4 Antiquing Techniques to have up your sleeve!

Now that we’re all confined to our homes for a few weeks, how many of you find that you’ve got more time to devote to your cardmaking and scrapbooking? (There’s always a silver lining, right?  ) Since we’re spending additional time in our creative spaces, we’ve got a few antiquing and distressing techniques for you to try during your next crafting sesh!

All of the techniques that we are sharing today were paired with the elegant and timeless designs of the Yesterday & Today paper collection and are featured in our Yesterday & Today cardmaking and scrapbooking workshops. (Download the free guides by clicking on the links below.)

Yesterday & Today cardmaking workshop guide (US and CA)
Yesterday & Today cardmaking workshop guide (AU and NZ)

Yesterday & Today scrapbooking workshop guide (US and CA)
Yesterday & Today scrapbooking workshop guide (AU and NZ)

One tried and true way to give patterned papers, cardstock, and die-cuts an aged look is by sponging the edges in a darker color.

Before rolling the spiral die-cuts that form the 3-D flowers in this layout, we sponged their edges with Toffee ink to make them look like they’ve been around for a while.

Technique: Rub a sponge on the stamp pad to load it with ink. Then, lightly rub the outside edges with the sponge until the desired color is achieved.

The darkened parts make the pieces appear weathered, like they’ve been exposed to the elements over time causing the original colors to change.

Alcohol markers can be used to create a similar effect in a more controlled way.

If you’ve got embellishments that are too bright for the antique look that you are hoping to achieve, simply pull out a brown marker in a shade that works for your project and start adding years to your art by coloring pieces in.

Technique: Color bright pieces with a brown alcohol marker.

In this next technique we literally distress paper to give it a weathered and older appearance.

These crinkled flower petals were almost literally put through the wringer before their edges were sponged with Toffee ink.

Technique: Lightly mist paper with water and carefully crumple it into a small ball; then open it up and flatten it back out. Allow the paper to dry before sponging the edges with ink.

This last technique is featured in our Yesterday & Today cardmaking workshop and can be applied in all sorts of paper crafts.

We called this technique antique heat embossing.

Technique: Rub your work surface with an anti-static pouch. Emboss the image by stamping with Espresso pigment ink, sprinkle the wet image with embossing powder, shake off any excess powder, and heat with a heat tool until the powder and ink melt together. Lightly sponge on top of the embossed image with ink to create an antique look.

Follow along with Karen, our Art Studio Director, in the video below to see how to effectively apply this technique to smaller pieces.

We hope that you can take some time during this period of increased social distancing to continue working on your talents and craft. Learn something new and practice the techniques we shared with you today to preserve the memories you are making now as well as the stories of your past.

Visit my shopping website today to get your supplies and get started!

XOXO - Shauna