Buying your first Distress inks!

These tutorials are a product of extensive reading, researching and lots of time spent on making them. Please do not copy, or share on your page (for promoting your items in your shop) unless I give you permission to do so. Please ask nicely....I won't say no...but you need to ask.... You can link it on your blogs if you have used these tutorials...please share the link with me when you do use these tutorials...I would love to stop by and see what you have done! 

Planning to buy your first distress inks? Confused as to what colors to buy? Don’t know where to start?

Do I sound like one of those telebrand ads? I think I do!!

 It is confusing if you have a limited budget and over 36 colors to buy..  I had this post long time in the making! I had a lot of people come and ask me how to buy or how to choose the distress inks!

So I’ll just break it down for you, as to how I brought them. 

Whenever buying inks or paints that have too many shades of colors…pick the basic ones first..then buy one color lighter and one color darker than the one you have…In distressing, it gives you a perfect blend…and in coloring it gives you fabulous shading! 

So having said that…what will be your basics first 5 colors?…

Distressing isn’t complete without Vintage Photo..so that’s your first

 

Then pick one blue, green, pink and yellow. 

So your first ever colors could be (This is how I bought my colors, you may choose to differ…this is just a guide..not a rule)

Vintage Photo

Shabby Shutters (Green)

Broken China (Blue)

Worn Lipstick (Pink)

Wild honey (Yellow orange) 

Then you can pick your next set…adding one shade darker and one shade lighter to each of the above…

Antique linen (Lighter than Vintage Photo) & Walnut stain (Darker – I don’t own nor need this color since I prefer fresher colors..but you can if you are going for dark vintagey projects)

Green family- Peeled Paint (darker than Shabby shutters)  & Bundled Sage/crushed Olive (lighter)..

For Blues family – Tumbled glass (Lighter) and faded Jeans (darker blue)/also Chipped Sapphire

For pink family – Spun sugar (very light pink) and  Barn door (darker- it is  more of red) /victorian velvet (muted pink). 

Yellows -  Mustard seed (pure yellow) and rusty hinge (darker shade of orange)

That brings you to around 15 inks! 

Then you fill in the missing gaps…like purple – Milled lavender and Dusty concord

Reds – Fired brick and Aged Mahogany (Dark reddish brown)

Ranger has new bright colors too now...and I love them. My favorites are Salty ocean (blue),
picked Raspberry (pink)
 mowed Lawn (green)
squeezed lemonade (yellow)
Ripe persimmon (orange)
Festive berries (red)

I seem to think these are enough to start with…I have bought more colors, but haven’t touched them…coz they’re the extras…purples and lightest pinks etc..which aren’t that much used…What I use most are my top 15 colors!!

Always keep a color chart for your reference…You can download and print it off the ranger website…and keep adding the colors you get…

And another tip…store your inkpads upside down..they’ll always be juicy when you get down to using it…Since I store my inkpads sideways..I make sure I keep rotating them..else they would dry out in the 44C heat ! 

As always feel free to ask questions....your questions help me learn more and maybe help others who have the same doubts! 

Hugs! Tee (my new name....psst Khush I love it...and my husband has forgotten my original name ..he calls me Tee now!!)