Using Pinterest color palettes as a prompt for choosing Distress ink colors

Was able to try something I had been thinking about for a while now. Technique is not unusual or different, but how I picked colors I wanted to use was the key.

Here are a few of the backgrounds I made using Tim Holtz Distress Inks with the spritzing technique of water applied with the Distress spray bottle.

Paper used was from a pack of white grid paper from Project Life that I bought a very long time ago at a Michael's Craft Store.

So how did I pick my color combos? On Pintrest app you can search "color palette". It will automatically show choices of what is a picture of a scene, plant, or object accompanied by what look like paint chip samples. Designers probably use these for everything from creating fashion lines to decorating houses. The colors associated with the picture are pulled from colors that are in the picture itself. Apparently, there are apps that can do this custom for you. I haven't tried that yet.

But to get my Distress ink choices, I just picked a sample color palette I liked & pulled together the inks that to me most closely matched the example. I used my handy dandy chart that Ranger provides on their website to compare to the colors.

So, for example, my first attempt was from a color palette pulled from a picture of fig leaves.

The colors of Distress Inks were: Antique Linen, Milled Lavender, Iced Spruce, Bundled Sage, Tattered Rose, & Victorian Velvet.

Next was actually a close up of a rusty bike gear and chain.

Colors used: Fossilized Amber, Shabby Shutters, Evergreen Bough, Faded Jeans & Aged Mahogany.

I especially liked one palette pulled from a photo of exotic bird feathers!

Here's what I got:

I used Twisted Citroen, Hickory Smoke, Tumbled Glass, Brushed Corduroy, & Chipped Sapphire.

The next was inspired by tulips.

Using Twisted Citroen, Scattered Straw, Ripe Persimmon, Peeled Paint, Barn Door, & Dusty Concord.

Finally, last image I used this time was a rusty lock on an old purple door.
My palette turned out to be Hickory Smoke, Milled Lavender, Iced Spruce,Dusty Concord, & Tea Dye.

The inked papers can now be used as a background, a journal page, or even to die cut a shape to add to a project.

Color palettes are a great prompt to get to using colors of Distress you may love but don't use often. They're also a great starting point when you may be wanting to create a project but are not sure what look you should go for.

Thanks for checking out my blog post!