Card Samples, STAMP IT SATURDAY

Stamp It Saturday: Distress Oxide Galaxy Background

Time for a little creative inspiration with me, Elaineabella, for Stamp It Saturday.

Stamping Bella Stamp It Saturday: Distress Oxide Galaxy Background feat. Uptown Zodiac Girl Capricorn

Create a Galaxy Background with Distress Oxides:

You may recall previous posts showing how I created galaxy (or more accurately probably a nebula!) backgrounds using Copic markers. If you missed them, here are some links!

I love colouring these backgrounds using Copics, it can be quite relaxing. It does however, take a bit of time and patience, which are both often in short supply! A much quicker and easier way to achieve a gorgeous background effect is to use ink blending! Both Distress Inks and Distress Oxides are great for this. My preference now tends toward Distress Oxides, because I love the soft finish they give, the ease with which they blend and the ability to layer colour on colour.

I used Distress Oxides to create a background for one of my recent Uptown Zodiac Girl Capricorn coloured images (from THIS POST). Here’s the finished card (yes, I made a card, finally!):

Stamping Bella Stamp It Saturday: Distress Oxide Galaxy Background feat. Uptown Zodiac Girl Capricorn

Stamps used: Uptown Zodiac Girl Capricorn, Unicorn Sentiment set.

Here’s how I created the background. This isn’t the only way to achieve the look – play around with adding different colours in different areas, layering and blending.

I used Strathmore Bristol Vellum Surface paper – I find the ink glides over it beautifully, and I like the way it behaves when water is added (test out your papers – different papers give different results when you ink and then add water, which can give a variety of cool effects).

Before adding more ink I dried with my heat tool, this allows the Distress Oxide colours to layer on top of each other. I then started adding more ink – there’s no rule here, I just wasn’t quite happy with the piece, so I layered more ink.

I dried the piece before spritzing with water.

Practice spritzing to see how your spray bottle behaves and what pressure/distance you need to get the effect/spray pattern you would like!

I then blotted with a paper towel before drying with my heat tool.

I added some more Black Soot around the edges and dried the piece again using my heat tool. I then decided I wanted a more intense black at the edges to frame the piece, so I added Black Soot Distress Ink over the top (then heat set a final time).

BONUS TIP: When putting the final card together I found that the background paper was fighting a little with the focal point of the card (I used the same Prima paper Capricorn’s dress is paper pieced from). I used a piece of vellum to help soften the effect, and added some embossed stars using Versamark Ink, a stencil and Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder (also used for the sentiment). If your background paper is pulling focus, try adding some vellum over the top to knock it back a touch!

Over To You!

If you are posting your images online, we would love to see them on Instagram and all the platforms mentioned above. To make it easier for us to find you just use #markergeekmonday and/or #stampingbella as a hashtag. Even better tag me @markergeek and @stampingbella . We love it when you connect, so don’t be shy!

If you’re on Facebook join us in our private chat group Stamping Bella Sistahood to share your creations there and chat all things Stamping Bella related!

Until next time, HAPPY STAMPING!

MWAH

Elaineabella

4 Comments

  1. Nancee Purdum says:

    Thanks so much for sharing. I have never tried the Oxide inks but I am going to try these or sure! ?

  2. Gail Plaskiewicz says:

    I don’t have any Distress Oxide Ink in my arsenal but I would like to try this. Can you do it with any ink that you have? I also don’t have that dauber thing but I do have some make-up things that are made of the same thing as your dauber. Would that work? I really love your background and I want to try it.

    • Stamping Bella says:

      Hi Gail, Elaineabella here. You can absolutely try with the inks you have on hand. 🙂 Always give the supplies and tools you have a try – you never know what will work for you, and there is no harm in trying it out!

  3. chark says:

    beautiful, thanks for the step by step! Gail, I use the makeup sponges myself.

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