Technique Tuesday

Being the frugal sort, I often see many other uses for common things (aka: trash) that I come across in my travels. This cute little box arrived at our door after DH broke his cellphone and needed another! I inverted the entire box to find...a blank canvas! Woo Hoo! This was going to PERFECT for a tutorial on Distressing and Gift Wrapping!!! So here we are...

I dug out my recycled box, Distress Inks, coordinating Memento Inkpads, ivory cardstock, makeup sponges and set to play!

I worked from a light color (Antique Linen) to a dark color (Tattered Rose), using the Distress Inks to lightly dab color onto the plain surface of the open box. I worked atop a 12x12 piece of ivory cardstock which I did for a few reasons. For one, it protected my desktop from ink stains, but it also saved time and wastes less ink later! I will show how I used the ink-distressed cardstock further  on in this tutorial. After finishing with the Distress Inks, I allowed them to dry somewhat before moving onto the next step.

Using wedge shaped makeup sponges, I sponged on two more coordinating colors of Memento Ink. This time, I started with the darker 'Rhubarb Stalk' color, and then mellowed the color and blended the shades a bit with 'Desert Sand'. I recommend that you use a different sponge for each color, and don't overdue the color. Less is definitely better in this case...especially because the inks will spread together nicely while still showing off the brilliant colors!

Turning my Rhubarb Stalk Memento on it's side and holding it on an angle, I used the edge of the inkpad to make a subtle uneven design across all sides of the box. Then I reversed the angle and went over it all again as shown above.  Below is a picture of the still wet side of the box.

However, as the ink dried it feathered and spread leaving an interesting distressed pattern on the box. To see the finished box,

CLICK HERE.

So...what about that ink-stained ivory cardstock I used as a work surface? Well, I COULDN'T waste it! Afterall, I did stain it on purpose!  Instead I re-purposed it to make background paper!

Using the same makeup wedges and technique as I explained above, I distressed the rest of the cardstock. I deliberately made it a random design, and the ink that I'd gotten on it before easily blended right in! But wait! Why did I crumple it up? Was I unhappy with it? Was I going to throw it away after all of that?

NO WAY! I often distress edges and backgrounds by crushing, crumpling, randomly inking the creases! I've even been known to ink the bottom of a coffee mug to make a 'coffee ring' on the paper!

I also usually edge-distress using my fingernails, emery boards, and dull scissor edges!  See how cool this one turned out below?

I used this background cardstock in two projects so far and have a few scraps left to use yet! Check out one HERE and another one HERE! Be sure to show us what you create from what I've shown you in this tutorial! We'd LOVE to see it!See you on Thursday for another fun Terrifically Thrilling Thursday Challenge!