Tim challenges me from time to time – we don’t chat often anymore, but….recently when I posted my “Coloring with Inks” post, he looked, and I think he noticed I had no reinkers. LOL.

I don’t have any because, well, I don’t use the ink pads I have enough to need reinking! So he and Mario sent me a crafty care package of reinkers to see what I could do with em. Well, here goes!!

Video

I made two cards, both using the new release from Purple Onion last Friday – I lovvvvve these little buildings to have cityscapes for the little critters! I made one complex one that took….about 4 hours. ha! You can look at that one, but I’ll be painting a much simpler one. Watch the video below or click here to see it on YouTube.

Distress Inks are a dye ink – which I think somehow just never clicked in my brain…it explains why I have such trouble blending them! Nonetheless – they’re super valuable because they’re transparent – so any areas you want to see through to the stamped lines, that’s where to use them. And if you want darker color, and the oxide gets too light, you can switch to regular distress to get a darker shade.

Distress Oxide inks are a pigment/dye combo – and that means there’s some opacity to them. Not chalk, but they do have a somewhat chalky appearance after water is added. Which means for one that the inks can cover or mute any stamped lines they’re painted over; and also that the colors are going to be lighter than the Distress color you wanted.

The painted card has distress oxides for lots of it – especially the sky, trees, and sidewalk – those areas are easy to figure out since they don’t have stamped lines. The rest goes back and forth between different types of inks depending on whether I wanted the lines to be stronger or more muted.

The first card I had made is rather epic! I stamped each image separately and fussy cut them!

The “Room with a view” building (which also has a balcony stamp) fits atop the flower shop (but not the bookstore unless you cut the sides in a little closer) or can be used as a ground level building. I’ve placed William inside – he’s just bought his groceries and went to yell out the window at someone quickly before putting away his bread. (I cut open his window with an xacto knife.)

The flower shop window is one that does well with distress oxide over it to make the items inside look like they’re behind glass. Alex is selling newspapers, and Junie is huggin’ on her flower bouquet. (I can totally relate!)

For the inside, I used the building parts that were cut off from the front panel and moved them inside! Just swapped them left-to-right. The little kitty is named Sally – and her book table comes with the bookstore stamp.

Supplies

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• Purple Onion Designs
• VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black
• Arches Cold Press Paper: EH – BLICK
• Ranger Distress Reinker
  • Hickory Smoke
  • Fired Brick
• Ranger Distress Oxide Reinkers:
  • Hickory Smoke
  • Tumbled Glass
  • Gathered Twigs
  • Ground Espresso
  • Pine Needles
• Silver Black Velvet Round 10 Brush: EH – BLICK