Wow - ink. There are lots of them out there, and they do so many cool
things. Let's break them down by type, and then look at the different
kinds within those categories. So, we'll use dye ink, pigment ink, and
embossing ink as our categories, and then we'll look at pads, markers,
daubers, refills, and refreshers.
Dye Ink: These inks are permanent, dry fast, and are not best for
embossing techniques. They are, however, fantastic for overlay
techniques. You can use them over almost any other stamping method,
creating a top layer. StazOn by Tsukineko and Ancient Page by
Clearsnap are two such products that have tested really well. They
also work well if you plan on coloring the image in. Just make sure your
ink has dried fully, and you'll notice less 'bleeding' when you go to paint
or chalk.
Embossing Ink: These inks are specifically formulated to stay wet
longer - to give you more time to get that embossing powder on your
stamped image. They are wetter, also, to allow for more of the
embossing powder to stick. These come in pads (Versamark (clear)- by
Tsukineko is a popular one) and markers (Wet Looks (comes in many
colors)- by Marvy Uchida). There are, also, daubers filled with
embossing liquid. Boss Gloss by Stamp-N-Stuff works well - especially
on stamps you want to 'section off' or only emboss parts of. Just dab it
on, and stamp.
Saving my favorite for last - Pigment Dye Ink: These inks stay wetter
longer than dye inks, and can be used for embossing. They do have a
longer drying time (based on how porous the surface they were
stamped on is) - and you need to be careful to let them dry fully before
touching them, coloring them, or creating a top layer stamp. One of the
things I love this ink for is their ability to create "straight -to- paper"
inking. Meaning you can ink the paper first, and then stamp your image
top of that. I love to use a brayer, run it across a multi-color stamp pad,
and then roll on all of that color onto my paper. The colors bleed so
nicely into each other, creating a lovely, tailored backdrop to the
project. If you roll your ink onto a matte surface (cardstock, watercolor
paper, etc) it will give you a matte finish. If, however, you roll it onto a
glossy paper - it will give you vibrant, glossy color.
There are so many to choose from. I love the stamp pads with
multi-colors. The ones with colors poured into one pad are nice, the
colors do bleed into each other, but there are times I really like that.
Then there are the collections of ink - it looks like one pad, but really
the colors are separate, and you can move them around, or use them
individually. Clearsnap makes petal shaped color wheels, and long ink
strip-looking pads. Which gives you a lot of color combination options
when you approach your project.
One new product I'm really enjoying is the Distress Inks from Ranger.
These inks are perfect for inking edges to give the aged look. It adds
character and the ink doesn't take uniformly, so it adds dimension.
Delta came out with a line of pigment ink daubers. You can use these
as ink pads, and dab the ink onto a stamp, or use them as paint
markers, and glide the ink across your project. It is important to keep
the lids on at all times, when not in use, as you wouldn't want the ink to
dry on the dauber tip. (But, of course, I guess that's true of all ink pads
- got to keep them closed and out of the air.
I'm including the watercolor and pigment ink markers back in this
category. There are so many markers on the market that are so great
for stamping and embossing. Once you find yourself able to color in the
stamp, and then make the imprint - you'll see what I mean! Cool -
opens up lots of creative possibilities.
Many of the lines of ink pads mentioned have refill bottles you can buy.
The Distressed Inks from Ranger, and all of the Clearsnap inks have
these refills for sale. This is a plus, as then I know I can use that ink
forever, and never worry about replacing it when it seems to be gone.
That is another question: how do you know when it's gone, dried up,
not gonna work? Well, I've thought that about some pads, but they
were new - so that wasn't the problem. I store my ink pads right-side
up, but when I know I'm going to use them, I set them up-side down for
a while, to get the ink to the surface. If it seems the ink isn't there - I
may, occasionally spray it with an "ink refresher" product, that juices the
ink up without diluting it (too much). It's a great way to stretch the pads
use - if you can't find a refill bottle.
things. Let's break them down by type, and then look at the different
kinds within those categories. So, we'll use dye ink, pigment ink, and
embossing ink as our categories, and then we'll look at pads, markers,
daubers, refills, and refreshers.
