When the Tim Holtz Distress Markers by Ranger came out months back, I loved the idea. But rather than buying the whole set before even getting to try out one marker, I decided to look for ways to buy them in smaller chunks. So, when I started seeing 5-packs of these markers at Hobby Lobby and Michaels I excitedly bought them (with coupons, of course).
But I quickly became distressed (pun fully intended) at the lack of information on the product packaging. Some of the sets had names—such as Memories Past and Country Fair—but these were only printed on the store SKU tag and not the bubble pack, and not all of them even had names. Kind of weird.
But the bigger problem was that the color names of the included markers weren’t listed anywhere! It wasn’t printed on the cardboard backing. And the way the markers were packed in the plastic made it so that only one marker was turned up and readable.
Then, when I came home to look for the list online I still couldn’t find any details! The reason I was so diligent about finding this info is that I wanted to be sure, before opening the product and making it harder to return, that none of the sets had duplicate colors.
Well, I finally decided, after comparing all the sets and figuring that there didn’t look to be any color overlap, that I would just open them. It worked out because I now have 25 of the colors and I like the markers. But my frustration over not finding these colors listed anywhere turned into a little project to benefit my readers. And so I give you…
The Distress Markers 5-pack color lists:
Cluttered Cellar includes: stormy sky, forest moss, fired brick, spiced marmalade and dusty concord
Country Fair includes: peeled paint, barn door, mustard, faded jeans and black soot
Estate Sale includes: frayed burlap, weathered wood, shabby shutters, tattered rose and Victorian velvet
Memories Past includes: vintage photo, wild honey, crushed olive, tumbled glass and worn lipstick
Victorian Shabby includes: antique linen, broken china, bundled sage, spun sugar and picket fence
I really hope this is helpful to you. If you have found any other color collections of these markers, will you please leave me a comment to tell me the name of it and which colors are included?
Update
I’ve received a helpful update from reader Monica, who says there is another 5-piece set called Hillside, which has the following colors:
Aged Mahogany
Dusty Concord (also in Cluttered Cellar)
Pine Needle
Spiced Marmalade (also in Cluttered Cellar)
Walnut Stain
It sounds like Ranger isn’t going to make it easy for us to collect all the distress markers through sets, which is unfortunate because I think it makes them seem less customer friendly. It seems like a marketing ploy to force us to buy duplicates just so we can take advantage of the better pricing that bundles afford. Do you think you will buy the “Hillside” set even if you already have the others, or are the duplicates going to keep you from making the purchase?
Update #2 (2014)
Tim Holtz Distress Markers now total 49 colors (the original full set included 37 colors). The new colors are available as a 12-color set (in their own 2-inch storage tube) for those who bought the original full set and want to update to the new full set). You can also buy the whole updated 49-color set (in 4-inch storage tube). Or you can buy individual colors as open stock.
The colors included in the 12-marker seasonal set are:
Evergreen Bough
Festive Berries
Gathered Twigs
Iced Spruce
Mowed Lawn
Peacock Feathers
Picked Raspberry
Ripe Persimmon
Salty Ocean
Seedless Preserves
Shaded Lilac
Squeezed Lemonade
There are more sets to add to your watch list:
Boardwalk:
Evergreen Bough
Shaded Lilac
Salty Ocean
Festive Berries
Squeezed Lemonade
Marketplace:
Mowed Lawn
Peacock Feathers
Picked Raspberry
Ripe Persimmon
Seedless Preserves
Update #3 (2015)
Thank you to reader Katie, who left a helpful comment about finding the 12-piece tube with all the 2015 monthly releases at Hobby Lobby:
Mermaid Lagoon
Hickory Smoke
Cracked Pistachio
Blueprint Sketch
Twisted Citron
Abandoned Coral
Wilted Violet
Lucky Clover
Fossilized Amber
Carved Pumpkin
Ground Espresso
Candied Apple
OMG! LOL! DITTO! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! I was frustrated as well. This is so helpful!
thank you SOOOOOO much for doing this (spelling out the colors in each package of distressed markers). I went through the same frustration and can’t image packaging an item without putting the contents on the outer wrapper for all to see. what a help your listing was and how grateful I am that I came across your website. thanks again!!
My thoughts exactly!
I have these five sets too.
Now I winder if the remaining colors will come out in sets.
I have 12 markers to go.
That’s been on my mind, too, Barbara. And why we can’t find that information anywhere I just can’t figure out! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Thank you so much for this information!!
