Tim Holtz and Ranger Ink July 2025 Mini Distress Oxides Release - Swatches and Techniques
- Keisha Diann
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
Hello Lovelies! Summer is speeding by but I feel like it's left me so many treats and these NEW Mini Distress Oxides from Tim Holtz and Ranger Ink might be my favorite. The ~1-inch cube size if a favorite for sooo many reasons, price, portability and of course all the fun techniques that make these bite-sized ink pads easy to love.
I'm ashamed to say that though I have and religiously use my DISTRESS INK swatches, I've never made ones for my DISTRESS OXIDES. This is a shame as the Oxides only expand the possibilities of what you can do with the Tim Holtz Rainbow. We're going to change that today with the swatches I created in the post.
I'm a creature of habit so I used an old retired die for all my swatches. I have a couple recommendations for you to consider if you are in the market for a tag die for your swatching. Regarding the mini oxide sets, you can purchase them individually, or get the whole bundle from Simon Says Stamp.
Key Supplies - Mini Distress Oxides Swatches and Basic Techniques
Click here to view the full supply list or check out the one linked in the gallery at the bottom of this post when you have finished exploring this project.
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DISTRESS OXIDE SWATCHES
DISTRESS OXIDE SWATCHES - Die-Cutting and Inking
Size: Varies based on the die you choose
Oxides have a pigment-based formulation that makes them opaque, offers muted tones, a creamy ink consistency and a oh-so-easy to blend.
Swatches should give you the information that is important to you. For me, I am driven by color and use my swatches to match colors I want to use in my projects and create color schemes. For that reason, having a solid, even representation of the color is most useful to me
It would be fun to create a technique swatch, but today, I'm making a simple rainbow. To create: rub the Mini Distress Oxide cube over the tag surface until you get an even coverage of the selcted color
COMPARING DISTRESS INKS AND OXIDES
Sharing some of my observations
Distress Oxides | Distress Inks |
Pigment-based Ink | Dye-based Ink |
Opaque | Transparent |
Muted | Vibrant |
Creamy texture | Watery texture |
Slower drying | Dries quickly |
Can heat emboss by adding embossing powder | Needs a layer of embossing ink to secure embossing powder for heat embossing |
Blends easily | A little more effort to blend |
Swatches below show the labeled Distress INKS in the top row and the corresponding Distress OXIDES in the bottom row.
NOTE: Please note that the Mini Ink pads are very juicy, some even more so that others, so where you see a particularly chalky appearance, I actually think I over-saturated the tag and the pigment is just sitting on top of the paper. I am going to re-swatch those ones using a Mini Ink Blender with foam and see if that changes things.
BASIC MINI DISTRESS OXIDE TECHNIQUES
CLICK EACH IMAGE BELOW FOR TWO QUICK VIDEOS SHOWING THE HIGHLIGHTED TECHNIQUES
Technique Samples from the Videos
If you are adding these to your stash, I hope this gave you a few ideas to experiment with.
Thank you for stopping by! Leave me a comment with your thoughts please. It really does make my day and I am always happy to take any questions.
See you soon!
SUPPLIES:
I listed the products that I have used below. Please note that these are compensated affiliate links used at no cost to you. I really appreciate your support. All new release dies used today were part of my maker package from Sizzix.
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