Tim Holtz Distress Crayons

Distress Crayons, like all products in the Distress line, are characterized by their water reactivity and distinctive color palette. The wax component in the crayons allows for blending and smudging with a finger, allowing you to create soft effects.

Use on paper and other porous surfaces, but don't forget that they're also very suitable for mixed media projects of all kinds. Crayons can be used to add an aged patina and time worn effect, to create backgrounds for your cards or art journal pages, and to color to stamped images.

Spatter with water, let the droplets sit for 30 seconds or so, then press dry paper towel to them to absorb the moisture. Color will be activated by the water and when you mop up those droplets you'll also pick up the color, creating interesting patterns.

You can also scribble the color on a palette; use a brush to mix in a bit of water to create a wash. The more water that's added the lighter and more transparent the wash will be. Apply with a large brush to sweep large areas of color on at once.

Scribble the crayon on the foam on a Mini Ink Blending Tool and apply to a surface. This technique works particularly well with stencils.