Thanks you SO MUCH for posting these. I have been having the same difficulty with the Tim Holtz pacckaging of the 5 marker sets.
I’ll certainly let you know if/when I find any different ones.
I’m happy my post was helpful to you, Sharon! 🙂
Janice,
I found a new set at Michaels which include these colors: walnut stain,dusty concord, spiced marmalade, pine needles, aged mahogany.
I have a picture of the colors for you.
Diane
Dusty concord and spiced marmalade are also in the cluttered cellar set which makes them duplicates.
Diane, this must be the set that gave me the duplicates of SPICED MARMALADE and DUSTY CONCORD. This verifies to me that Ranger did this on purpose. I guess I’ll be buying the rest of my collection in singles on line. Darn it!
just to make this worse, Walnut Stain is also in the “Flower Cart” collection – it’s Spun Sugar – Antique Linen – Dried Marigold – Broken China and Walnut Stain.
Thank you, thank you, thank you…..Like you, I wanted to try a few out before purchasing all of them. Michaels has a good sale on this week, so I thought I’d pick some up. Bought 2 sets, got them home, diligently wrote the names down in my little book (lol…I’m trying to be organized so that I don’t end up with duplicates of my card-making stuff — we’ll see how that goes), then I wanted to make sure that I recorded the set name as well since I didn’t see the marker names listed on the package….but I couldn’t find the set name either. Spent quite awhile on-line trying to find it…to no avail! Finally came upon the post. Thank you so much!!! Really appreciate your help with this.
I’m so glad my post was helpful to you, Ag! Good luck on staying organized; it’s an ongoing battle when you love crafting supplies, isn’t it? 🙂
Wondering if anyone else has this problem with their Cluttered Cellar set – my stormy sky is purple in color and doesn’t look anything like stormy sky. It looks like it could be seedless preserves instead.
Thanks! This is so helpful!
I saw the set Diane described at Michaels also. It’s called “Hillside V…..” It was cut off on the store SKU tag.
Thanks for this site! Why would they do this to us? Really frustrating and confusing. I just this week found out enough about Distress Markers to give them a try… and the 50% off M’s coupons didn’t hurt! What did hurt was to buy 5 different sets of markers and discover that two of them contained duplicates! I ended up with two SPICED MARMALADEs and two DUSTY CONCORDs. Any thoughts on asking Ranger to exchange the duplicates with the correct color markers?
I don’t how Ranger would respond to this request, Glo, but I would certainly try it! Good luck, and please come back and let us all know how they responded. Thanks! 🙂
THANK YOU for this article, very helpful and informative.
Here is another 5 piece set of Tim Holtz “Hillside”, which has the following colors:
Aged Mahogany
Dusty Concord ( also on Cluttered Cellar)
Pine Needle
Spiced Marmalade ( also in Cluttered Cellar)
Walnut Stain
Thanks so much for this update, Monica. It sounds like Ranger isn’t going to make it easy for us to collect all the distress markers through sets, which is so unfortunate because I think it makes them seem less than customer friendly. It seems like a marketing ploy to force us to buy duplicates just to get the better price that bundles afford, doesn’t it? I plan to add your info to my main article. Thanks again! 🙂
Thank you for this information. I have been buying the sets too and I wrote down the names of the markers so when I am at the store I would know which set I already had. But I should have written down the name of the set instead of the individual markers. Although I never thought that I wouldn’t be able to at least see one name of the markers in the packages but that is what happened to me last week when I saw they had more sets. I couldn’t see any of the names on the markers so I didn’t purchase any that day. I looked on line hoping to find some information and that is how I found your blog. I am sure there is a reason for having a duplicate marker in a few of the packages. I don’t think Tim would let them do that without a reason. I will probably give the duplicate markers to a friend my friend. They are a good buy with a 4o% coupon. Thanks again for the info. Now I can just look at the name of the set and know if I have it or not.
Thank you so much for the confirmation of my hunting down images last night… wish I had found you first! I am a Canadian and bought two sets at Hobby Lobby when in Fargo last month. Daughter is going down to the States again this week, so she is picking me up some more. Little did I know how hard it was to find this information! Why the heck does neither Ranger or Tim’s sites list these? And why do they not list the set name OR the markers included in the package? I had a terrible time trying to flip over at least one marker in the package to see what the colour was.
Up here in Canada, Micheal’s price is $27.99 for a set! With a coupon at Hobby Lobby, I paid just over $9 per set. The pricing difference is ridiculous seeing that our dollars are nearly par…
So hoping she can find me the other four sets I don’t have! Thanks again for the precise information Ranger and Tim should be providing us.
This was VERY helpful. Thank you. I don’t think I would buy the Hillside unless I just found it on Clearance extremely cheap.
Also the Pickett fence gets on my nerve bc it shows up after written so u can’t see what ur writing. I know there has to b reason for this does anybody know?
Because it’s the only one that is pigment based. The rest are water based.
You just saved me a lot of aggravation so thank you very, very, much! I was looking at sets in Michaels yesterday and can’t figure out why the names of the colours can’t be prominent. I want to know what I am buying and don’t think that is too much to ask of Ranger. I will be sending my comments to them as should every other consumer who buys these products. Thanks again for being so helpful.
I’m so happy to hear this helped you, Sandy! I agree that Ranger needs to know how hard they’re making their customers work for this basic information. I’d love to hear back from you if you get a response from them. 🙂
Thank you so very much for this information. I bought 4 sets of markers yesterday and had the same problem as everyone else. Now I know what colors I have and which markers I still need.
Thank you for the detailed lists. I bought 24 of the markers at a local stamp store and was able to hand pick the colors I wanted. Since the shop doesn’t carry all the colors, now I know which sets to buy at Michael’s to complete my set. I’ll give the duplicates to a friend. I’m so glad that by looking for the list, I found your site.
I will also write about the poor packaging on these markers. I kept looking for the names of the colors on the packaging and then realized I would have to try to turn the markers in their package (impossible!!) to know what I was getting!! No marketing or packaging professional is unaware that this is a problem…
Also, like one of your commenters here, I got a marker in the Cluttered Cellar pak marked Stormy Sky which is definitely Milled Lavender… not Stormy Sky. I have written to them and now have the additional information that I am not the only one with this problem so they clearly have to be aware that there was a mistake made on their part. We’ll see….
I will not buy the new pak since the only colors I would be interested in are duplicates that I already have except for the Walnut Stain. Thanks for the heads up!!
I am wondering if anyone has ever gotten a bottle of Stickles where the glitter stays at the bottom and will not shake up into the rest of the bottle? I have one and have tried everything. I’ve shaken it ’til I was afraid I would gel shaken crafter syndrome!! I put some small, heavy glass beads in the bottle and shook and shook… still to no avail. I’m writing to them about that, as well. Again, we’ll see what they have to say.
After the deal with the mismarked and mismatched Distress Marker, I believe they are aware of the problems and need to take responsibility for their errors. I no longer feel like some random weirdo who got the one rotten apple in the barrel…!!!
Say, I can’t find a way to subscribe to this site. What did I miss?
Thank you so much for this post. Not only is Ranger at fault, but you’d think the stores, either online or B&M, could provide more info for buyers. I had a labeling problem with the alcohol ink sets. I found Joann’s sets all labeled in Spanish only (why do “English” versions have to have both…or more?) Their store display had the set name on tiny labels above the product but it didn’t include the color names.
A problem I have will all products these days is labels/instructions/user guides are in 3 languages, making them ALL unreadably small.
Thank you so much for this list!! I have be racking my brain trying to figure out what the colors are!! I was so frustrated that the packaging didn’t give any info. You are a life saver and I can’t thank you enough!!
I JUST found your site, looking to see if I could find out HOW MANY SETS of 5 markers there were! THANK YOU for doing this!!!!!! I have TWO SETS so far, buying them with the 40% off coupons!!!! LOL IF, I can find this last set you mentioned, I just MIGHT buy it! 🙂 A COUPLE repeats aren’t TOO BAD! My packaging hasn’t had ANY NAME LISTED, ANYWHERE on the packaging! I’m LUCKY if one of the markers are turned, so I can see the color of it! Does anyone know if these sets cover ALL the Distress Markers? THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!:)
Hi Becky, and welcome to the packaged Distress Markers conversation. 🙂 I do not believe all the marker colors are offered in packages. It seems we need to buy what we can in bundles and then add the rest to our collections one-by-one. It’s a strange setup, indeed. I’m happy to hear my post was helpful to you in your quest for the least expensive path to Distress Marker ownership!
Thank you for this! I at present only have the seasonal collection of markers bought here in UK for £29 & also bought separately, picket fence, wild honey, victorian velvet & chipped sapphire.
