Hey everyone! May Flaum here and happy to kick off a series of holiday project tutorials for you. What I love about holiday crafting is that you can create things for your loved ones, enjoy some crafting time, and it doesn’t have to take a long time either. Today I have a favorite distress ink stamping technique to feature with one of my favorite Tim Holtz stamps.

To begin with take mini distress inks and color the stamp. It’s ok to overlap colors and mix it up! Don’t have mini ink pads? You can also use distress markers for this.

Spray the stamp with water, then stamp onto watercolor paper.

Isn’t it pretty? I love the blended soft look of this, and it would be pretty just as it is but we have more fun stuff to add. Before we continue, make sure to dry the stamped image totally, and clean and dry the stamp as well.

Next up, it’s time to stamp the image a second time. This time use clear embossing ink and just slowly lower the stamp down so that you are close (it’s ok if not perfect!) to stamping in the same spot.

Coat with clear embossing powder, and heat set. This is going to lock in the lovely colors and add a bit of texture and shine.

To help make the stamped image really pop next use a pale distress ink color, start in the center of the stamped image and work outwards.

Some areas may show up white – that’s ok! You can add a bit more ink for contrast if needed, and when satisfied use the stamped image to become the centerpiece of a card or other project.

Here’s my finished card. I added some embellishments, sprayed everything with perfect pearls mist in sunflower sparkle

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