CD Calendar - July - Distress Inks!

Now I know I used Distress Inks for Aprils calendar page but I am counting that as the Ink Blending Tool Page ;) Besides...Distress Inks are just so versatile they deserve to be used more than once!

Today's technique is really simple but yields very cool results every time! This is one of those no fail techniques because it's just so forgiving....Wrinkle Free Distress.

CD Calendar

July

Distress Inks - Wrinkle Free Distress

Supplies:

Distress Inks

Mini Mister (filled with water)

Non-Stick Craft Mat

Heat It Craft Tool

Cardstock

Rubber Stamps (if desired)

Embellishments

Instructions:

I've seen this technique demonstrated or explained several ways. Many people choose to apply multiple colors of ink at one time. I find that depending on the colors used your results may end up a bit muddy ~ especially along the edges where the ink/water tends to run once the paper curls a bit. To combat this I have found that applying one color at a time works much better and results in clear and defined color layers. Totally up to you but I will be sharing one color at a time method.

1. Pounce the initial Distress Ink color on your Non-Stick Craft Mat. I like to pounce quite a bit to ensure nice even coverage. (No worries, it won't go to waste!)

2. Spritz with a bit of water...2-3 squirts will do.

3. Place your cardstock in the ink/water mix and lift.

4. Heat to dry the ink/water.

5. Pounce your second color of Distress Ink on to a different section of the craft mat. Spritz with water and again place your cardstock into the ink/water and lift.

6. Dry with the Heat It Craft Tool.

I stopped at two colors for this project because I wanted the Red, White & Blue combo but you could of course continue to add additional colors as desired.

You will notice how defined the secondary color is ~ this is due to the multiple step process of adding colors in layers.

Now there is still the excess ink on your craft mat...no worries!! I like to keep plain shipping tags on hand to soak up the remaining ink so there is no waste. I keep these tags on hand to tuck into packages, use as an embellishment on a scrapbook page, stamp and add to a card, add them to collage or altered art projects, etc. They will definitely not go to waste!

7. Finish off your page with desired stamps and embellishments.

8. Mount on the current month's cd page.

And there you go!

Well, we're 7 down, 5 to go!

I'm so tickled with all the cool pages people are sharing.
I hope you're having fun creating your very own

inky, altered, collage ~ Ranger CD Calendar!!