You Do You | Single Layer ft. Distress Oxide Inks

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Getting to know myself has been one of the hardest things I have ever started to do. I say started because I spent a very long time putting my needs and dreams and wants last. Sounds funny? Maybe you're one of the lucky ones. My time as a stay at home mom over the last five and a half years had me making everyone but myself a priority. It's kids and husband and house first.

Part of me is super excited to try and focus on me and see what it is that I want to do. I want to do something that makes me happy and I want to do something where I feel accomplished. You know what I'm saying.

To begin, I masked off the front of a standard A2 sized card base and used Abandoned Coral and Wild Honey Distress Oxide ink to create the background.

Once that was dry, I put the card base in the MISTI and stamped the image and greeting using CTMH Archival black ink. I love to use archival ink (and CTMH is my favourite) over the Distress inks because it is waterproof - so in the event that the coloured ink isn't completely dry the black won't run.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Clean and Simple Winter Birthday | ft. Distress Oxide Inks

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have a clean and simple masculine birthday card, this card can be recreated in pretty much any palette. The Holiday series may be over, but winter is in full force here in Calgary, so I thought a winter birthday card would be appropriate.

I was really, really on the fence about the Distress Oxide inks, but I really try to give things a fair shake and try them out before I judge them. So I picked up a couple of oxides and at first I didn't see what the big deal was. I have most of the regular Distress inks, so why would I need the same colours in another formula?

But the more I used them, the more I liked them; especially for backgrounds. They blend so incredibly smoothly that I find myself reaching for them more often than my beloved Distress inks. And that's saying something.

To begin, I cut down a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock and masked the top and the bottom. I then used the Broken China and Salty Ocean Distress Oxide inks to blend my background with the darker being more towards the lower left side. I used the Distress sprayer to spritz clean water over the ink and get a nice splatter look. It's almost like a snowstorm.

Once the panel was completely dry, I used my MISTI and stamped the tree as well as the greeting with CTMH Archival ink. I prefer to use archival ink over the Distress Oxides as it is waterproof and won't run if the ink is still a bit damp.

I mounted the panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base, then added some blue enamel dots to finish it off.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Have a very Merry Christmas!!