I've been using a makeup sponge for the Tim Holtz distress inks. However, I've been watching You Tube and the blending tool looked like the thing I needed. A lot of you have said you keep a separate pad for each color and keep it attached with velcro to your ink pads. When I went to change the little pads, they come all apart. They stick so firm to the velcro on the tool that they won't come off intact. What am I missing?

I've found that the velcro on my blending too is a bit strong- but I just slowly pull the pad off- and I've never had one come apart. Are you ripping it off, like a band-aid? I kinda pull the corner up, push my finger under and then it just comes up-

Or maybe you've used the foam pad so much it's crumbling/easier to tear apart? The pad I use for Vintage Photo is starting to look a little crumbly- and I might need to use a fresh one soon...

-dont know if I helped any....

-kory

I dont use the blending tool at all....

I use something much more simple and cheaper. I use bottle caps from the sodabottles. On the bottlecaps, I stick those felt circles that is normally used under furniture to avoid scratches on the woodfloors.
They last long, and keep the inks well.
Another thing I love about that, if I want to ink just tiny areas like a small corner, its much more easier to do just that one area. I only have to change the felt piece every so often. I can make it wet and it still stays the same.
Not sure if you guys have the same felt circles tho but here I buy one pack with about 30 circles in them for just 50 cents... and people always have bottlecaps.
Not the metal kinds tho, the plastic ones that are on the big soda bottles like Coca Cola, Pepsi ect....

Oh, that sounds cool- I know the felt circles you're talking about- I'll have to give it a try... Is the effect identical to what you get with the blending tool pads?

I also use some Dollar Tree makeup sponges, which gives a slightly different look/effect.

And for other uses- sometimes I even use those tough/dense foam 'bricks' that come at the bottom of the packing for the Sizzix embossing folders.

I'm also using my Distress Markers to do 'edges' sometimes- especially if it's an intricate cut or shape that you can't just swipe with the blending tool.


-kory

for those things, the smaller edges, you can ink em with the felt circles. They come in different sizes here.

To be honest, I think it gives a better result as you can be much more secure on where you want your inks. As far as ..if the result is the same or slightly different, that I dont know.
Friend of mine uses the blending tool and she gets same results as mine. But, I'm not really a fussy person lol. And am kinda new to the blending, aging and distressing.

I like the blending tool, it's comfortable to use and hold, but the velcro sticks like crazy, I had to reglue the velcro pad to my tool. I would like to get a few more tools if I could get them half off, if I get energetic I may make my own.

I do NOT use a separate sponge for each color. One for blue, one for red, one for yellow, one for brown, etc. I try to keep lighter colors on one end of the sponge and darker colors on the other. Any unintentional blending that happens is part of the distress look, imo, and adds more depth.

I love my blending tool and stand by it!!

I have never had one fall apart or anything, you just have to take them off slowly.

Thank you all so much! You have some good ideas that I'll try!

Like the blending tool. Really loving these.

Maybe I'm just trying too fast, like Kory said, "like ripping a band-aid off"! I'll have to try when I get home to see what happens.

Megan, I've seen those too and wondered how they worked. Maybe I'll have to get some of those too.

Eventually, they do fall apart. If you do edges a lot, like I do.

But their size makes them easy to control, and storage is easier. For me, at least.

Interesting. They look TINY though.

The ones I've seen I think fit over your fingertip and you use them that way.

I love my TH distress ink tool. The velcro likes to come off the handle though, so to fix that I just used my dad's staple gun and stapled the velcro to the tool...worked like magic. Now I don't have to worry at all about it!

Since I also thought the Velcro on the tool was too "grabby," I got some of those adhesive Velcro circles from the sewing area of J's & stuck 2 of them over it. Works perfectly now.

Thanks for that! That sounds like a good idea!

That is a great idea!

I get it Judy, thanks! That would be tough for me, I think I would quickly destroy them! I like that the blending tool can take a beating! LOL

It's funny that this topic should come up. I was using my blending tool yesterday. Without thinking about it, I pulled the sponge up and went to replace it with a different sponge. My velcro thing had disappeared. I looked for 20 minutes before I called in my DH and DD. We looked for another 20 minutes before my DD picked up the discarded sponge and said "Mom, it's here. Dork!" Seriously, I'm not ever going to ask them for help again.

I changed out my velcro to a lighter weight one that didn't grab so hard. I love my blender!