Saturday StepxStep: Distress Ink Enameled Rust

Hello Frilly & Funkie lovers! Happy Saturday to you all! Anita Houston here, to show you a tutorial for the Distress Ink Enameled Rust Technique, that I learned from Tim Holtz.
I had several projects I wanted to do using this technique, so I decided to use a half piece of regular sized Manila folder for this, to create a Masterboard. 

I learned this technique using only one base color of Distress Ink, but I wanted to play around and see which color I'd like best. I took Orange Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge, and Wild Honey Distress Inks, and swiped each directly onto the Manila using only the pads to color it. You want to choose a color that resembles rust or a color that mimics a patina.

It's okay to leave areas blank...that's a good thing. I probably have a little too much color here.

While the ink is still wet (Distress Ink stays moist a few minutes.) apply Ranger's Clear Embossing Powder either here and there or everywhere...it's your choice. I like the here and there application. You can use fine or regular embossing powder. Once on and the excess removed, hold the paper over a trash can, and flick the back of the Manila several times to remove some of the powder for a sporadic look. DO NOT use your fingers to directly remove the powder! It causes those lines to show where your finger touched and it's not a good look. I learned that the hard way, and I hate starting over.

Heat emboss the powder until melted. It's difficult to see, but it does become shiny after melting.

When cool, apply a brown toned Distress Ink using an Ink Blending Tool. I used Vintage Photo here. Really press into the cracks with the tool, so that each embossed bit really pops. You are going to notice that this looks like orange peel...as in the fruit, and not on the backs of your legs...YIKES!

These next few steps were not part of the technique I learned, but I wanted more experimentation. I added a second color of Distress Ink darker than the first to only a few parts of the Masterboard, to have some variegated shading. I used Walnut Stain. I blasted this with the heat tool really good so that maybe some of the Distress Ink would stay on the embossed portions. I didn't check to see if that worked and I moved on, but it feels as if it helped.

I wanted more interest and a more weathered look, so I misted water into my hand, and then flicked it (more Tim goodness) onto the Masterboard. I let that soak in about 5 seconds, and then applied heat from the heat tool. The combination of the two brown inks, made nice water mark rings with variegated color.

All the experimentation of color revealed to me, that I liked the Wild Honey Distress Ink portions best. It looked more realistic, but the other 2 tones of orange where great as well. The Mustard Seed was okay, and gave the look of discolored metal before the deeper hued rust forms, so I kept this Masterboard for my projects, but I decided to try one more thing. I swiped more Wild Honey directly from the pad onto the Masterboard. I hit it with the heat tool really good, in hopes it would stay on permanently, because I totally loved the look.

I should have used a clean napkin to do this to show you, but I used this to whip the excess ink off, and to my surprise, only a little came off, so I think the heat tool really helped to seal the Distress Ink, probably because I got some portions to remelt and the ink adhered to these spots.

Here is the finished Masterboard, however, the pictures just don't do it justice on the color and texture.

I was able to create 6 ATCs and 2 #8 sized tags with this Masterboard, along with a few extra scrap pieces.

For a quick rusted look on Grunge Paper, apply Pitch Black Acrylic Paint Dabber sporadically, and then fill in the bare spots of Grunge with Rust or an orange toned Alcohol Ink. It looks very realistic and the Grunge provides a textural look.

These all screamed out, "Halloween SceamPunk please!", so here are the finished projects. For more photos, please view my blog.

The Funkie Junkie Boutique is running a 15% off Friday Focus sale on all the seasonal Sizzix Alterations dies and texture fades so now is the time to stock up!

Supplies: