Technique of the Week: Distress Crayon Resist

This post is in conjunction with the Art 'n Soul Newsletter Technique of the Week.

One of the interesting things about Distress Crayons is that they act as a resist. To explore this technique, I used one of the newest stencils from Magenta (coming soon!). You need a stencil that has decent sized openings for this to work well. This leaf stencil was designed by one of the Magenta Design Team members, the very talented Carole Dion. It's absolutely beautiful, and perfect for this technique.

First I cut a panel out of Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock to 3.75" x 5" (using the largest rectangle in the Lawn Fawn die set LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables).

I taped the Magenta leaf stencil (TM190) to the panel and using the Picket Fence (white) Distress crayon, I colored into all of the openings and smudged it with my finger until I was satisfied that it had covered the whole opening.

Magenta Stencil TM190 Designed by Carole Dion - Isn't it beautiful?

Once I had applied the white Distress Crayon into all of the leaf openings, I dried the panel with a heat gun. The resist properties of the Distress Crayons work best if the crayon has dried.

Next I started blending Distress Inks over the design. I began with Mustard Seed, and continued with Wild Honey; Spiced Marmalade; Rusty Hinge; and finally with Barn Door. As the color on the panel got progressively darker, the image showed up more and more.

Step 1 - Mustard Seed

Step 2 - Wild Honey

Step 3 - Spiced Marmalade. The image is really beginning to pop

Step 5 - Rusty Hinge

Step 6 - Barn Door

I wanted a little bling, so I went over each part of the stenciled image with a clear Wink of Stella glitter pen. This lightened the image even further, and added a beautiful sparkle that is impossible to capture in a photograph.

I stamped the Thinking of You sentiment with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I sprinkled droplets of water over the image to add interest. It was at this point that all was almost lost, since I dropped two very large splats of water onto the panel by mistake. Since it was 1:00 a.m. by this time, I covered the offending splats with large sequins. This is always an option! In the photo below I also show how I'm choosing a sentiment that will fit in the space.

The panel was mounted onto a mat of Stardream Bronze cardstock cut to 4" x 5.25" and all was mounted onto a base card of Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock.

This is a fun technique that you can try with Distress Crayons, and is one of the many ways to use them.  You can go here to a previous posting to see another technique using Distress Crayons.

Magenta Products Used:

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

Magenta Leaf Stencil TM190 (available soon)

07.869.D Thinking of You

Other Products Used:

Distress Crayon: Picket Fence

Distress Inks: Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, Barn Door

Versafine Vintage Sepia ink

Clear Wink of Stella

Lawn Fawn Die LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Clear Embossing powder

Stardream Bronze cardstock

Neenah Solar White Classic Crest cardstock 80# & 110#

Various sequins