Technique of the Week: Distress Crayon Resist

One of the interesting things about Distress Crayons is that they act as a resist. To explore this technique, I used one of the newest stencils from Magenta (coming soon!). You need a stencil that has decent sized openings for this to work well. This leaf stencil was designed by one of the Magenta Design Team members, the very talented Carole Dion. It's absolutely beautiful, and perfect for this technique.

First I cut a panel out of Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock to 3.75" x 5" (using the largest rectangle in the Lawn Fawn die set LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables).

I taped the Magenta leaf stencil (TM190) to the panel and using the Picket Fence (white) Distress crayon, I colored into all of the openings and smudged it with my finger until I was satisfied that it had covered the whole opening.

Once I had applied the white Distress Crayon into all of the leaf openings, I dried the panel with a heat gun. The resist properties of the Distress Crayons work best if the crayon has dried.

Next I started blending Distress Inks over the design. I began with Mustard Seed, and continued with Wild Honey; Spiced Marmalade; Rusty Hinge; and finally with Barn Door. As the color on the panel got progressively darker, the image showed up more and more.

I wanted a little bling, so I went over each part of the stenciled image with a clear Wink of Stella glitter pen. This lightened the image even further, and added a beautiful sparkle that is impossible to capture in a photograph.

I stamped the Thinking of You sentiment with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I sprinkled droplets of water over the image to add interest. It was at this point that all was almost lost, since I dropped two very large splats of water onto the panel by mistake. Since it was 1:00 a.m. by this time, I covered the offending splats with large sequins. This is always an option!

The panel was mounted onto a mat of Stardream Bronze cardstock cut to 4" x 5.25" and all was mounted onto a base card of Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock.

This is a fun technique that you can try with Distress Crayons, and is one of the many ways to use them. 

Art 'n Soul currently has ALL of the Distress Crayon sets that are currently available (Sets 1-5) in stock.

To see additional photos of this process, please check out the Backporch blog here; and to see another great technique using Distress Crayons, please go here to another Backporch blog Technique of the Week entry.

Technique of the Week: Rainbow Beam Blending

This technique is from Laura Bassen, and it makes a quick, easy and beautiful background. 

You will use Distress blending for this technique, but you will do it through a stencil. This makes the blending so much easier. You don't have to be as careful because you will not get the splotches that you sometimes might get with regular blending.

First I die cut a panel from Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock, using the Lawn Fawn LF768 Stitched Rectangle Stackables die. I used the largest one that gives me a panel approximately 5" x 3.75".

I taped the panel to my craft sheet, and then taped down a Magenta stencil (TM-147 Stained Glass) centered on the panel. I then got two pieces of Post-it tape to use as masking.

Starting at the left bottom corner of the panel with the stencil over it, I put the two pieces of tape close together and then wider apart going up to the top right. This creates a long triangular shape like a beam of light.

To do the blending, I used three colors of Distress ink (Wilted Violet, Peacock Feathers, and Twisted Citron). I started with Twisted Citron, and working from the bottom to the top, I applied the color with a mini blending tool. This goes very fast, since you don't have to worry so much about building up your color.

I then moved the pieces of tape, allowing part of the initial color to show and some white area. I applied the next color, Peacock Feathers, and quickly blended it into the partial line of Twisted Citron that was showing. I worked across the entire card this way, moving the tape and randomly choosing another of the three colors to blend with.

When I removed the tape and the stencil at the end, the results were striking. You can do this technique with lots of different stencils and colors of ink to create a unique one layer card.

To finish the card, I stamped Happy Birthday, using Magenta's beautiful birthday stamp 07.305.G and Versamark Ink. I thought this looked like a birthday card, and this stamp fit in the opening of the Stained Glass stencil perfectly. I embossed the image with Judikins White Diamond embossing powder.

I matted the panel on So Silk Shocking Green cardstock, which goes very well with Twisted Citron Distress ink. I scattered a few sequins, and it was finished! This technique was easy and fast to do, and I hope you will give it a try. You can see more of the step by step photos on my Backporch blog here.

Other Art 'n Soul news:

Come in to Art 'n Soul this weekend and take a fabulous class with Vesta Able! Vesta will be here all weekend for 3 amazing classes! Scroll down for complete info; we still have a few spots left! When Terry Medaris was here, he had wonderful things to say about Vesta and her talent and creativity. We are so lucky to be able to have Vesta here to teach. 

Five new Nuance colors are coming soon from Magenta.  These colors are in production and they will be out very soon, and they are perfect for Fall! We will be the first store to receive these, so if you want them (and you are going to want them) be sure to put in a paid pink sheet order to reserve your set.

We got our Ranger order, and the new Distress Crayon sets are here! Beautiful colors! We also have Yupo paper and lots of the new alcohol ink colors. If you have not used alcohol ink and Yupo paper, we would love to show it to you. You can make the most beautiful backgrounds. We are also all stocked up on the new and beautiful Enamel Accents from Ranger.

Sets 4 and 5 Distress Crayons

New colors of Alcohol Ink and Yupo paper

Enamel Accents from Ranger