distress with contrast...

Hey everyone! I'm glad you stopped by!

Today's technique is a twist on an old favorite... stamping with paint...

This is a great way to spice up a background for a card, scrapbook page, art journal, or any other fabulous projects you are working on!

What you need:

Creative Inspirations Paint

Project base

Paint Brush

Make up wedge

Stamps

Acrylic Paint

Step 1: Paint some Creative Inspirations Paint onto your base.  I like to leave at least some of the background for contrast in both color and shimmery-ness.  (I'm sure that's a word. LOL!)

 My project base is a cardboard square that has been given a base coat of acrylic paint  (this helps the color sit on top instead of seeping into the cardboard). I then brushed on Royal Purple CI paint for a nice contrast.  I wanted it to have a very playful and free feel to it, so I kept it messy... If you don't like that look, go ahead an do a nice even layer. It's up to you (that's one thing I love about art!)

Step 2: While the CI paint is drying, use a makeup wedge to dab a thin layer of acrylic paint onto your stamp. 

 I'm going with white acrylic paint to match my base coat. (you'll see why in a sec)

Step 3: Stamp onto your project.

 If you have never stamped with paint before, you may want to make a few practice runs to get the feel of it. If you have too much paint on your stamp, you will end up with a mess of squished paint. (yes, I've done it). If you don't have enough paint you will not get a good impression (but that might be the look you are going for...) Keep in mind that paint will not hold detail like ink will, so don't use stamps that are  filled with fine detail.

Step 4: Allow paint to dry.

Because I used white acrylic paint to stamp, you can see some of the dark purple showing through the paint, but it is looks faded and distressed. Using acrylic paint also hides the sparkle, which I think really helps highlight the shimmer by giving contrast.

Step 5: *optional* repeat steps 1-4 with as many colors and stamps as you so desire. Let each layer dry before adding more to avoid getting muddied colors.  I actually added some Sky Blue and Pink Highlights CI paint in at the bottom of my project, but forgot to get a photo of it... 

So have fun using CI paints, acrylic paints and stamps to a jazz up your backgrounds!

Enjoy!

~Kassi