I totally love the distress ink names & the collection names are equally gorgeous. I might have to start storing them together in sets just like the alcohol inks :0)
Your information is great but I don’t want to buy the sets right now. Where can I buy individual markers?
Hi Joyce: I’ve seen individual markers sold at scrapbook stores and online, just not usually at general craft stores like Hobby Lobby or Michael’s.
Hi…I just purchase a set called Marketplace…It has Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, and Seedless Preserves…I picked it up at Joann’s last week…I’ll be looking out for Victorian Shabby and Estate Sales, thanks for your post……
Also found another one online called Boardwalk……It has .Evergreen Bough, Shaded Lilac, Salty Ocean, Festive Berries, & Squeezed Lemonade…http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/product.aspx?id=302692…this site also has the Marketplace set…..
Thanks so much for adding this information in the comments Dawn. This is very helpful to those of us still building our collections. Now I’ll be on the lookout for these sets! 🙂
The set of 12 that you can get on Amazon, Simon Says Stamp, and other places is the Marketplace set + Boardwalk set + Iced Spruce + Gathered Twigs.
(JUST finished swatching them a few minutes ago!)
Hi and HELP!! Just how many marker/colors are there, right now??? Are they ‘all’ in the large set? Or, are the 5 packs new colors? Please help me as fast as you can as I have an inside on a great deal that a friend gets second pick at. I love these markers, just confused if it’s worth the investment. They are quite costly. I don’t have to have every marker, it’s just critical for my perfectionist attitude that I at lease know what is what. I’m good with that!
Thanks a bunch,
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl! I know, these markers and their packaging get really confusing. Here’s what I know: Tim Holtz Distress Markers now total 49 colors (the original full set included 37 colors). The new colors are available as a 12-color set (in their own 2-inch storage tube) for those who bought the original full set and want to update to the new full set). You can also buy the whole updated 49-color set (in 4-inch storage tube). Or you can buy individual colors as open stock. The 5-packs seem only to come in a portion of those 49 colors, so you couldn’t at this point collect the whole shebang through these sets. I don’t know how Ranger decides which colors to include in packs, but I have noticed that some of the new colors are represented. It’s an ongoing search for those of us who are trying to piece our collections together. I hope this is helpful to you in deciding whether to go for it with the large set you’re considering snagging. 🙂
what are the colors in the 12 pk set or the seasonal set?
The colors included in the 12-marker seasonal set are: Evergreen Bough, Festive Berries, Gathered Twigs, Iced Spruce, Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, Shaded Lilac and Squeezed Lemonade.
Thank you. Several of these are the same names as other sets. Are they different colors with the same names?? Squeezed Lemonade, mowed lawn, picked raspberry etc. I already have some of these.
Thanks for taking time to do the research and publish it for th rest of us….
I’m coming in late to buying these Distress markers, but I just picked up 3 packages of 5 markers at JoAnns this morning- none of them with names on them. 2 of them were the same as Memories Past and Cluttered Cellar, but the last package had Antique Linen, Broken China, Dried Marigold, Spun Sugar, and Walnut Stain in it. Very close to Victorian Shabby, but not it. Thanks for the lists in the other packages, now I know which ones to be looking for!
Just found the name of this set…. it’s called Flower Cart.
Thanks for adding this information, Cindy!
I have just come across another set:
Worn Lipstick
Tumbled Glass
Spiced Marmalade
Fired Brick
Mowed Lawn
Any idea what this set is called?
Marketplace
I cannot thank you enough for this – As a new Distress fan, it has been challenging trying to complete my collection (without breaking the bank) by I need a purchasing duplicates! Thank you!
I’m so pleased to hear that this was helpful to you, Kristen. Enjoy creating with your new Distress pens!
They seem to be very bad about this across the board, bought 3 different 3 packs of Liquid Pearls, only 1 had the names on the bottles, I had to search all over & look at the codes on the bottom of the bottles to figure out the colors & then I labeled them. I want to get the alcohol inks I’m missing, same problem & naturally the same for the markers. I have the graph color list things you can get on the Ranger site but it’s not helpful when you can’t see the color names & it’s not listed anywhere, I was going to try to get the set codes since that is on the package but haven’t found that info yet. I actually emailed them & complained about the lack of labels, maybe if a bunch of people did that they’d fix the problem & properly label everything.
