The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Give Thanks Card with Distress Oxide Technique and Tutorial

Hello everyone and happy Friday!  I don't know about you but for me it seems like this week just flew by.  School is back in full swing and Fall is in the air here in Minnesota.  The temps are getting down into the 50s and 40s at night.  It's perfect sweatshirt weather.  Today, I have a technique to share with you using Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks, a stencil, and some water.  It's a fun, quick, and easy technique for creating a beautiful background with color and depth.

Here is the card I designed.  I love the beautiful mix of colors and it reminds me of Fall leaves.

I started by applying the Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks - Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral, Peeled Paint, and Walnut Stain to a piece of Ranger Watercolor paper.  I used Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools to apply the ink and I did all of the ink blending on the Craft Mat.  I wanted to share this first picture with you so you could see how the paper looks after applying the first layer of color.  Right now it looks like a hot mess and has sharp edges of color--but that's ok.  I know when it comes to ink blending a lot of people put one layer of ink down and then they get discouraged because it doesn't look good.  To achieve a nice soft blend that looks like the colors just melt into each other the ink blending has to be done in layers. 

Here is the ink blending once I was done.  There is a big difference between the two pictures.  I repeated the ink blending three times and each time I used a lighter touch.  Hopefully seeing these two pictures is helpful to achieving a nice soft ink blended background.

Next, I taped down the Tim Holtz Tiles Layering Stencil to hold it in place.  Then I used the Distress Sprayer to apply water to the top left corner.  I carefully lifted up the stencil and used a paper towel to blot up the excess water.  The Distress Oxide Inks react with the water so you will get a really nice background with the stencil design.  I used a heat tool to speed up the drying time and then I repeated the process in the lower right corner.

Here is the end result.  I love how you can see the pattern from the stencil but the pattern and lines aren't perfect and it gives the paper depth.

I wanted to do some heat embossing in the lower corner so I used the EK Success Powder Tool to make sure the embossing powder would only stick where I wanted it too.

To stamp the sentiment I used the Tim Holtz Stamp Platform from Tonic.  I made sure that I had the cover of the platform on the Clear side which allows me to easily use clear stamps.  I used the two magnets to hold the paper in place and lined up my stamp, closed the lid to pick up the clear stamp, applied ink and closed the lid to stamp.  The sentiment is from the Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Harvest SS-010 set and I used VersaMark Ink.

Here is a close up of the corner to see the sentiment.  For the heat embossing is used Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder.

I applied a piece of May Arts Brown 5/8" Twill ribbon across the front of the watercolor panel.  Then I added some May Arts Brown Burlap String, a leaf, and flower from Petaloo Botanica Yellow Blooms collection.  I used hot glue to quickly apply everything in a nice little cluster on the background paper.

To finish off the card I applied the watercolor background to a white A2 top folding card base.  Using the Distress Oxide Inks, water, and a stencil you can create some really fun backgrounds.  I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and that you'll give it a try.

If you would like to see more card inspiration I encourage you to check out the Stamp Simply Blog.  All of the supplies used to create today's card can be found at 

The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  If you believe in the power of prayer please keep all of the people in Texas, Florida, and the Southern East Coast in your thoughts and prayers.  We have family and friends in all those areas.  I pray that everyone will be safe.

Hugs & Smiles,

Heidi

Supplies
Stamps:  Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Harvest SS-010
Paper:  Ranger Watercolor, Cardstock - White
Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks - Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral, Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain, VersaMark Ink
Ribbon:  May Arts Brown Burlap String, May Arts Brown 5/8" Twill
Accessories:  Tim Holtz Tiles Layering Stencil, Tim Holtz Stamp Platform, Distress Sprayer, EK Success Powder Tool, Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder, Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools, Craft Mat, Petaloo Botanica Yellow Blooms,  Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L E-Z Runner, Heat Tool, Paper Towel, Hot Glue