Getting Distressed...

Hello, Joanne here to show you all to something new at Tando... Di is introducing not only a whole range of shapes but a new type of board too: it's white coated so you can get straight to work without priming or covering and achieve all sorts of fab effects. It's chunky, sturdy and will stand up to all sorts of techniques and products. You might notice something a little bit different about the "classic" shapes too (inchies, twinchies etc) - we think they definitely have "the edge" over the norm ;-)

Carol and I have been abusing testing some of the pieces and over the next few weeks we'll be sharing the results with you. Today, we're focusing on Distress inks for backgrounds.

Carol used inks smooshed onto a non stick craft mat to colour her pieces - the first with a blending tool and the second with the classic "wrinkle free distress technique" of spritzing the smooshed inks with water before dipping the shape into it. Water droplets flicked from her fingertips help to create extra interest in the background - just leave them for a few seconds and then blot off to get some paler areas.

This scalloped circle is approx 112mm in diameter, big enough to make a lovely decorative piece. Carol's given it a fantastic solar look with stamping, white gel pen highlights, crystals and a bead dangle. The doodled edging finishes it off beautifully.

She obviously hit her stride with these inks and used a twinchie to make this gorgeous little piece (any Craft Stamper readers out there will recognise the stamp as the cover mount from the March issue). Again, crystals and white gel pen add to the effect and I love the way the shaped edge picks up the circles in the stamped image.

More details on Carol's blog if anyone would like them.

I opted for something just a little bit different. This arch is approx 112mm high and 80mm at its widest point. I swooshed my inkpads directly onto the arch and really let the ink soak in for more intense colour. Then I spritzed pretty liberally all over with plain water and let it sit for a few moments before blotting off. It gives a really pretty rippled effect.

Then I decided to take advantage of the white surface of the board and do some bleach stamping!

If you've never stamped with bleach, all you need to do is fold up a few sheets of kitchen roll and moisten with bleach to make an "ink pad". Use it just like you would any other ink pad (but don't forget to clean off your stamp). For the most dramatic results, heat your piece with a heat gun as soon as you've stamped with the bleach. Do make sure you're working in a well ventilated area though - it WILL give off fumes.

I overstamped with the birds and sentiment and finished off by painting more bleach into the birds' breast areas. Although the board is sturdy, a Crop-a-Dile will go through with no problem to allow for hanging loops. I also threaded a length of wire with seed beads for the bottom edge. The ends of the wires are neatly embedded in the thickness of the board - safe and invisible!

Here's a close up of the way the bleach stamping looks - as you can see, the surface of the board takes plenty of detail from the stamps and the white really comes through.

Full details of stamps and materials used on my blog if anyone would like them.

Hope you've enjoyed this first peek at this new line. Carol will be here on Thursday with some more samples focusing on a different technique (and who knows, there may be different shapes, too) - hope you can join us!