Category Archives: Distress Techniques

- Stamp – Hero Arts “Year Round Sentiments”
- Patterned paper – My Mind’s Eye “Dolled Up” 6 X 6″ paper pad
- Die cuts made with Hero Arts “Frame Cuts: Rectangle Frame” set
- Baker’s Twine – Doodlebug Designs and American Crafts
- Cardstock – Bazzill
I made this card for the Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown: Tags ‘n Twine.” I used the card sketch for Day 90 at 365 Cards for design inspiration. I created the tag by applying Ranger Distress inks (Weathered Wood and Scattered Straw). I then spattered it with water for a little visual interest, edged it with the same blue ink I stamped the sentiment with, and then added the baker’s twine. The distressed look of the tag worked well with the patterned paper I chose for the background. I love the die cuts I made with the Hero Arts die! I’m going to have to play with those chevrons some more! Thanks for stopping by today.
4 Comments | tags: cardmaking, die cuts, distress techniques, Hero Arts, stamping | posted in 365 Cards, Challenges, Distress Techniques, General Cards, OWH, Tags

- Stamps – Hampton Art Stamps “Kewpie Doll,” Stamper’s Anonymous “P5-1072 Dotted Wings” and “G3-1056 Splendid Adventure,” and Crafty Individuals “Decorative Diamonds”
- Template – Crafter’s Workshop “Botanicals”
- Inks – Ranger Distress Inks
- Ranger Perfect Pearls
- Vellum
My local stamp store, Stampin’ Cat Studio in Salem, Oregon, is no more. It is a sad time for many of us who have been shopping there and enjoying the sense of crafting community for the past 10-plus years. But as the store celebrated some great times this past Thursday, many of us made 6″ X 6″ pages to put into a memory book for Lisa, Stampin’ Cat’s owner. This page was the one I created for her. I used Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls, along with a plastic template, lots of water and some stamps from my stash. The Perfect Pearls provide a nice sheen (which is not evident in this photo unfortunately!). I stamped the butterfly wings onto vellum for translucent wings to help Kewpie fly! I’m quite sure that all of the supplies I used to create this were purchased at Lisa’s shop. Cheers, Lisa! Here’s to a Splendid Adventure! I wish you well! Thanks for visiting today.
Leave a comment | tags: butterflies, distress techniques, flora, Stamper's Anonymous, stamping | posted in Distress Techniques

- Background stamp – Penny Black “Damask”
- Butterfly stamp and die – Hampton Art Stamps and Spellbinders “Butterflies”
- Pearls – Queen and Company and Kaiser Craft
- Patterned paper – SEI “Field Notes”
- Inks – Ranger Adirondak Lights “Cloudy Blue” and Distress Inks and markers in Peeled Paint, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Mulled Lavendar, and Dusty Concord
I was inspired to create this card based on the Clean and Simple 2 class I’m currently taking on Online Card Classes. The instructor for this technique was Shari Carroll. I created the background using shipping labels stamped with my background stamp, cut-up, and then off-set. I colored the butterfly stamped image with Distress markers and edged with Distress ink. More Distress ink was added to the background with the pearls. This was a very fun technique to try and the Penny Black stamp is really beautiful. Thanks for stopping by.
Leave a comment | tags: butterflies, cardmaking, clean and simple stamping, die cuts, distress techniques, penny black, stamping | posted in Clean & Simple, Distress Techniques, Online Card Classes

- Stamp – Autumn Leaves “Flower Swirls”
- Sentiment stamp – from Hero Arts “OWH Right at Home” set
- Patterned paper – Basic Grey “Lime Rickey” 6 X 6″ paper pad
- Distress Ink – Ranger “Wild Honey”
- Cardstock – Bazzill
I was inspired by sketch #221 at Clean and Simple Stamping for this card. The theme for the Midweek Throwdown challenge at Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps this week is Miss You. So I put the two challenges together and made this card. It features the stamped flowers colored with Copic markers. I applied Distress Ink in Wild Honey to the edges of the individual layers. Thanks for visiting!
3 Comments | tags: cardmaking, clean and simple stamping, distress techniques, flora, Hero Arts, stamping | posted in Challenges, Clean & Simple, Distress Techniques, General Cards

- Darice “Layered Hearts” embossing folder
- Basic Grey “Two Scoops: Swirl”
- Stamp – Hero Arts “Newspaper Heart”
- Ranger Distress Inks
- Cardstock – Bazzill
Now is the time to make Valentines for our troops overseas. I need to make a lot to send off to Operation Write Home (OWH) for our heroes to send home. This is a simple card I made in response to the
OWH Stars and Stamps Midweek Throwdown challenge, which was a call for Valentines. I played around with dry embossed hearts and a stamped heart, adding some Distress inks to the edges. Thanks for stopping by today.
1 Comment | tags: cardmaking, distress techniques, embossing, Hero Arts, stamping | posted in Challenges, Distress Techniques, OWH, Valentine

