Techniques on Tuesdays: Creating the look of weathered wood

The distressed and time-worn look is all the rage. You can get that look yourself with a few simple supplies.

"Barn Board" Supplies
-"Red Pepper" paint dabber
-Black paint
-1" paint brush (the cheaper and rougher bristled the better)
-wet paper towel
-plate for paint
-Tim Holtz Grungeboard: BASICS - Stripes

Here's how to work this technique:

1. Cut the grunge board in half vertically to create the "wood" pieces.
2. Cover the pieces in "red pepper" paint.
3. Put a small amount of black paint on a plate. Spritz with water.
4. Lightly dip the paint brush in the black paint. Off load a bit of the paint onto the wet paper towel. Then, working from the outside edge toward the center, add the black paint to the red pieces. The key to this technique is to use very sparing amounts of paint and to layer it as needed. Once you've added the black paint and it's dried a little, gently wipe over it with another wet paper towel to tone down the brush marks and blend it into the red.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until all of the pieces are painted.

To create the look of "nails," check out this post.