Distress Ink Pads

When I was experimenting with the distress re-inkers the other day I also played with the distress ink pads. These inks stay wet longer which is great when you want to add embossing powders. It also wicks so you can add a couple of colours, sprits with water and they bleed into each other. You have to dry it with the heat tool otherwise the paper buckles and the inks run to the edges. You can use the ink pads together with the re-inkers.

This is the result of the first two combinations of Vintage Photo with a Stewart Gill embossing powder added and heated.

The weathered wood is a lovely greyish colour. There are around 20 different colours in this range of inks.

This is the result of the Weathered Wood with another Stewart Gill embossing powder - marcasite.

In one of the groups I belong to we are playing with our painted papers and art deco designs.


I made this one for the front of one of my altered books.

I was also playing with Gel Mediums, something I use a lot of in my work. One of the problems with colouring gel mediums is it waters down the gel and you don't always want that. However I used Golden Gel with fibres for the above sample and I added Brusho (powder) ink to the medium before painting the paper. It gives a real rich colour. After I painted the paper I added embossing powder to this. I think it has turned out well.

On the reverse of the paper I painted with the same gel but this time I added yellow brusho. It is embossed this time with a gold embossing powder - the kind you get from shops that sell stamps. I love the effect of this one.

Painting each side of the paper with different colours means when I fold the paper for the deco pieces I have different colours showing on the piece.

Here's another one I am currently working on. The brass shim in the centre was crimped with one of those card crimpers.

Once you have your space set up to print papers it's a great time to experiment with other media - you get all the mess out of the way at the one time!