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I'm thinking of buying some of the Tim Holtz Distress Inks, as I see them used on so many things, but I have to ask, are they really any different than, say a Colorbox or SU ink in a similar color?
Yes, they really are different, I like them. They are specially formulated to stay wet longer so that you can emboss with them. If you get on Tim's or Ranger's blog they
describe their differrences.
Yes, definitely different. Wetter for longer means you can emboss as Cindi says but also means they're more workable on the paper so they're great for sponging and blending techniques. They're the only ink I know that's guaranteed to stay true colour with water so it makes them fabulous to use for watercolouring images etc - no nasty surprises where a brown ink turns purple, for example!
Distress inks are different. Alot different! and FUN!!
The ink stays wetter for longer- making heat embossing possible with this ink. Also with the ink staying wetter longer makes blending several colors on a background easy. One really cool thing about this ink also is that when you use several colors and blend them on a background then Spitz with water you will see the ink sortof separate and you can see different colors because of the separation- an example could be: purple is a secondary color- make by mixing red and blue- well on some projects if using lavender distress ink when you add the water and the color start to spread a little on the paper and you might see some of it a little more red or blue and maybe a lil pinker in areas. The only way to really understand the uses and love of distress inks is to buy a couple and experientment, also watch some of Tim Holtz's videos. It stays true to its color when added to water when making shimmer sprays. I only have 6 colors right now but do have another 4 on the way from Scrapbookingalley.com. I honestly think the ink pads and reinkers have so many uses- you need almost both. I have never been the type to buy re-inkers until I have needed to re-ink an ink pad but that is starting to change because of distress inks.
I have though found another ink that works well in water that is also made from Ranger called Posh Rainbow ink ( Posh Inkabilities) and then they also have metallic- so this has prevented me from needing to buy re-inkers yet.. The colors may not be the same as distress ink but I can do alot of the same techiques just with different colors and ink. These inks only come in bottles and you get 6 in each set for under 15.00. I have earth tones right now and have luminous metallics on the way. I made a beautiful Terra Cotta Shimmer mist with 2 drops of these inks, 1 tiney scoop of Gum Arbiac, 2 1/2 scoops of Macro pearl Pearl Ex and water in a mini mister. I will say this is not the intended use of these Posh Inkabilities inks, they are intended to be used with a special dense sponge to make a variety of backgrounds to be used in papercrafts- but still have not used these for that purpose yet. I have made my own ink pads with these bottles of ink though (a piece of cut and dry foam or felt and a baggie to keep it in when I am done).
Once I get the rest of the distress ink color pads I want including the new ones released, I will start getting the re-inkers on sale, unless one of my pads gets to dry before then. Personally I rarely ever use distress inks when stamping an image, I don't care for the unevenness of the ink, especially with clear stamps... Thats just me, I know alot of people that do like to stamp with these.
Check out YouTube.com- there are hundreds of videos on using these Ranger Distress inks.
Also check out 2peasinabucket.com - They did a series of online video classes on Ranger products including 3 exclusively on Distress inks but also for alcohol inks, stickles, Perfect Pearls, Liquid Pearls and several other.. These video classes can be found on their site- I found the link several days ago in the forum and watched about 9 of them- each class has a down loadable handouts on technique's. If I can find the link I will post it here. I would post the handouts but I am afraid of not knowing rules well enough and I love this forum and would hate to get in trouble posting something not allowed.
Hopefully this link will work. The link is in the forum, in the General Stamping section, go back 3 weeks and look for a posting labeled "Stamping Classes with inks" it is the Thinking Inking classes 2009.
I think they stink. I only have a couple of the colors but they smell equally bad. Definitely makes me use them less. I do have a very sensitive sniffer though so it may not be an issue for others.
(ok, I had to get out my ink and smell them! LOL!! I have never noticed the smell before.....it is not as strong, as say, stazon, but it does have a slight odor....never noticed!!)
I LOOOOVE my distress inks and find myself reaching for them more than all my SU inks now....can't wait for all the new colors to come out!!!
I love my distress inks! The colors are a bit deeper than what you might think from looking at the lid as they are designed for DTP and stamping on cardstock like kraft and antique ivory and shipping tags which are kind of yellow. The techniques you can do with these inks and water are so fun!
