Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Distressing A to Z (link list) (P.S. Provocraft sneak peek, survey, & prizes.)




Is distressing out or more in than ever? Maybe, you either like the distressed look or you don't...

I luv it so much that it distresses my partner. ;O) Charles always compliments me on my work (sweet fella!), but he is also my best beloved critic. He has been known to lament my distressed edges upon occasion: "Do you have to do that thing with the edges?" I say YES! muhaHA!

Sounds like my reliance on distressing paper edges might be getting tired, so I've "researched" other techniques that give you the distressed look (a.k.a. hide my mistakes!) Thought I'd share with you in case you'd like some distressing ideas.

Some ways to distress:

Wet it & Sand it. This is so kewl. If you spritz cardstock with water & sand it, you get a great texture
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Wet it & Crumple it As easy as that. You can also ink it & iron it... (more below)
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Ink it up. I finally tried make-up sponges for applying ink (Got some cheap at the dollar store & me likey!) Sponges/Daubers/
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Rip the edges (by hand or with a tearing edge (or you can just use a blade from a tinfoil package)
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Sand it Emery boards/Nail files are great & here's a post with an idea for cheapo sanding blocks bottom of post
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Heat emboss the edges (great for mats or card edges.) Add shine to edges by dragging any ink used for heat embossing versamark pad/versamarker/Craft or pigment inks & clear embossing powder work great. Silver or other E.P. might be funky, hey?
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Crimp cardstock over & over (reversing directions as you go) it makes a fabric paper that's feels really nifty.

There's no rhyme or reason to these links.... The ones at the bottom are distressing tricks in my old posts; they're separated so that you can skip them if you like. :O)


Distressing with the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog




To Distress or Not to Distress by Shannon




Bad Sherry (GOOD distresser!) ;O)




What's Up With Those Distress Inks from Ranger (7 subheadings down)
Have your tried them? I wanna.



Close to my Heart TV Distressing Video (Check the list in the column on the left, courtesy of my fantastic friend Annapurna's Close to my Heart site)



Distressing a Transfer (video) by the awesome Suzi Blu (and her old blog here) Caution, to those who abhor swearing Suzi Blu may not be for you. (She occassionally cusses, 'cause she's passionate like 'dat.)


For Coredinations (or any white-core cardstock): Sand it or Tear it or Antique it




Distressing PDF by Crissy




Distressing pointers by Jessica on the Memory Lane design team blog




5 ways to ink edges by erinmichele




Distressing Chipboard (video) by creatingintentions She uses pre-embossed chipboard, but you could always emboss your own, of course! :O)


Tips for using making memories distressing kit (video) (Great techniques that apply to similar tools you probably have) :O) Love her technique of using chalks (even on velvet, kewl!)



Distressing with acrylic paint by Beth




Signs of my distress:



My favourite way to distress (marker the edges especially with black!) :O)




Wet & Wrinkle technique (for flowers) (for card bits)



Distressed Embossing:
Distressed--or Etched--Embossing (by scratching regular embossing powders)
Distress embossing (White ink with Clear Ep & overheat it)
Etched Verdigris embossing

Distressing cardstock with gesso:
Gesso Cardstock
Creating a Scor Pal grid & brayering with gesso
Painting a gesso wash over patterned paper


Distressed Ribbon



Distressing with a Scor-Pal grid:
Distressed Scor-Pal marker grid Tutorial
Distressed Scor-Pal marker grid (another example)



Tea staining embroidery thread





Distressed Acetate Board Book




Distressing edges with Pearlescent Paints




Faux burnt distress edge (just tear & marker it)




Distressing background stamps (using pencil or pen to highlight words or parts of an image)



Distressed picture frame mat




Zee end. ;o) What's your favourite way to distress?




Edited to Add:

Hero Arts Distressed Watercolour Stamping & other Distressing (video)
& Their Distress Resist Stamping (video)
Some gorgeous cards & distressing ideas (Hero Arts again)

Hope your day has only de-stressing in it. ;O)



P.S. CUTTLEBUG STUFF!!!

Survey & Sneak Peek & Prizes:
There's the coolest Provocraft survey (and prizes too) over on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog. What a great idea to tell them what we'd like to see...
(More folders, yesterday please, no DUH, right?) ;o)
Click here to check it out!

7 comments:

marciad said...

Love this post. I learned some neat new stuff from one of the videos in particular. I use the Ink Blending tool a lot to get a nice look with the Distress inks.

Kim Etherington said...

Loved the cuttlebug link. Great idea for them to have a survey.
Look at all the distressed ideas... I should try something new, instead of my same ol snore.

Marlima said...

I'm one of the quiet readers, but now I feel I cannot shut up anymore. You are THE greatest crafter I have ever stumbled upon!! I love everything you do and you are funny too =D Please get well soon. Hugs

Inviting Style by Pick Me Paper Designs said...

I LOVE this! Distressing is so cool, I really need to try it!

Tonniece said...

More great linky'e Mel. THANKS

Beth Norman said...

I think distressing is most definately in. I laughed at the comment your husband made; my sister just asked if I have to add flowers to my cards. She later apologized after visiting blogs and noticed they are the rage. Like distressing, is Prima overdone? Gals like you and me help to keep our family abreast of the trends--LOL. Thank you for adding me to your post. You do the most amazing artistry with your blog. The alphabet is just darling--and fun!

Elena said...

Wow! Mel! You are amazing! It is like the best recourse book for crafting person! Thank you so much for sharing all this information!