Welcome!
Are you looking for a vibrant, highly pigmented medium that lays down a lot of color with a creamy, smudgable texture?
Let's introduce you to Distress Crayons.
There are many different kinds of mediums offering the same vibrant pigment load with that creamy texture, such as Gelatos or Slick Stix by Crayola.
Today, we are going to talk about the Distress Crayons, and why we love them.
Distress Crayons were created by designer Tim Holtz, and they come in many beautiful colors. Distress Crayons are popular because they can be used for many applications in your design process like card-making, scrapbooking and art projects.
When you think of crayons, images of Crayola come to mind which is what we all probably learned to draw with. Distress Crayons are different from regular crayons. Distress Crayons are formulated to achieve vibrant coloring effects on porous surfaces. The pigments in distress crayons are vibrant and water-reactive and are ideal for creating brilliant backgrounds, water-coloring, and smudge effects.
Now if you are already using Gelatos, you will find them to be very similar, so it really comes down to a matter of preference.
Distress Crayons have a rich and velvety texture that is similar to oil pastels and we found these are really great for backgrounds and mixed media projects. The colors in Distress Crayons are rich and vibrant and of course, the color names are cute and playful.
Candied Apple, Squeezed Lemonade, Lucky Clover & Salty Ocean are just a few names that are just divine.
Distress Crayons are a specialty art item so you will need to practice to get your projects perfect. Don't be discouraged if you are having difficulty with blending and achieving your desired effect, these are not like regular crayons! Just keep practicing!
Tim Holtz & Ranger Ink, the creators of Distress Crayons, show how they can be used and blended:
You can find watercolor cardstock, like they use in the video, right here.
When you first begin using Distress Crayons, start by playing with them and getting to know them. Lay down some pigment and smudge it with your finger to get an idea of how much it will smudge.
Lay down some more color from a different Distress Crayon, and dip a paintbrush in water. Move the color around and notice how it affects the edge of where you laid the color down. This is how you get to know Distress Crayons before applying them to a project.
You can also lay some color down o a separate sheet and pick up that color with a wet paintbrush like you would watercolor paint.
Tim Holtz also has some seriously amazing stamps, which you can find on Amazon right here if you are looking to try some mixed media with your distress crayons too! We especially love his nature-inspired stamps and the detail that went into making them! Wow.
If you want to learn a bit more about stamping, check out this class with Simon Hurley below!
Are you ready to try Distress Crayons? There are so many ways to use Distress Crayons, we would love to hear what you thought of them and how you used them! Be sure to come back and let us know in the comment section below.
Also, compare the prices of Distress Crayons on Scrapbook.com and Amazon below to find the best deal and check for sales!
See price of Distress Crayons on Scrapbook.com here
See price of Distress Crayons on Amazon here
Thanks so much for checking out distress crayons! We are excited to see your projects! Be sure to PIN our pin below NOW so you can come back later to enjoy!
Happy creating!
I love crafting, but im not very creative! I learn by copying projects. And ive always had a fear of messing up and wasting product. Last spring, a lady i know gave me all her craft stuff. Alot of Tim Holtz stuff. I know nothing about paints and distress anything, but ive watched some videos and because this stuff was given to me, i feel like i can play without guilt! I have learned alot and im ready to play with distress crayons! I love Simon Hurley videos, too! Thank you. Jackie Bird
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Karen Celoni
November 14, 2022
First of all congratulations on your haul of art supplies. That is really great and you can consider all those free supplies a real blessing, because you can use them up and experiment without worrying about how much they cost. I say be fearless, do’nt worry about making a mess, or a mistake. Have fun no rules; just play. Set yourself free and enjoy. Keep what you like and leave the rest. There’s so much good stuff on line to look at, and a lot of it gives you step-by-step insructions. Copy to your hearts content. Happy journaling!