Hi there!  This is a simple tutorial to show you how I made the Distressed frame shown above.

Supplies needed:
- Ink(s)
- Water bottle or mister
- Craft knife
- Paper piercer or needle
- Brads
- Cutting Mat
- Heat tool (not shown)
-Paper

Position your letters on your paper (do not adhere yet) and cut the paper approximately 1.5" larger on each side.  You could also use this technique to frame a photo.  Simply follow the same process.

Put your letters aside for now.  If using double-sided paper you can skip the next few steps.  In my case, the back of my paper was white so I wanted to ink the backside because it will show when we fold back the edges of the frame.  Here I blended several different colored inks together.

Crumple up your paper into a ball.  (HAHA I love this picture for some reason!)

Unfold your paper .

Gently rub your ink pad across your paper to emphasize the cracks and lines.

If using Tim Holtz Distress Inks, lightly mist your paper with water so that the colors will bleed together.  Dry with a heat tool.

Flip your paper over.  Using a craft knife, make 5 cuts similar to those shown above (a horizontal slit, two vertical slits and two arrow shaped slits pointing towards each other).  It's ok to make them jagged and uneven because they will be further distressed later.

Turn your paper to the backside and gently tear the edges of your slits for a further distressed look.

Ink the torn edges.  I actually inked both sides of the torn edges because both sides will be showing in the end result.

Flip your paper back to the front side.  Lightly spritz some water onto the edges, and pinch the edge in using your fingers.  Repeat this step all the way around the frame.  Dry frame with a heat tool.

This is what it should look like after water distressing each side of the frame.  By this point, your paper will look all used and abused.  

Ink the edges, creases and folds for further definition.

Fold back each edge and secure with a brad.  There's no right or wrong way to do this, just fold away and have fun with it!

If desired, attach patterned paper to the back of your frame.

Adhere your letters or your photo and you're done!













To see the entire layout where I used this technique, click on the link below.
Cheekies!
I Traveled Thousand of Miles... To Find You

Thanks for taking a peek!