonymous and added the label and figure numbers with Ranger Black Archival ink.  

I splattered drops using my Ranger Splatter brush and Ground Expresso Spray Stain and dried it with my heat tool.

Finally, I inked the edges with some Black Soot Distress Ink just to finish it off.  I added a piece of velvet ribbon just to dress it up. 

I really enjoyed the tutorial and I look forward to making more projects using my Distress Crayons.  You can view the entire tutorial here: https://tim.holtz.com/blog  look for the Q&A Demo: Distress Crayons. 

I hope you have a chance to get a little ink on your fingers today.  Stay Well!  Pamela