Distress Experimenting

If you've been looking through my thematic posts, you've already seen some of the finished products that came out of the experiments I'm about to describe. Many paper crafters consider Tim Holtz's Distress inks made by Ranger to be key tools in their crafty arsenals. They have unique properties in regards to how they react with water. Recently, the new Distress Oxide inks came out which create an "oxidized" effect with their water interaction. Combination dye and pigment, they have been shaking up the paper crafting social media world. To get the full scoop on their advantages and properties, watch this Jennifer McGuire video. 

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but wonder if I couldn't achieve a similar effect with white pigment ink and regular Distress inks. I conducted a few experiments that you will see below with the Picket Fence Reinker. Anything that has a chalky finish has the white pigment ink. In the larger group shots towards the end, some of the panels are just other related work I was doing the same day. All in all, I was pleased with the results. Putting down a layer of white pigment ink first did seem to create a similar chalky effect. Cons: The real Distress Oxide inks are opaque and would be much easier to layer. Also, this used a lot of reinker and took a long time to dry completely. 

Enjoy additional shots of the mess and my inky fingers. 

--LJE