Think Ink!

Today I’d like to show you my rather nifty Distress Inks storage system, and talk you through a genius tip shown to me by the lovely Lou Collins.

I use Distress Inks an awful lot.  They are water based so I can use them for lots of different techniques. And on top of anything else I happen to think they have a lovely range of colours.

Regular readers might remember a little while ago when I sang the praises of my ribbon storage.  Well, I returned to Ali Reeves’ brilliant website and treated myself to a Distress Ink Rack. Made of MDF, it is sturdy and well made, and very simple to slot together.

Then I downloaded some pretty papers from the Tattered Lace CD ROMs and covered it so that it matched the Double Loose Ribbon Hanger I’d also bought from Ali. Hope you like it!                                                                                                                                                                                        

The unit holds 24 Distress Inks – and I own just 22!  That means I have two empty slots, which I find a little annoying.  Can anyone suggest which two colours I should buy?  Which two colours do you think I’d find a use for? The colours I already have are as follows – and I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall at the meeting where they came up with these brilliant names:  

  

Crushed Olive

Mustard Seed

Peeled Paint

Bundled Sage

Pine Needles

Greenwood Bough

Faded Jeans

Broken China

Peacock Feathers

Chipped Sapphire

Iced Spruce

Black Soot

Tattered Rose

Spun Sugar

Barn Door

Pickled Raspberry

Dusty Concord

Gathered Twigs

Vintage Photo

Rusty Hinge

Antique Linen

Old Paper

The names of some of these colours give me no clue whatsoever as to what shade they actually are – so, as well as labelling them, I’ve coloured in the label to give myself a fighting chance of being able to identify them quickly.  Doing this removes all the guesswork.

And now to Lou’s tip.  All you need is a couple of packets of mini ink blending foam rubber pads and a length of sticky-backed Velcro, ‘hook’ side only.  Simply stick an inch long piece of the Velcro on the base of each case of Distress ink and attach to the Velcro one of the foam rubber pads. The slots in the storage unit are large enough to take the extra height given to the cases by doing this.

Having this arrangement means you can change colour at pace!  No longer do you have to bother to wash the colour off your foam rubber pad and then wait for the pad to dry before using it again – you just change your pad and away you go!  It’s absolutely priceless when you are pushed for time or working on a project which demands a few different colours.  Thanks Lou!   

Thanks for reading and don't forget to give me your recommendations for those two Distress Inks colours I'll use but don't yet have...