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Ok so I'm finally really getting into my distress inks and watched some youtube on them. I'm not a big distressed person but like the look of inking edges...
anyway - one of the youtubes said that the Tim Holtz felt applicators are for alcohol ink use and the FOAM are for distress inks...well all I have are the box stores and all M's and J"s carry is the felt.
Anyone know where I can get the foam applicator refills? I really don't like how the felt work - leaves bumps that I'm assuming are from the velcro underneath.
I did a google and found Simon Says Stamps sells them - anyone shopped there?
Andrea, I have also recently developed a love affair with inked edges (and Distress Inks)
I plan on getting a sheet of the cut-n-dry foam shown in the previous post and mounting it to some blocks I have, but until then I bought a couple of car wash sponges at the Dollar Tree (it's a big tan sponge) and chopped it into smaller pieces and use that. It works great! (And it's so cheap that I don't feel bad about throwing away my piece of sponge when I'm done with it.) The trick is to pounce the sponge in the ink, then pounce it on scrap paper to take off a little of the ink and then gently pounce it onto the edges of your cardstock.
Even with the daubers you have, try the scrap paper and light touch - and start inking off your cardstock on scratch paper and working your way in and onto the cardstock - and you probably won't get your lines. Once you've inked all your edges, if you decide it needs to be darker, it's easy to add more ink. Once you have it too dark, though, it's pretty much impossible to remove it. Although, with Distress Inks, you could then spritz it with water and get a whole different look
Cheryl - thanks for the tips. Thats one of the things I picked up from one of the videos - start inking off the paper (I stamp on a SU! grid pad so that easy for me to do) and then I don't see any edges...I have been using the SU! sponges cut into wedges. I saw someone on their blog a while ago labeled each sponge w/the color and stored them w/ their ink pads - I'm so not that organized LOL..I like the idea of cheap and toss - but then again - my DD are into this "green" faze and not filling landfills..whats a stamper to do LOL. Great ideas! Andrea
Ok so I'm finally really getting into my distress inks and watched some youtube on them. I'm not a big distressed person but like the look of inking edges...
anyway - one of the youtubes said that the Tim Holtz felt applicators are for alcohol ink use and the FOAM are for distress inks...well all I have are the box stores and all M's and J"s carry is the felt.
Anyone know where I can get the foam applicator refills? I really don't like how the felt work - leaves bumps that I'm assuming are from the velcro underneath.
I did a google and found Simon Says Stamps sells them - anyone shopped there?
TIA Andrea
I've looked in stores for it too and only found the felt applicator. I looked at Tim Holtz's website and it takes you to Scrapbook.com to buy the foam applicator. Here's the link for the applicator: http://store.scrapbook.com/gb-ribt616.html and the refills: http://store.scrapbook.com/gb-ribr623.html. Although I've never bought anything from Simon Says Stamp, I've heard a few negative things about them over time so I'd rather shop at Scrapbook.com myself.
Another tip for you guys using the distress inks. I believe that Tim uses one of those craft sheets when applying the distress inks. I found a cheaper alternative to the craft sheet. It's a teflon pressing sheet that is in the sewing dept at Joanns. Works great and is about 1/3 of the cost....
Thanks for the link Sue - I swear I looked there the other day and they only had felt - it must have come in since then or I did a bad search LOL - I have a couple of other things I want from the superstore - so a shopping I shall go!! Andrea
The basic handle tool is the same for both the Felt Ink Applicator(to use with Alcohol Inks) and the Foam Applicator(to use with Distress Inks).
Felt = Alcohol Inks and more of a pouncing application;
Foam = Distress Inks and circular motions to rub on the color.
You have to work your distress inks onto the paper. That's why you see both Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi advocating the craft sheets as their perferred surface to work on. Wendy just put out a new tutorial video and you can see how she uses the tool. http://www.rangerink.com/slideshow/sept09_video.htm
I do alot of work with the distress inks and have used both the cut and dry foam sold by ranger and the foam applicators. I perfer the foam applicators as I think they blend better - plus I don't like the feel of the cut and dry on my fingers(weird I know) - the cut and dry does work well and also is good for acrylic paint techniques. I buy all my Ranger and Tim Holtz products from bluemoonscrapbooking.com. They have a fantastic selection and their shipping is hard to beat - free over $50 and only $5.00 flat for under $50.
I use my distress inks ALL the time. I've been wanting the TH applicator for a while and ended up buying the one for the felt applicators but, on the pkg. it says it can be used for the foam ones as well. Our local Michael's carries the foam refills too. Works like a charm but, I do have to agree....make SURE you start ON the mat first and work your way into the cs with the ink. Otherwise your image will come out very dark or splotchy around the edges. Just ask how I know THAT. :rolleyes:
You guys have "better" Hobby Lobby and M's than me. :{
Seriously I checked both. I may try a different M's today but I think they stock by region or something. Cuz my M's doesn't have the Brad Maker and other folks here have gotten it there.
I can always shop online but I hate shipping costs (don't we all) and don't want to order $50 for free.
I love distressed edges! Here's a tip I got straight from Wendy Vecchi when I emailed her about how she got such great color coverage with Distress inks on grunge paper. She said that most people don't have their pads inked well enough, and that's why they have trouble. I was having issues with the blotchy/uneven coverage, but once I re-inked my pads, it worked much better. I've found that by having juicier pads, I don't have to press as hard when I'm inking the edges, and end up with better control.
Also--I've been so envious when I watch Tim's videos that he has an applicator tool for every color, but refuse to spend that much money. So, I made my own individual "applicator tools." I bought cheap, unfinished wood blocks at HL (they were 8 to a bag) and mounted squares of cut and dry foam to one side with double stick tape. I wrote the ink color on the opposite side of the block with a sharpie. These are working like a charm, and probably didn't cost more than $15 for all 24 of them. Sure beats $5 per applicator tool!!! I also had a hard time keeping the foam pads on the Ranger applicator--not so with my double stick tape! Now I use the applicator tool strictly for alcohol inks and felt pads.
Kim - I haven't been able to find refills for the distress inks have you? When they first came out I got a couple but now I don't ever see the refills. I also use my SU! classic ink for my edges and I either have or am getting those refills so that should help.
You're right--the Distress ink reinkers seem to be hard to come by in my local stores--they just don't carry very many. I bit the bullet about a year ago when Cornish Heritage Farms had them on sale and got all the colors I was missing. Check your favorite online vendor--they're much easier to find online.
well - see thats the rub I've yet to find a fav online vendor - I have ordered a time or two from PTI and abunch from sb.com - looks like I need to branch out!!! but branching out for ink results in my seeing all kinds of other goodies I MUST have ..like new stamps LOL - its a never ending cycle LOL
andreas
Tim Holtz foam applicator