- Cuttlebug embossing folders – “Holly Ribbons” and “Swiss Dots”
- Stamps – Stamper’s Anonymous Tim Holtz collection – “Holly Bough Sprig”
- Sentiment stamp – Rubber Soul “Holiday Whimsical”
- Berries made with Glass Effect Gel “Carmine” by Viva Décor
- Copic markers E81 – Ivory, G43 – Pistachio
- Ranger Distress Stain – Picket Fence
- Cardstock – Bazzill
- Distress inks – Bundled sage and Tea dye
I was inspired to make this card this week during Day 3 of the Online Card Classes “Holiday Card Workshop” that I’m currently taking. The background, which is a dry embossing technique, was made with the different combination of supplies: Copic markers and Picket Fence Distress Stain applied to an embossed piece. I created the translucent holly berries with my Glass Effect Gel pen by Viva Décor. I blended some Distress inks around the edges of all the pieces to tie the colors together, attempting to match up my Copic colors with my Ranger Distress Ink colors! Thanks for visiting today.
Leave a comment | tags: cardmaking, distress techniques, embossing, flora, Stamper's Anonymous, stamping | posted in Christmas, Distress Techniques, Online Card Classes

- Stamp – Postmodern Design – “Wooden Ruler”
- Stickers – 7Gypsies “School” and Pebbles Inc. “Masking Tape Labels”
- Distress ink – Ranger “Dried Marigold” and “Walnut Stain”
- Heavy-weight Kraft paper
This was a fun challenge that made me dig into my stash of supplies! The 365 Cards Day 227 Challenge is to make an Artist Trading Card (ATC) with a school theme. I’ve had the ruler stamp for years, and with its distressed look it begged to be stamped with Distress inks and spattered with a bit of water. The stickers again have been in my stash for years as well! I need to do more with all of the stickers I own! Great challenge! Thanks for visiting.
2 Comments | tags: distress techniques, stickers | posted in 365 Cards, Artist's Trading Cards, Distress Techniques

- Stamps – pumpkins and foliage from Hampton Art Stamps/Graphic 45, “Happy Haunting 2” set
- Sentiment stamp – Hero Arts “Year Round Sentiments”
- Patterned paper – We R Memory Keepers “Black Widow” 6 X 6″ pad
- Cardstock – Bazzill and Jennie Bowlen
- Distress Markers – Ranger
I used Sketch #212 from Clean & Simple Stamping for this birthday card. It has a real Autumnal feeling to it. I combined three stamps from the Hampton Art set, masking one pumpkin behind the other. I colored them with Distress Markers and spritzed them, then went in with a water brush to do more watercoloring. Thanks for stopping by.
Leave a comment | tags: cardmaking, clean and simple stamping, distress techniques, stamping | posted in Birthday, Challenges, Clean & Simple, Distress Techniques

- Stamps – Inkadinkado “Leaves” clear mini stamps set and Penny Black “Flourish Birthday”
- Pearl pen – Violet – Viva Decor
- Alcohol inks and Distress inks – Ranger
- Packing tape
- Cardstock – Bazzill
This was an incredibly well timed challenge! I was in the middle of playing with this packing tape technique when 365 Cards issued its Tape It Challenge! My stamping group was experimenting with this technique, which was featured in Craft Stamper magazine (October 2012 issue, pp. 38-39). We applied packing tape to an old dictionary page, ripping off small pieces and then taped the whole thing down to a piece of white cardstock. Then I applied Ranger alcohol inks to make a mottled, stone background. If you look very closely you can barely see the text mixed in with the background colors. The background is nice and shiny thanks to the tape. I then stamped the leaves in Distress ink on watercolor paper, spritzed with water and cut them out. I mounted the leaves on cardstock and popped them up with dimensional adhesive and then added the sentiment. I added the “pearls” in the top right corner with pearl pen. Thanks for visiting today.
2 Comments | tags: alcohol inks, cardmaking, distress techniques, inkadinkado, leaves, stamping | posted in 365 Cards, Birthday, Challenges, Distress Techniques

- Stamp – Memory Box “Tree Border”
- Patterned cardstock – BoBunny “Powder Blue Vintage,”Powder Blue Flourish”
- Pearls – Prima “Say it in Pearls: Slip Center Grey”
- Patterned paper – Melissa Frances “Betty Ann”
This card featured my first real mirrored image attempt for the 365 cards Day 185 challenge: Mirror Image. I used the Memory Box “Tree Border” stamp and the watercolor technique with Distress Inks. I stamped with a Distress Ink pad and then touched up the stamp (direct to rubber) with a couple more colors of Distress Ink Markers. Then I gave it a little spritz of water and stamped onto watercolor paper for the reflected portion of the image. I used the same stamp to stamp the top image with VersaFine ink. The sketch I used is the current one at Freshly Made Sketches: #50. I really liked this sketch–it was really perfect to display the image. Thanks for visiting. I have now officially finished one full week of challenges at 365 Cards! Hurray!
5 Comments | tags: cardmaking, stamping | posted in 365 Cards, Distress Techniques, Freshly Made, Winter