Whenever I buy a new ink pad from Stampin’ Up! I always add the corresponding ink refill to my order. They’re really inexpensive and it’s easier to buy the two things at the same time. As well as allowing me to reink the pad before it gets too dry these little bottles have other uses. I add 10-20 drops to a Stampin’ Spritzer with 70% alcohol, creating a solution that I can spray onto my projects. Or I simply mix some ink with water and paint like I did here.
WATERPROOF INK
I began today’s project by choosing one of the pretty images from the Decorative Borders Stamp Set. Then I cut a 2″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper and stamped the image using StazOn Saddle Brown ink.
STAZON CLEANING TIP – While the ink dried I immediately set to work cleaning the StazOn off the photopolymer stamp as it can damage the surface. First I firmly rubbed StazOn Cleaner over the surface of the stamp. Then once I could see the solution working I pressed the stamp onto some kitchen paper to absorb most of the cleaner. Next I took the stamp to a sink and put some alcohol-free liquid handsoap onto the stamp and washed it thoroughly under warm running water. After a minute or so I set the stamp aside to air dry. Once my project was finished I would go back to the stamp and clean it again, this time using Stampin’ Mist stamp cleaner on my Stampin’ Scrub to condition the stamp before putting it away.
But for now, back to my project. With the waterproof StazOn ink now dry I could start painting the stamped image using Water Painters.
WATER BASED INK
The vast majority of the ink sold by Stampin’ Up! is named “Classic” this is water-based and means it mixes well with plain water. Sometimes I’ll press firmly on the top of a closed pad to transfer the ink to the inside of the lid and then mix in a drop or two of water there. Alternatively I could use a separate paint palette or plate to mix drops of ink with water.
With everything ready all I had to so was paint and I did this using empty Water Painters so I could control the amount of water on my paper. All I had to do was wash the brush in clean water between colours and then wipe it off on some kitchen paper before continung.
For the flowers I started with the fine tipped brush and Pale Papaya ink. Then on the leaves I used Old Olive, before going back to the flowers with Calypso Coral. This took a little while as I like to let each area dry almost completely before adding more colour.
Once the flowers and leaves were completely dry I switched to the widest of the Water Painters and quickly added a Balmy Blue wash very roughly around the image.
After leaving everything to dry once again I punched a slot at the top using the Very Best Trio Punch. Then I threaded 6″ of Old Olive Twill Ribbon through the slot. After securing the ribbon in place with a little Tear & Tape Adhesive my quick bookmark project was complete.
I’m simply in love with the Decorative Borders Stamp Set. For projects featuring more pretty images from this set see my earlier blog posts:
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