Over on the Stamping Bella blog today I’ve got a post about the new Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink pads from Ranger. You can check that out by following this link: Stamp It Saturday – Checking Out Distress Oxides with Elaineabella.

I bought the Distress Oxide ink pads*/US link* last weekend and have been having lots of fun experimenting and familiarising myself with them.

In this post, I’m going to show you how one of the cards I created for Stamping Bella came together.

Here’s the finished card:

Stamp Sets Used: Stamping Bella Succulent Chicks (coordinating die set also available).
This stamp set is also available in the UK from Tracy at Dies to Die For, along with the coordinating die set, you can find them HERE and HERE.

Click through for more details and the full step by step guide!

In addition I used word stamps from some of the Danielle Donaldson CreativeGirl stamp sets.

I create my own card blanks using 300gsm cardstock, a Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer */US link*, a Martha Stewart Scoring Board*/US link*. and bone folder*/US link*.

On the card above I created the background and mat layer using Distress Oxides and water, along with a stencil (The Crafter’s Workshop Carmen Medlin Designs 6″x6″ stencil – TCW520s Mini Desert Garden*/US link*). I also used the Distress Oxides to colour the stamped image.

Here’s the full process:

1. On a piece of Strathmore Bristol Paper*/US link* (trimmed to 10cmx13xcm) I stamped and heat embossed one of the chicks from the Succulent Chicks stamp set using Versamark Ink*/US link* and Stampendous Clear Detail Embossing Powder*/US link*

2. Using a Ranger Mini Ink Blending tool*/US link* I applied Distress Oxide Cracked Pistachio*/US link* to the paper. I love how creamy these inks feel when blending.

3. Using a spray bottle I spritzed the paper with water. As you can see from the photo below, I concentrated some water over the stamped image, to lighten that area in particular.

4. Using a Fantastix applicator*(US link) I then began colouring the image using Distress Oxide ink pads*/US link*, picking up the colour using the Fantastix and wiping it off in between colours.

At this point I also spritzed a tiny amount of water on the image, to create a texture effect on the pot.

5. To add a little extra interest, I applied some more of the Cracked Pistachio through The Crafter’s Workshop Carmen Medlin Designs 6″x6″ stencil – TCW520s Mini Desert Garden*/US link*

6. I then stamped some of the words from some Danielle Donaldson stamp sets using Ranger Archival Ink in Coffee*/US link* and trimmed them down.

NOTE: I recently bought the Ranger Archival Ink Mini Sets (US link)* and love them! Swapping my larger size pads for these minis has freed up some very useful drawer space, and I am finding myself reaching for them more.

7. After trimming the words using a pair of scissors, I inked the pieces using Distress Oxides Cracked Pistachio, dried them and inked the edges using Archival Ink – Garden Patina*/US link*

8. Using Walnut Stain Distress Oxide and a mini blending tool I inked up another piece of the Strathmore Bristol, this time cut to 10.8cm x 13.8cm, spritzing it with water like the main layer.

9. I finished off the image by refining some of the colouring a little with Prismacolor Pencils*/US link*.

I then glued the layers down and popped them on a card blank!

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you have enjoyed today’s post as much as I enjoyed creating it for you.

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