distressed paste...

Hello my wonderful friends!

Who's ready to break out the paints?????  Yeah, me too!

To get us started, you are going to have to do a little prep work. You will need a squeeze bottle with a fine tip applicator.  (I washed out an old paint writer bottle.)  Next you will need to fill it with modeling paste. I used a  liquid ink to color mine black before I filled my bottle. (you can also use things like pastels and acrylic paints.)  You can use whatever color you want, depending on what colors you want in your project. You will need your modeling paste one color, and a contrasting color to go over top of it. Keep that in mind.

Ok, now we've got that all ready, let's get going!

Step 1: Stamp your image. I like to use a light color ink so no lines will show though when I'm done.

Step 2:  Carefully follow the lines of your stamp with your paste we talked about earlier to make all the lines of the image nice and raised. I'll be honest, this takes some practice! Don't give up! It helps to work from the inside of the image outward so you don's smear the lines with your hands accidentally. It also is good to wipe the tip of your bottle often... as you can see in the photo, it tends to get paste on the outside, and that can make for messy lines.

Let it dry completely.

Step 3: Sponge on a contrasting color of acrylic paint. I like to dab the paint on with a makeup wedge because I love the texture (I'll show a close up later in the post). Depending on your paint and the colors you are using, you may need to do more than one coat. 

Step 4: Randomly sponge on some Creative Inspirations Paint. This will give it some extra color and spots of shimmer. It really adds to the interest and beauty of the finished product!

*you can keep blending and adding layers until you are happy.*

Allow to dry completely.

Step 5: Gently sand the design. This will take the paint off the highest areas of the design, revealing the modeling paste and giving it that great distressed/shabby look!

Ok... so it looks kinda bad right now... let's clean that up!

Step 6: With a slightly damp rag, wipe away the dust that was created from the sanding.

Step 7: Admire your amazingly fabulous piece!

I couldn't get a good closeup of the shimmer, but it is beautiful!  I love the shabby distressed look!

A finished card with my design as the focal point was a cinch to put together!

Ok.. as promised, a closeup of the texture that you get when you pounce the acrylic paint on with a makeup wedge... I love it! 

Enjoy!

~Kassi