Where Do Lost Socks Go?

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In my house, we have this increasing set of socks that have lost their mates.  They have taken up real estate on my dresser. I wanted to find a more appropriate place for them to hang out while they wait for their match. So I created this missing sock board/sign to hang in my laundry room.

This started out as a plain unfinished wooden plaque.  I found some scrapbook paper that I really like. I'd say that it goes with my laundry room decor, but my laundry "room" isn't so much a room as it is the stairway landing to the basement! Not much "decor" going on there!  The paper is My Mind's Eye: Lost & Found Two - Sunshine: Memories "Sweet".  I also got some acrylic paint to match. I painted the board with 2 coats of the paint to be certain it was covered.

I then cut the paper to fit and rounded the corners. I inked the paper edges with Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Photo.  I also inked the edges of the wood to give it a more distressed and "old west" look. After all, it is a "wanted" sign!  I decoupaged the paper to the wood using some Mod Podge.

I cut the "WANTED" from brown vinyl using my Silhouette Cameo and adhered it to the sign.  I then gave everything a light coat of Mod Podge (hoping that helps to keep it in tip top shape for years to come!).

The clothes pins got a bit of the distress ink on the edges too. They are hot glued in place.  Now they hold the unmatched socks in need of a mate. Even the ones that are a bit worn and stained!  Talk about airing my dirty laundry! :)

Designer Showcase: Heavy Distressing

It's Wednesday so that means it's time for a Designer Showcase!  This weeks theme is Heavy Distressing. There are many ways to distress a layout or project.  You can use inks, you can age the papers by tearing, sanding and ripping them. All will give some texture, dimension and detail to your project.  These techniques can be used on varying styles as well.  Let's take a look at the samples that some of our contributing artists created for today's theme.

This gorgeous envelope was created by Anupama. This image shows the front and back of the string tie envelope.  There is an image transfer of her husband dressed as a king for a school play.  To create a vintage look, Anupama used tea staining, paper tearing and distress inks.  These blend so well with the designer paper that resembles an antique map.

Gael shares this lovely layout in which she has done some distressing to add character.  She did some paper tearing and inking on the papers as well as the photo. The effect on the photo makes it look like a very old treasured photo.  The background is distressed using the resist technique that Lesley shared with us in this post. The heart doilies have a blue distressing shade added to them.  Gael also distressed the material behind the photo. She pulled the threads to fray the edges.  The results all total up to a beautiful page!

Give some heavy distressing a try on your next project. Just start ripping, sanding, inking and tearing up your pages!  

Distress Stains and Shrinky Dinks

Hi everyone!  Nancy here today to share with you a fun technique using shrink plastic (aka shrinky dinks) and distress stains.  I know I loved playing with shrink plastic when I was a child and couldn't wait to do so again with my children.  Well, needless to say, we know have little bits of plastic all over the place which got me to thinking, why don't I make some things for my paper crafting.

For this project you will need distress stains or inks, a heat gun, shrink plastic and a craft sheet.  I used the Tim Holtz gear die to cut my plastic into a fun shape.

 Apply a bit of the stains to your craft sheet.

 Drag your plastic through the stains.  This will give the plastic a mottled effect.

 Heat plastic to shrink with your heat gun.  I find using the heat gun to shrink plastic much quicker and easier than doing it in the oven.  Plus clean up is a breeze.

When you are done, you will end up with something like these.

So super fun to do.  Try it at your house.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs.

Nancy

Getting Organized

Hi everyone, Nancy here today to share with you a bit how I have been organizing my supplies.  A few weeks ago I decided to get organized with my Distress Inks, stains and paints.  I bought a new case and lots of foam applicators.

When moving all my Distress Inks into the case, I realized that I don't even really know what half the colors are (other than the obvious...blue, brown, pink).  So, I decided to make myself a little swatch book.

I stamped with each color, inked one edge with a foam applicator and the bottom edge straight from the ink pad.  This allowed me to see the different intensities available with each color.  Then, if I had the crackle paint or stain I added a bit of that to the top.  A few colors I even had the Distress Stickles for so I added those as well.  Now I know exactly what colors I have and what they look like (and what colors I still need...hee hee).  I am really hoping this helps me not buy any more duplicates and reminds me to use all the colors I have.

I hope this helps you get more organized.  I think my mists are next.

Hugs.

Nancy