How do I distress the edges of paper

I see so many pages with the distressed edges of paper that is torn and curled, but I have NO IDEA how the heck to do this. I am relatively new to scrapbooking and do pretty simple designs, but I am ready to start learning more techniques and this is one I would really like to know. Thank You!

Hi there,

Some run the edge of scissors or a distressing tool of sorts.

I have seen dampening the edges with some water then curling the edges over a toothpick, etc.

Next to the forums tab above is a link to resources. Under tutorials I found this searching for distress. Some good ideas categorized up there.

Article on distressing

Have fun!

I use the Tim Holtz paper distresser.

ive tried several ways to distress paper my favorite is using a dstresser tool by tim holtz i love mine you can use it and add some nice ink ones too have fun play wit diferent things and ways till you find on you like that is what i did tere is really no wrong wayto scrap book:)

Or you can just use a pair of scissors, just use one of the blades and run it over your paper a couple of times in one direction to get a small distress of run the blade up and down to get a deeper distress. It's a nice way to see if you like the technique but it does have it's issues safety being number 1 XD and also it's difficult to distress edges with scissors.

I've used the distress tools (heidi swapp and tonic). Save your money. It's just a blade with a safety piece of plastic, but the blades will dull VERY quickly. I've seen replies using the blade of your scissors, but it's very awkward to hold and your hand is right on the blade. I now use an x-acto knife. Just grab your paper in the air with one hand and scrape down and away from you with the x-acto. You'll have to rotate the paper and switch it backward and forward, but give it a try. These blades last longer, and the knife is easy to hold. I hope that was not too confusing. Of course, give it a try on a piece of scrap first. If you go a little faster, you can get a cool tear on the paper too.

Cheapest, most foolproof way for me (I can never get scissors to work for this) is sandpaper! I use a fairly heavy grit. I have also used a lower grit on the edges of photos sometimes to get a distressed frame-like look around the edge of the image.

I use a block of sandpaper like the kind you use for drywall. Also if you want to do water distressing I use a cup of water and a paper towel. Run the towel along the edges until damp and then start warping them to what you think looks good. A nail file works too. Good luck!

To curl the paper, I just run it between my fingers. If it's real thick cardstock, you may want to dampen the paper a bit before you curl it.

I have a nail filing block (from the Dollar Tree) that I've used to distress edges. I've tried the wetting and crimping technique, but it didn't work out like I expected.
You can tear by hand and curl around any round object (pencil, paper peircer, etc.)

Here's a video with brief demos of different tools.

http://www.scrapbook.com/videos/513.html

I LOVE my Tim Holtz edge distresser! I also use the sanding grip and just recently, I've been trying water distressing. I bought a package of the Mini Misters and I fill one with water and spritz the edge and while it's still wet, I'll roll my finger around the edge and use my heat gun to dry it. It dries very nice and dries very stiff so it will hold it's curl for a very long time. Sometimes I'll also ink the edges before doing the water distressing, but make sure that the ink is completely dry before doing that or else you'll have very inky fingers!!

I get a little dish of water and dip my fingers in the water then run along the edges of the paper. Then I just scrunch and fold the edges until they look how I want them to. I like also making little tears in the edge and folding them over so the reverse side of the pp shows. Then I just dry with a heat gun. Sometimes I'll ink the crumpled edges after drying to make the ridges pop a bit more. Have fun!!

Actually, Creative Memories is coming out with a new paper edger tool. It looks really cool and will be available for sale on March 1st. They also currently have the tearing tools that give your paper a "torn" look. They are very easy to use!

Check out my website for details: http://www.mycmsite.com/nicolenewcome

I'm so glad I found this thread! I had the same question about distressing the edges. I was trying to rip the paper by hand and it never turned out the way I wanted. I've also tried sandpaper but it's a fine grit, so I'll have to try it with heavy grit and see if that works better.

Yay.... good to hear from a CM fan! I use a lot of their fantastic stuff. Just bought the border maker, etc.

I like Tim's Tonic edge scraper, too. I always keep a spare in one of my tool drawers. My sister uses the electric Diztressor. She likes it but I prefer my little hand held gadget because it's easy to tote.

You could use a nail file!

I use a metal file that has several surfaces. We've had metal files kicking about for awhile in the tool box with little use for them.