Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils

Hi my friends, if you visit my blog, you'll know that I love to use Distress Inks and Sprays to make backgrounds and I wondered if I could achieve similiar effects using the new Distress Watercolor Pencils. There was only one way to find out so I selected 3 colours, decided to throw caution to the wind and play. What a fun "what if" adventure that turned out to be. They absolutely did not disappoint and I was amazed by the 3 entirely different backgrounds I managed to create using the smooshing technique on my glass media mat, scribbling and blending with water and last but not least, the pigment explosion of colour using just the sharpenings from the pencils. 

All the cards were created on 4" x 5.1/4" panels of Distress Watercolor card and were decorated with snowflake images from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous  Mini Weathered Winter, sentiments from Weathered Winter and Bold Tidings 4, Sizzix Festive Words Thinlits and Sizzix sequins.

I sharpened the Distress Watercolor Pencils, Villainous Potion, Peacock Feathers and Shaded Lilac on to the craft mat on my Glass Media Mat, spritzed generously with water, moved around with my fingers and dragged the card panel through and tapped back in repeatedly until I was happy with the background. The depth of colour was stunning due to the very high pigment content of these amazing pencils.

I stamped the snowflake image from Mini Weathered Winter on to the panel, inked with StazOn Metallic Gold, sprinkled with Simon Says Detail White Embossing Powder and heat set. I trimmed Heat Resistant Acetate to be slightly smaller than the card panel and heat embossed the sentiment from Mini Weathered Winter in the same way. I stapled Idea-ology Cool Velvet Trim to the acetate and card and tied a knot to secure.

I matted the panel on to an A2 white card blank covered with Idea-ology Gold Metallic KraftStock and added Sizzix Gold Star sequins to the acetate overlay.

I dipped the Distress Watercolor Pencils in water and scribbled on to the craft mat on my Glass Media Mat, spritzed lightly with water and dragged the card panel through the colours.

I loved the soft drippy effect this gave and added extra splatters of the 3 colours

I spritzed the snowflake stamp with water, coloured with the Distress Watercolor pencils and stamped on to the background.

I die-cut Tim Holtz/Sizzix Festive Words Thinlits 4 times from Distress Watercolor card. I coloured one of the die-cuts with the Distress Watercolor pencils and used a Distress Detailer Brush to blend the colours. 

I layered the die-cuts to create dimension, fixed to the panel using Distress Collage Medium and decorated with Sizzix Sequins. I matted the panel on to an A2 Simon Says Lavender Purple card blank which matched the colours on the panel perfectly.

I scribbled the 3 Distress Watercolor Pencil colours used previously along with Tumbled Glass across the Distress Watercolor card

and blended using water and a large flat brush. I dried the panel and repeated the process to intensify the colours.

I misted the snowflake stamp from Mini Weathered Winter with water and coloured, as previously with the 3 Distress Watercolor Pencils. I dried the panel and stamped a smaller snowflake image with the same colours of Distress Oxide inks, sprinkled with Distress Frosted Crystal and heat set. I stamped the sentiment from Bold Tidings 4, inked with Versafine on to Heidi Swapp Vellum Sticker paper which is self adhesive, sprinkled with Simon Says Detail White Embossing Powder and heat set.

I trimmed around the sentiment, removed the backing and fixed the vellum sticker to the card panel. I sprinkled Stampendous Chunky White Embossing Enamel on to the panel, heat set from underneath, added Sizzix sequins and matted the panel on to an A2 white card blank.

I had so much fun playing with these amazing pencils and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what these unique pencils can do so I intend lots more playtime and I'll be back soon to share more fun "what if" makes. I would suggest that you pop over to Tim's Blog HERE and watch his video where he shares all you need to know about the pencils, along with amazing demos and very helpful hints and tips.

In the meantime, have fun with whatever you are making and if you haven't heard the news, September 24th (tomorrow) is the launch of the STAMPtember 2022 collaboration with Simon Says Stamp and Tim Holtz. Tune in to Tim's YouTube Channel at 9AM PT, 12PM ET or 5PM if, like me, you are in the UK

Hugs Kath xxx