Review | Tim Holtz Distress Glitter

Reported by Angela Butler-Carter

Tim Holtz is know as "The Man" in the scrapbooking industry for many reasons. He is the most famous male name in the scrapbooking community. Tim's Distress line of color mediums manufactured by Ranger Industries is immensely popular with all styles of crafters from the shabby chic artist to the clean more graphic style artists, and he also creates products that are gender neutral since they appeal to both males and females.. Tim is also know for his innovative products that advance the industry toward more user friendly multi-functional products. For that reason alone, I knew his new Distress Glitters were going to be something special and they did not disappoint!

The Ranger Ink website describes Distress Glitter as a nostalgic pattern of unique glitter that mimics the look of vintage mica. A quick Google search gave me a better understanding what mica is:

Mica is a mineral that comes in a variety of colors and can be easily separated into thin transparent sheets.In addition to being beautiful, it’s non-toxic, tough, chemically inert, transparent, and waterproof. - via MicaSnow.com

Based on the images I found online, vintage mica was used largely to represent snow or provide shine in Christmas decorations and other crafty projects in the early 1900's. I remember seeing it on the edges of pine cones in the winter. I may even remember using it in an arts and crafts project in school.

Distress Glitter very much resembles mica because of its shine properties. I found that the Distress Glitter, unlike traditional glitter, has a color cast shine to it. What does that mean? It means when you tilt your project it doesn't reflect silver as traditional glitter does. It, instead, gives off the color that it truly represents in a beautiful subdued glimmer.

Distress Glitter MacaronUp

DistressGlitter Macaron3

For both these cards I stamped the macaroon image onto the card base using a similar color ink to the Distress Glitter. Then I used a wet adhesive to trace and fill in the stamped image. Then I sprinkled distress glitter onto the image and let it dry. The result is fantastic.

I shot both these pictures from different angles. You can see that the color reflection is the same. The Distress Glitter gives off its color from any direction and doesn't reflect white light. The Picked Raspberry Distress Glitter shines pink and the Mustard Seed Distress Glitter shines a beautiful yellow color. I love that especially for when you want to make a masculine card and it needs a bit of sparkle. It is not girly glitter sparkle but just a bit of shine to bring attention to certain things. Distress Glitter is PERFECT for that!!!

Here's a quick and easy card tutorial using Distress Glitter.

Distress Glitter Step1

I started with an A6 cardbase made of kraft cardstock.

Distress Glitter Step2

I used a stencil to create geometric shapes on the front of my card base. I then pressed a sticky based ink over the holes in the stencil to adhere the glitter.

Distress Glitter Step3

Next I removed the stencil and sprinkled the Distress Glitter in Picked Raspberry and Mustard Seed strategically over the card base.

Distress Glitter Step4

I added a few embellishments and a little bit of stamping in black ink.

Distress Glitter Step5

A sentiment finishes everything off nicely. And here you see the finished card. Versamark ink is a watermark ink that is very sticky. I found that it was not sticky enough to hold the Distress Glitter so I used some Glossy Accents over the Distress Glitter area to seal the glitter and keep it from falling off the card. That worked very well.

Pros:

  • The glitter shines the color in which its dyed so no over kill on the shine
  • The pieces are soft so there's less of a chance of getting cut by the pieces
  • The wide range of colors and availability

Cons:

  • It's still glitter so it gets everywhere.
  • The pieces are very small and soft so they easily stick to each other and other things.
  • The pieces tend to stand up when emptied from the jar so you will get quite a bit of texture. (Though this could be considered a positive as well, depending on your preference.)

Tim Holtz Distress Glitter is available in 24 colors that coordinate with the Distress line of products. It retails for $5.50.

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