Tool Play- Old Fashioned Style

I believe I mentioned on my last "Tool Play" post that I'm not much of a "tool" kind of girl. You could even say that I'm rather old fashioned in my limited style of tools that I use for scrapping.

I'd like to share a technique I've been using lately with a very simple tool- the ol' paintbrush.

I was inspired by Michelle Clements' style of inking & painting with walnut ink, but as I am a rather impatient kind of girl, I decided if I could cheat my way into getting a similar look without having to wait for the drying time with walnut ink, etc. I bought a lovely color of Shimmerz from Noel, called Mud Pie, and instead of spraying, I unscrew the lid and dip my paintbrush in.

I'm using a little ticket from the Office Party kit. It's very cute, but it needs some aging. So- I brush on a thin layer of Mud Pie around the edges.
Once that dries (a few seconds later), I do another few swipes of the brush to layer shades.
I then dip my brush in a third time, and then splatter the paint by flicking the paintbrush. (Imagine it a la Harry Potter- swish and flick! It's all in the wrist.) ;)
I then use the most old-fashioned and ancient of all tools: my fingernail! I just rub it along the edges of the ticket and gently fold up the edges. They give way fairly easily since they have been dampened by the Shimmerz.
Pretty cool, eh?

I also used that technique on the newest "no patterned paper challenge". Using the chipboard shape included in the Office Party kit, I sprayed enough light blue (I think I used the color, "Twilight," from Glimmer Mists) to cover the whole piece, and then painted the edges with the Mud Pie color from Shimmerz. I did a layer of the blue, painted around the edges, too.

You can see how they all layer together. I also drew with a white gel pen to make the edges pop.
Here's a few more closeups of the layout: I hope you try out this old-fashioned tool! :)