Mary Beth
They are my favorite ink pads - I love blending with them and there are so many different techniques that you can do with them because the stay "open" - wet longer. I don't notice any order with mine. I have all the current colors and the new ones are coming as soon as Ranger ships them!
__________________ KAT
Life is not about weathering the storm - It's about dancing in the rain!
The YouTube vids hooked me - I went ahead & ordered some - found a good deal on the Bay... now i just have to wait for them to get here.
One of the stocking gifts I received this year was a non-stick oven liner - looks a lot like the craft mat that Tim is using. It came from the Christmas Tree Shoppe, so I am going to get myself another one - nice idea to keep all the glue and inkstains off the craft table!
I love Distress Inks. I went and sniffed mine after someone said they stink. I couldn't smell anything. Usually, my nose is pretty sensative, which is not always a good thing. ;)
I love DI's for all the things I can do with them. I like to paint with them especially. I can't wait for the new colors!
Hopefully this link will work. The link is in the forum, in the General Stamping section, go back 3 weeks and look for a posting labeled "Stamping Classes with inks" it is the Thinking Inking classes 2009.
Thanks Sheena for that fabulous link. Very useful.
Distress inks are my favourite! I have every colour and can`t wait for the new ones.
I love blending the colours with my Ranger blending tool. You must get one of those..makes blending so much easier and fun!
tell me about the blending tool. The only Ranger blending tool I can find is for the alcohol inks. It has rectangular pads that adhere to a wooden stamp-type thing that has a handle.
The blending tool is the same handled tool as the alcohol ink one, except it has a foam pad attached to the base instead of the felt pads. You use foam ones, kinda like a sponge pad, and you use it in a circular motion starting off your paper, and working it onto your paper. It's really cool. You can get the video on Tim Holtz's blog.
Thanks for clarifying that, Karen, I didn't realize there was a difference.
Man, I am itching to get ahold of these alfter watching those vids!! Paid for them over the weekend, and I KNOW it's only Wednesday night, but I want them to get here already! :-)
I saw this blending tool at Hobby Lobby, but I didn't think it was the Tim Holtz one with the Inkessentials name. I just googled "Ranger Ink blending tools" and it came up.
I am so glad I am reading this blog to figure things like that out.
OK I bought the blending tool. Do I need the nonstick craft mat? I think there was a thread about someone having something that was the same thing but cheaper. Did I imagine that?
Also, do you wash the sponges or just use a lot of them. Do they wear out quickly, how many different ones do you have going and do you use only one handle with multiple ones or is that too messy?
Yes you need the craft mat.... here is a link to Tim's site (not his blog) and there are video tutorials - see the one labeled Distressed inks http://timholtz.com/demos.html
The important thing to remember when you blend with Distressed Inks is ink up your blending pad, move in a circular motion on your craft mat and then on to your project - keep the blending pad flat on your surface. Just practice a little bit and it will be perfect!!
some people use the same pad over and over or have a color family pad (like use one pad for all the greens). I have a pad for each color and I store them in a bead storage box and label the inside of the box for each color. I like to use individual pads to keep the colors from getting muddy and I use these pads all the time. Oh - and the pads seem to last forever...
If you want a pic of my blending pad storage just let me know!!!
Good luck and happy blending!!!
__________________ KAT
Life is not about weathering the storm - It's about dancing in the rain!
Sorry I missed answering one of your questions.. I started out with one wooden handle and changed the pads as I changed colors. But after a while since I use these all the time I bought multiple handles so if I am working on a project with 3 or 4 colors I can put the pads on and just keep working without interchanging them. I bought my additional handles as I found them on sale or had a coupon...
Anything else let me know - cuz I love my DI pads and blending tool!
__________________ KAT
Life is not about weathering the storm - It's about dancing in the rain!
Thanks so much. This really helps. Yes, I would like to see how you store the pads. Is it important to take the pad off to store or can you leave it adhered to the handle?
Ok, Tim Holtz's Distress Inks!!! I love these!!! Absolutely. I'm in the process of getting rid of all my Colorbox inks and other assorted inks that I have because I only need the Distress Inks and my Mementos as well. That's it for me! I don't do a whole lot of embossing and if I do, the DIs do just fine.
As far as the blending tool goes....I've had a little problem with them. Not enough to get me to stop using them though. I have one for alcohol inks (and yes, I have almost every color except in the light series) and one for the distress inks. The handle has come loose on two different ones. After buying the second one for my distress inks and having the handle fall out again, I just leave the handle off.
I use the sponge pads by color. I use them over and over again.
I want ALL the new colors. ALL of them!!!!
__________________ It always feels like somebody's watching me. Hey, is it YOU?
If you have had issues with your handles coming off your blender tool contact Ranger via their web site and they will be more than happy to replace your defective handles. One of the things I love about Ranger products is they stand behind what they make 100% and they have awesome customer service.
(it's important to note that I do not work for Ranger - just love their stuff).
__________________ KAT
Life is not about weathering the storm - It's about dancing in the rain!
OK I bought the blending tool. Do I need the nonstick craft mat? I think there was a thread about someone having something that was the same thing but cheaper. Did I imagine that?
You need a nonstick craft mat but you don't need the nonstick craft mat! The thing sold as the Ranger non stick mat is exactly the same as the thing sold to put on your cookie sheet to stop your cookies sticking - try looking in discount kitchen supplies and you might well find something exactly the same but cheaper. You can also get silicone sheets - it's not that you want, it's the one that when you look at it closely you can see a very fine woven texture too it and it's a kind of light buff colour.
Some people use heavy duty kitchen foil - just toss the piece when it starts to get a bit tatty. I tried this for a while but found it hard not to end up with it wrinkling at inconvenient times.
If you have had issues with your handles coming off your blender tool contact Ranger via their web site and they will be more than happy to replace your defective handles. One of the things I love about Ranger products is they stand behind what they make 100% and they have awesome customer service.
(it's important to note that I do not work for Ranger - just love their stuff).
Oh, wow, you know I didn't even think of doing that. BTW, love your storage solution for your blending pads. I have one of those plastic things. Never thought of doing that! Another great idea here at SCS!!!
I have THE Ranger craft mat. I purchased it at Michaels. It's really not very big. However, I got it for $2.00. I think it's 12X12 or something. Maybe it's 9X12. I can't remember. I believe it was on sale that day.
__________________ It always feels like somebody's watching me. Hey, is it YOU?
Thanks for the pics Kathy. I think I can use my floss storage boxes. They look about the same. What interesting projects you have on your blog!!! Now I need to go to Michael's when I get a good coupon and look for the craft mat.
JoAnn's has their distress pads (and all stamping stuff) 40% off right now. If you spend $40, shipping is free (use code evd51). I just ordered about a dozen pads; their price is good (around $3 a pad) and their in-stock selection is better than I've been seeing elsewhere. For instance, broken china, dried marigold and a couple others seem a little scarce at the moment.
HTH someone.
ETA: I'm referring to ONLINE shopping here, not in-the-store.
Location: Hoping to be hiding out in my crafting room!!!
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Help me understand why I read this forum? LOL I have a few of the distressed inks but had NO idea what they could/would do. Now I want more. I'm not sure that finding SCS has been good for my crafting budget! LOL Thanks, as always, for enabling.
Kim - invest in the inks - really you will LOVE them!!! I use to use primarily SU dye inks now I rarely reach for them anymore.... I love the distressed inks!
__________________ KAT
Life is not about weathering the storm - It's about dancing in the rain!
Kathy, you said "I use to use primarily SU dye inks now I rarely reach for them anymore.... I love the distressed inks!" My question is are you coordinating the SU cardstock with the distress inks? Is that a problem. What Distress inks go best with SU cardstock?
I don't coordinate with SU cardstock - I just start my projects primarily with the stamp that I want to use and go from there... Then I coordinate with the cardstock as I go along...
__________________ KAT
Life is not about weathering the storm - It's about dancing in the rain!
You do not need to store the pads upside down. Water cleans up your sponges just fine. I tend to have a sponge for each of the colours I use most and just keep on using the same sponge, I only wash up occasionally and the ink rinses out fine.
Are Distress Inks really any different?
