Hello, stampers!  It is Jennifer McGuire here and I am so excited about this week - it is a theme I have wanted to do for a long time.

For the next several days, we are going to explore the wonderful stamping world of  “distress.”  Distress just means adding an “aged” feel to a project, providing a warm, timeless look. The classic look of distressing can vary from simple to complex, and colorful to “grungy.” I know this may be new and challenging for some of us, but I can promise you - it is incredibly fun… and addictive.  There is something for everyone!  I have many projects to share, along with even more fun techniques.  Let’s get started…

Here is a card I made with a bit of distressing.  It shows an easy way to get a distress look, which helps to soften the overall feel of the card.  I simply rubbed the edges softly with Distress Ink and stamped softly with the Old Letter Writing stamp.

Card by Jennifer McGuire
Supplies:

• Clear Design Asian Frames
  
• Old Letter Writing (stamped softly on edges)
• NEW Thank You Sayings
  
• Cream Notecards
• Versamark Dazzle Ink (to make floral circle shimmer), Tea Dye Distress Ink (all brown stamping and inking of edges), Black Memories Ink
  
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Hero Arts Buttons and Pearls
  
• Other: colored pencils (for flowers), jute, vintage textbook paper, Ranger Inkssentials Foam Ink Blending Tool (great for inking edges!)
  

If you look closely at the floral circle on the card, you will see a bit of shimmer and shine.  After stamping, coloring and cutting the circle, I pressed Versamark Dazzle Ink directly on the image, covering it completely.  I then added a layer of clear embossing powder.  While it was still hot, I shook on another layer.  I repeated this several more times, resulting in an epoxy-like embellishment.

Here is another distressed card example from the amazing Shari Carroll.  Shari is incredible at the aged and timeless look of distress.  So, I had to ask her to play along!  I adore how she distressed her card’s edges with white ink for a fresh look!  She also accidentally tore the pink paper when sewing, so she decided to make it a “distressed touch” - I love it.

Card by Shari Carroll
Supplies:

• Clear Design Paris
  
• NEW Modern Lines (the thin lines in the background)
  
• White Memories Ink (rubbed directly on the edges and also for the background stamping) and Walnut Stain Distress Ink
• Kraft Notecards
• Pearls
• Other: sewing machine, Paper Studio butterfly punch, Prima patterned papers, K&Company lace border sticker, jute

I have another distressed example for today.  This one is from one of my favorite crafters, Nichol Magouirk.  This girl is so talented - especially with color combinations and creative use of die cuts.  So, while at a stamping retreat with her this weekend, I asked her to create a distressed card for us - done “her way.”  And check out this colorful, diecut, stamped, distressed creation!

Card by Nichol Magouirk
Supplies:

• Houndstooth Background
• NEW Thank You Sayings
• NEW Dots and Flowers (on orange flower)
• NEW Grid Pattern (background stamp)
• NEW Designer Woodgrain (on yellow flower)
• Versamark Ink and Clear Embossing Powder (background)
• Walnut Stain Distress Ink (for distress inking), Black Memories Ink, Primary Elements Chalk Ink Queue (yellow), Soft Apricot Shadow Ink (orange) and Soft Pool Shadow Ink (blue)
• Chocolate Notecards
  
• Other: Quickutz Silhouette Die Cutting Machine, Creative Impressions patterned paper, buttons, string

Now it is time for the challenge details. This week’s challenge is to create a project with some sort of distressing.  Make it your own style - with as little or as much distressing as you would like.  (Think of it as “distress your way.”) All you have to do is use at least one Hero Arts stamp. Easy!  Upload your projects to the Hero Arts Flickr Group by Sunday, April 26th at 11:59 PM PST and tag them with the code word “distress“.

We will then award the following prizes:

• Fresh Face Winner (someone who has not yet won a contest): $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• Scrapbook Page Winner: $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• 1st Place: $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• 2nd Place: $25 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog
• 3rd Place: $15 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog

Now, how about a giveaway?  Up for grabs is a set of several Distress Inks from Tim Holtz and Ranger! Hero Arts proudly carries these inks as we feel they are the perfect companion to our stamps.  And they are perfect for distressing and blending inks since they stay wet longer than most dye inks.  They are fun to use!  Just leave a comment here telling us if you have ever distressed a project before (and if so, what is your favorite way to do so) by the end of Tuesday and we will pick a lucky winner of…

Be sure to stop back all this week as I will have videos, LOTS of techniques, amazing guests, a variety of distress styles and more! Oh, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I will be sure to stop by to answer.

See you soon…

Filed under: distress

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 4:00 am and is filed under Motivation Mondays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.