Friday Focus - Distress Paints

Hello and welcome everyone. It's Jenny here, it's Friday and it's time for a brand new Friday Focus! This our opportunity to share with you ideas, tips and techniques for using a specific product or range currently available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. And even better news, that product then has an extra 15% discount added for the coming two weeks!

In the spotlight this time are Distress Paints and I'm sharing a step by step tutorial for the latest card created for our current challenge 'Autumn Splendor!' So let's get going...

Grab a brayer and begin rolling through a small puddle of Distress Paint on your craft mat. Roll the paint loaded brayer in a random fashion across a large piece of plain card (A4 size in the UK which equates to roughly 8.27 × 11.69 inches). I started with Peeled Paint and then added a layer of Vintage Photo in different areas. Don't worry if you get uneven patches like me - it'll all look good in the end!

Continue layering with Crushed Olive, Barn Door and Fossilized Amber until it looks something like this...

To remove the white bits mix Vintage Photo paint with lots of water and brush over the dry brayered layers. Use a large flat brush to get this bit over and done with quickly, then let it all dry.

I chopped up my card into three distinct pieces - the base (to fit my card blank with a decent margin) a second smaller layer, and a remaining chunk from which I die cut my leaves using the Fall Foliage Thinlets set.

Use your brayer to apply some white gesso over the smaller second layer.

Once you've die cut all the leaves (don't discard the waste!) you need make sure you run your die cuts through with the corresponding dies using whichever Impressions Pad and Silicone Rubber Pad are applicable to your machine. This ensures the veins are embossed into the leaves.

Use a small amount of the same paints to brayer over your leaves - I chose to add Barn Door to the maple leaves, Crushed Olive on the oak leaves, Peeled Paint on the beech leaves and Fossilized Amber on the wheat stalks. I also blended a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges of each leaf.

Use the leftover waste from your die cuts as a stencil and apply the same paints through it onto the whitewashed second layer of card. By stencilling the larger leaves first, then layering over the smaller ones you can create your basic design and ensure you know where to put each leaf.

Now it's just a case of gluing those leaves in place over the stencilling (offsetting them a little as you go) before winding round some Tim Holtz' Jute String or similar around the centre. I added a filigree metal flower and gumdrop on top of that but you could also use one of the other filigree metal embellishments Linda has in stock at The Funkie Junkie Boutique (like the dragonfly or butterfly or even a charm or two!)

And to finish I used some Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs and Chit Chat Stickers (distressed at the edges with a nail file) with a splatter or two of Picket Fence and Black Soot Distress Paint over the leaves. Having used a paper distressing tool along the edges, layer it all up on to some coordinating card and your card base for a beautiful Autumnal card.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and give the ideas a go. Remember, with an extra 15% discount applied to Distress Paints for the next two weeks at The Funkie Junkie Boutique so it makes sense to stock up now.

And of course there's still time to link your own Autumnal creations to the current 'Autumn Splendor!' challenge for a chance to win.

For now I hope you have a wonderful weekend and, whatever you're up to, take care of yourselves.
Jenny xxx