Distressed ink questions

[Barbara Jay]

I have never used Tim Holtz Distressed ink. I am not fond of the old tattered look.
However I think someone said that the re-inkers work great for water color work and the colors don't separate when they are diluted. Example ; Blue and red created purple. Some inks when diluted separate the blue and red pigments

Has anyone used them for water color techniques ? How do you like them?
Thanks
Barbara

[Angelnorth]

Yes, Distress inks are great for water coloring and indeed, they don't break down with water so the colours stay true. That makes them great for things like making your own color wash spray or Glimmer Mist too (just add reinker to water and a tiny scoop of Perfect Pearls in a mister).

I tend to use the pads when I'm water coloring - just squish the lid down onto the pad before you open it and you'll have a little pool of ink on a ready made palette - no waste either since any unused ink is there for next time!

I did a tutorial on water coloring with Distress inks here if you're interested - you can see that the colors stayed true.

HTH!

[MiAnCaTo]

I ditto Angelnorth's comments - I love them for watercolouring.. because they can be blended and not end up a big brown murky mess! Love being able to use them as a mist as well and again.. true to colour.

Generally I just grab whatever is closest to use with them, but I have used both a paint (or aqua) brush and a blender pen and both work.

I love Distress Inks, they are my go-to ink pads!

[Stamper for fun]

Angelnorth, your painting is lovely. Thanks for sharing your tutorial. I have bookmarked it for future use.

[Barbara Jay]

Thank you very much for the tutorial.

This may seem like I am dense :confused:

My confusion about Distressed ink is when I see the color samples on sites that sell them the colors are all mottled. They also look mottled on the front label of the ink pads.
I though the ink pad had spots with lighter and darker shades of the ink.
I just could not figure out how they make the re-inker to have lighter and shades of ink in one bottle. :oops:

[Angelnorth]

I think the image on the front of the pads (which is also what sites tend to use for color samples) is supposed to be what they look like if you swipe the pad over a crumpled sheet of paper. They're basically just dye inks but with a different formulation so they have slightly different properties. As well as the fact they stay true with water, they also stay wetter for longer than regular dye ink which makes them great for blending/sponging techniques and also means you can use embossing powder with them if you want to.

Multicolor reinker - now that would be cool, huh?!

[Barbara Jay]

Thank you very much for the explanation.
I watched a video where Tim Holtz crumpled up a tag that looked the weight of a manila folder and then swiped the ink pad over it. Then he misted it with water which made the colors run a bit and gave it a marbleized appearance. After that he ironed it with a "craft iron " to smooth it out.
He said it was unwise to use your clothes iron because you will get ink on it and your clothes.
I didn't know there were "craft irons too"!
This hobby supports a multibillion dollar industry

I have read so many great comments about this ink from others who use it
I will need to try some of these inks

[Angelnorth]

Yes, I think that crumple/ink/spritz/iron thing is exactly what the labels on the pads are based on.

I have my Grandpa's old iron in my craft room (which is nice because it means I think of him every time I use it) as it's the older type with no steam holes which makes it perfect for craft use. You can use your clothes iron as long as you take some precautions though! Just put a sheet of plain paper over the top of whatever inky thing you want to iron so the metal surface doesn't come into contact with any ink. If you do accidentally get ink on there, just wait until the iron cools down and then clean it with a damp cloth.

They're fun inks, I'm sure you'll enjoy having a few in your stash