Dye Ink: These inks are permanent, dry fast, and are not best for
embossing techniques. They are, however, fantastic for overlay
techniques. You can use them over almost any other stamping method,
creating a top layer. StazOn by Tsukineko and Ancient Page by
Clearsnap are two such products that have tested really well. They
also work well if you plan on coloring the image in. Just make sure your
ink has dried fully, and you'll notice less 'bleeding' when you go to paint
or chalk.
Embossing Ink: These inks are specifically formulated to stay wet
longer - to give you more time to get that embossing powder on your
stamped image. They are wetter, also, to allow for more of the
embossing powder to stick. These come in pads (Versamark (clear)- by
Tsukineko is a popular one) and markers (Wet Looks (comes in many
colors)- by Marvy Uchida). There are, also, daubers filled with
embossing liquid. Boss Gloss by Stamp-N-Stuff works well - especially
on stamps you want to 'section off' or only emboss parts of. Just dab it
on, and stamp.
Saving my favorite for last - Pigment Dye Ink: These inks stay wetter
longer than dye inks, and can be used for embossing. They do have a
longer drying time (based on how porous the surface they were
stamped on is) - and you need to be careful to let them dry fully before
touching them, coloring them, or creating a top layer stamp. One of the
things I love this ink for is their ability to create "straight -to- paper"
inking. Meaning you can ink the paper first, and then stamp your image
top of that. I love to use a brayer, run it across a multi-color stamp pad,
and then roll on all of that color onto my paper. The colors bleed so
nicely into each other, creating a lovely, tailored backdrop to the
project. If you roll your ink onto a matte surface (cardstock, watercolor
paper, etc) it will give you a matte finish. If, however, you roll it onto a
glossy paper - it will give you vibrant, glossy color.
There are so many to choose from. I love the stamp pads with
multi-colors. The ones with colors poured into one pad are nice, the
colors do bleed into each other, but there are times I really like that.
Then there are the collections of ink - it looks like one pad, but really
the colors are separate, and you can move them around, or use them
individually. Clearsnap makes petal shaped color wheels, and long ink
strip-looking pads. Which gives you a lot of color combination options
when you approach your project.
One new product I'm really enjoying is the Distress Inks from Ranger.
These inks are perfect for inking edges to give the aged look. It adds
character and the ink doesn't take uniformly, so it adds dimension.
Delta came out with a line of pigment ink daubers. You can use these
as ink pads, and dab the ink onto a stamp, or use them as paint
markers, and glide the ink across your project. It is important to keep
the lids on at all times, when not in use, as you wouldn't want the ink to
dry on the dauber tip. (But, of course, I guess that's true of all ink pads
- got to keep them closed and out of the air.
I'm including the watercolor and pigment ink markers back in this
category. There are so many markers on the market that are so great
for stamping and embossing. Once you find yourself able to color in the
stamp, and then make the imprint - you'll see what I mean! Cool -
opens up lots of creative possibilities.
Many of the lines of ink pads mentioned have refill bottles you can buy.
The Distressed Inks from Ranger, and all of the Clearsnap inks have
these refills for sale. This is a plus, as then I know I can use that ink
forever, and never worry about replacing it when it seems to be gone.
That is another question: how do you know when it's gone, dried up,
not gonna work? Well, I've thought that about some pads, but they
were new - so that wasn't the problem. I store my ink pads right-side
up, but when I know I'm going to use them, I set them up-side down for
a while, to get the ink to the surface. If it seems the ink isn't there - I
may, occasionally spray it with an "ink refresher" product, that juices the
ink up without diluting it (too much). It's a great way to stretch the pads
use - if you can't find a refill bottle.
Color Box is made by ClearSnap - they have refills for all of
their inks. Obviously I wouldn't use the purple refill in the red
ink - this is just an example.
their inks. Obviously I wouldn't use the purple refill in the red
ink - this is just an example.
Inks
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