Brilliance Ink by Tsukineko fills a unique niche in the stamping ink marketplace.  Here is a pigment ink with that rich thick intense color that actually  dries on slick surfaces like vellum, glossy card stock, metal and plastic.  The label says “quick drying pigment ink”.  On card stock it does dry quickly.  On vellum it takes 5-10 minutes to dry.  And on other surfaces, you need to let it dry overnight or briefly hit it with your heat gun.  It is the only metallic ink on the market that will dry on all these different surfaces.  I love to use it on dark papers. Try their “moonlight white” or “starlight silver” for snowflakes or stars like on this card.

I haven’t made an entry since February 7th.  That makes me sad.  It’s been a struggle but I have a plan.  It is to post 3 times a week.  It may be short; it may be long but something like this:

The first posting will be “Creating” and will feature a technique, possibly related to Thursday’s free demo.

The second posting will be “Lasting” and will feature a product that we just got in the store.

The third posting will be “Memories” where I will share favorite quotes, journaling ideas, stories or photos.

This week “Creating” is all about using pigment inks.  If you haven’t been in the store for the demos lately, I’ve been doing a series of demonstrations on the different kind of inks.  Thursday we played with pigment inks.  Before Tim Holtz, these rich, thick, colorful inks were THE way to do direct-to-paper backgrounds.  Cats Eye pads by Colorbox are perfect for this technique.  Just apply light pressure as you hold the pad in your hand and press the ink to the paper in a circular motion.  Generally I choose 3 colors and start with the lightest.  Add the darkest color to the edges.

This type of background is great for collage stamps.  Just stamp with black dye ink and you’ve got a simple stunning card.  Then embellish and you’ve got it.

Here’s a couple of cards I made using the same block stamp (ie. four different stamps on one wood cube).  This is the card you will make tomorrow in the Make-a-Card-Monday class at Creating Lasting Memories beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Try using different papers for your direct to paper technique.  It should be matte though, not glossy. Pigment inks never dry on glossy paper. I used some of Tim Holtz’ embossed kraft line.

Here’s another example – same technique and stamp -  just different colors:

One last tip: if your collage stamps has a face, be sure and leave that area with no color or just a bit of your lightest color.

Marjorie