I'm Distressed! Part 1

Oh, but this isn't a bad thing! Distressing is a way of adding depth, texture, and interest to your artwork. It can also make your piece look aged or grungy, which is all the rage right now in paper crafting.

There are many different ways you can distress paper, so I will be doing a series of posts on several of my favorites and most popular. In Part 1, I will show you how ink distressing the edges of your paper can make a big difference in your project.

First, let's take a look at a card:

It's very nice as it stands, but let's see what inking the edges will do for it. There are also several ways you can apply ink to the edges of your paper. You can drag your ink pad along the edge, or in turn, drag your paper through your ink pad. But my favorite is the sponge dauber. This is a small, round sponge attached to the end of a "cap" that fits over the tip of your finger - sort of like a thimble. Once the dauber is on your fingertip, dab it onto your ink pad, then, using a downward motion, flick the inked sponge along the edge of your paper:

Do this along each edge for every piece you want to distress. I usually use some color of brown to distress the edges of my paper, but you can use any color that matches your project! After distressing all the pieces, this is what the card looks like now:

See the difference? There's a lot more texture, which in turn, creates more visual interest. Ink distressing can also be really helpful in making an image "pop" off of a background that it would normally blend into. See what ink distressing can do for your next project! And tune in for "I'm Distressed! Part 2" when we'll talk about paper tearing!

Until then - Happy Distressing!