Friday Quickie Techniques and Tips: Gettin’ Inky With It

First of all, I need to be clear here, my sweet dog, the ambassador of my stamp classroom, is naughty!!

Dog Shaming! Sophie ate my card!

Bad Sophie!

Not only did she eat this gorgeous card, but she also at 4 cupcakes!! 2 Chocolate and 2 Snickerdoodle!  And this is not her first cupcake offense, either!  I even thought I had moved them back far enough on the table, too!  Stinker!!  It is a good thing she is about as sweet as can be!

Now onto my Friday Quickie!!  Let's just say it is NOT a quick video, but the info is FANTASTIC no matter what level of stamper you are!  I cover the differences between all the inks we carry as well as the pros and cons of each and some fantastic tips on getting great, crisp images!  Plus there are a few really cute cards!

First of all, you can see the info sheets from the video here: 

Prepared by Dena Rekow, The Creativity Cave www.thecreativitycave.com

You can also download them here:  Download Ink Info Sheet

Now that we've talked about the differences of and pros and cons of ink, let's talk about how to get the best possible inking of your stamped images:

Is your stamp inked well?

Tip: Always look at your stamp before you stamp it down!   You could totally see this one in the video and it is always a good idea to do this when you are stamping (especially bigger stamps and solid photopolymer stamps)

Gettin Inky With It: Is your stamp inked well?

See the "ring" in the center of this Watercolor Wash background?  It is due to the "suction" action that can occur between your stamp and the pad (especially on a well inked pad).

Gettin Inky with It

Here is a better inked background!

Gettin Inky With It

I used the Fun Flower punch, 7/8" Scallop circle and Timeless Love stamp set (for the Congrats)

Gettin Inky With It: Is your pad too juicy?

Another common problem (especially with a new stamp set and an new ink pad) is blotchy stamping (not so much this pic) as well as over inked stamped (which is totally this pic).  To prevent this, simply "ink" or tap your stamp all over the pad, or stamp it on scrap paper to get rid of some of that excess ink.

Also, on a brand new stamp that isn't stamping well, you would be surprised what a nice clean stamp can do!  Scrub it with our mist and stampin scrub.  They were designed to work well for cleaning your stamps!  Another problem that can occur (especially with photopolymer) is that dust and other particles are totally attracted to your stamps–they stick and then they get in your ink pads, and of course can leave big blotches/squiggles/blobs on your image when you stamp them down. Clean and try again.  Better results will follow!

Using a Pierce Mat to get crisp images with photopolymer stamps

Another common problem is not getting crisp images (with photopolymer).  When you look at photopolymer, there is no cushion like there is on a rubber stamp.  That cushion helps give a good impression.  To help with that,use the Pierce Mat.  It is perfect for giving your stamps that bit of cushion and will totally make a huge difference!

Gettin Inky With It: Stampin Up's Crazy About You Set and Brick Wall Folder

Look at this beautiful Fall Flower card!!  I used the Crazy About You stamp set (one of my absolute fav's) and the image is great here!

Gettin Inky With It: Stampin Up's Crazy About You Set and Brick Wall Folder

I used the Brick Wall Embossing Folder, some marker spritzing (remember that Friday Quickie Video?) and just a touch of gold glimmer paper!!

Gettin Inky With It: Stampin Up's Crazy About You Set and Brick Wall Folder

Colors are Delightful Dijon, Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss and a Basic Gray Card Base.

Gettin Inky with It: Stamped 3 Ways: Stampin Up's Dove of Peace

Finally, choosing the right ink for your technique is helpful.

You can see by comparing these 3 that the Memento does not stamp quite as clear an image, the StazOn is VERY clear, but not quite as "black" and the Archival, while not quite as crisp as the StazOn certainly makes up for it with being really "black"!

These 3 cards (from Left to right) are Versamark (silver embossed), StazOn, and Archival Black.

You can see there is not a huge amount of difference here.  The biggest thing is when I tried this with memento ink, it totally smeared! The StazOn is just a bit crisper.  But all three can be used.  In person, I LOVE the silver embossing.  The Black ones are really striking, though!  It comes down to personal preference!  One tip:  no matter which black you use, make sure it is totally dry before you start coloring!

Gettin Inky With it: Gettin Inky with It Stampin Up's Dove of Peace

See!!  It is so pretty!!

Thank you so much for stopping by The Creativity Cave–I hope my ink tutorial has been helpful! As always,  I would love to help your creativity grow! Be sure to sign up for my mailing list to receive project tutorials for my 12 week s of Christmas Series as well as all kinds of exclusive offerings.  If you would like to order and help support The Creativity Cave, I would so appreciate it! It helps support my efforts to bring you amazing project and videos each week!  All you need to do is click on one of the photos below from the supplies to connect to my online store. When you use the hostess code, GRZDZYW6, when your order is over $35 you'll get a free tutorial from me.This month's tutorial is gorgeous!!   If it is over $150, skip the code (you'll get Stampin Rewards) as well as the tutorial from me. What a deal!  Don't forget to "allow demonstrator" to contact you so I have access to your order to send you the tutorials, thank you cards, and more! I have had a couple of orders lately with the "no contact" and it breaks my heart that I can't provide them with amazing customer service and thank you's!

November's Free tutorial: Tag Advent Calendar

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