Hi there and thank you so very much for all this helpful information. I have recently gotten a bunch of sets noticing that there are the occasional duplicate but I figure they will get used eventually lol. I have found a few sets that are not included here that I was hoping someone could help me with the set names if possible please:
Set 1
Aged mahogany
Chipped sapphire
Pine needles
Rusty hinge
Gathered twigs
Set 2
Brushed corduroy
Bundled sage
Pumice stone
Tea dye
Iced spruce
Set 3
Wild honey
Tattered rose
Dusty concord
Frayed burlap
Tumbled glass
Also would anyone happen to know what the total number of markers the complete set is up to now please?
Thank you again for any help and happy crafting!
I’m also interested in the name of Set 1.
I’ve found the name of a new set not left here VIBRANT VINTAGE which contains Carved Pumpkin, Hickory Smoke, Lucky Clover, Wilted Violet and Candied Apple. TDMK50049
I have another set I’m looking for the name of also which contains Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio, Fossilized Amber, Mermaid Lagoon and Twisted Citron. TDMK47582
Thanks for your comment, Marie. I will add the information about Vibrant Vintage to the list. 🙂
Where did you find the set with Iced Spruce? Been looking forever!!!
Thank you so much for taking the time & effort to do this! Just started collecting these markers and I keep an inventory/color chart so I won’t buy duplicates. Was also frustrated by the lack of information regarding set/color names. Googled for help and discovered your blessing of a blog! Thank you again! ☺️
I just recently picked up a 12 pc tube with all the new 2015 monthly releases at my Hobby Lobby. The colors are: mermaid lagoon, hickory smoke, cracked pistachio, blueprint sketch, twisted citron, abandoned coral, wilted violet, lucky clover, fossilized amber, Carved pumpkin, ground expresso, candied apple.
Thank you for reporting on this, Katie. I’ll do an update on the post. 🙂
Here is a list of the Distress Marker kits from the Ranger website. http://rangerink.com/?product=tim-holtz-distress-marker-kits
However, even this list is not complete. I purchased a kit today that included Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio, Fossilized Amber, Mermaid Lagoon and Twisted Citron. I purchased it from Jo-Ann’s… if anyone cares 🙂
Thank you for pointing this out, Ms_Mac! I’m happy to see they’ve tried to make this whole thing easier for their customers. Did you notice if your new kit had a name?
Got this kit too recently. Anyone know the name?
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
I am bookmarking this page as you are the first person I’ve come across to do this. I have spent WAY too long trying to figure out what sets I have so not to purchase duplicates!! Now that I know you’re here, I’m coming back to check what I’ve got off.
Thanks again for doing this, I REALLY appreciate it!
I came across this post while doing a Google search trying to figure out the names of all the markers and sets available. I have spent HOURS and HOURS researching this info that should NOT be this difficult to obtain! I’ve been able to find some info that I didn’t see here. Once I finish getting it all organized, I’ll post here and I’m sure it will help a few people at least. I’ve NEVER had to do this much research and had this much trouble finding/sorting out info for something I wanted to buy EVER. Wow!
I’m with you, Sheila. It’s crazy. But I would love to have you come back and dump some more details on me. I will happily post them here for other crafters who want to know, like we do. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
I’m down to the final 10 colors! The district Loft set (bundled sage, iced spruce,tea dye, brushed corduroy,pumice stone) took forever to find.. and then final 5 I’m missing I think I’m going to have to buy open stock from Oozak online. But this was soooo helpful! I have to ask does anyone have such a thing for the distress paints? They come in numbers 3 packs but again missing like 40 of 64 colors and can’t find any info as to what kits Im missing..
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for posting this, I’ve also found it frustrating to not be able to match colors & sets or to find set names. Hopefully someone will have a name for the set of Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio, Fossilized Amber, Mermaid Lagoon & Twisted Citron. Again, Thanks to everyone for their help. I am so happy to know I’m not the only one that has spent lots of time playing the match up game.
After I posted my previous comment I decided what did I have to lose if I were to reach out and contact the Tim Holtz site, so I sent them a message asking if there was a name for the above set of markers. Shortly after sending my message I had a reply from a kind lady telling me the set I ask about is called “Classic Retro” – so there is another name to apply to your sets 😉
Thanks so much, Ginger! I will add it to our list. 🙂
Thank you thank you thank you! I have been trying to find out the name of the set is well I’ve been trying for weeks to get names to six different packages and the site and all the work that has been done has been so tremendously helpful you all are amazing