Thrifty Thursday--Distress for Less

Today I'm going to share a tip that I use to try and save money in my paper crafting addiction. I try not to buy specialized items that are only for one purpose, but I love the looks of some of the products and tools so I try to balance getting the look without spending the money. I'm going to share a Thrifty tip with you and I hope that you'll do the same! I love to make my dollar stretch so please share your money saving tips here too.

I love the look of distressing, but I don't want to buy more specialized products for one technique...My solution? Use what I have in unique ways. I have MANY pairs of scissors, and they each get used for something else: I have one pair for ribbon, one for paper, one for adhesive, and one for paper distressing. The one I use for paper distressing is a fairly small pair, the whole scissors is about 6 inches long and the blades are about 3 inches long. I open the scissors completely and hold the paper tight in my left hand while I scrape the scissors along the paper with my right hand. This gives a wonderfully distressed look. Rather than buying expensive distressing inks, I usually use brown chalk. The key to chalk is to seal it so that it doesn't smear and wipe off. I use a VERY LIGHT layer of hair spray to set the chalks. Here is a sample of both techniques on a card I made quite a few months ago.