Craft Clinic - 23rd March 2012

Sorry this one is a bit late, as you know I was just a little under the weather on Friday and over the weekend but I have caught up and here's the Craft Clinic for last week:

Question:

"Can you please explain to me what ink pads I can use and when as I get really confused!"

Answer:

This is one I get asked about all the time and it does take a little time to recognise the qualities of ink and when and where they should be used....They generally come as Ink Pads, Pens and sometimes feeflowing ink in bottles.  I have put the basics here but will tweek it from time to time as I think of more options.

Dye based Inks (permanent):   These inks are permanent and the dye colour and chemicals reacts with the cellulose in the paper to give a more vibrant rich colour (althought some state permanent when heat set...eg with a heat tool) and are great for stamping an image ready to be coloured using pencils, alcohol pens or water colours.  The stamped image won't smear but remember if you stamp an image and immediately use watercolour the ink may not be dry and may blur slightly although they are fairly quick drying.  These are also ideal if stamping a background and then colourwashing with watercolour over the top.  Most dye based inks are designed for normal cardstock but also pearl and glossy cardstock although each will need to be tested as some make vary slightly and will need to be heat set.  It is best to get a stamp cleaning solution to clean your stamps if you are using dye based ink although if you clean them immediately you can somethimes clean the ink off ....all brands vary. 

(Eg: Dye Base inks on the market: Memories, Archival, Impress, Memento, Kaleidacolor....)

Dye based Inks (Non - permanent)
There are also water based dye inks which do not behave like the majority of dye based in on the market.  This is due to the liquid content being partiallly water based and as such can be blended on porous cardstock and then manipulated further with additional water being spritzed on.    These inks come in a large selection of colours and can be used ina variety of ways....these are not permanent though and will bleed if colouring in with pens.

(Eg: Ranger "Tim Holtz" Distress Inks)

Solvent based Ink (Alcholol inks): These are very fast drying inks designed especially for shiney surfaces such as glossy cardstock, plastic, metal, glass, pearl card and leather.  (eg Non porous surfaces although you can also use them on normal cardstock.) The alcohol is used as a carrier for the ink and evaporates very quickly leaving the ink permantly set.  These inks should not be used if colouring in the stamped images with solvent based pens as they will smear.  They are great to use on Acetate, vellum, shrink plastic, Mirri card etc.

You must use a solvent ink cleaner such as StaZon Cleaner with this type of ink.

(Eg: StaZon )

Pigment Based Ink:  These inks have many uses and usually come with the largest colour pallet.  The pigment is supended in a glycerine liquid and give a more chalky colour and effect and are slightly less vibrant than a dye based ink.  They have a slightly oily feel to the ink and this enables then to be used with embossing powders as they take a little extra time to dry and this allows time to cover the stamped image with the powder.  As the carrier liquid takes longer to dry they are alslo ideal for blending on card to create pretty backgrounds and softly merged colours.  Overstamping the background with the same ink directly on a stamp gives a darker image and creates a great effect.  Most Pigment inks are best suited to porous surfaces such as cardstock, wood,  paper etc although there are some which have additional chemicals within them allowing them to be used on shiney surfaces as well as porous surfaces.  The Metallic pigment inks take much longer to dry and on some shimmer cardstock never dries,,,the metallic Mica just sits on the top!  There are also pigment inks suited for materials and these will be permanent when heat set with an iron.

(Eg. Pigment inks for porous surfaces:  Encore metallics, Versacolor,Versa Magic, VersaMark, Opalite)

(Eg. Pigment inks for shiney surfaces: Brilliance)

(Eg. Pigment inks for Fabrics:  VersaCraft )

I hope this answers some of your questions regarding inks and when and where to use them, but experimentation is a great form of understanding and using inks to get differing effects.

(I will tweek this page as I think of more inking options.)

Craft Clinic 16th March 2012 - Handmade Paper

That time has come...and yes, this is my first craft clinic on my new blog! 

A question was asked by Tricia one of our lovely craft clubbers:

Question:
"I struggle to cut handmade paper such as mulberry paper on a paper trimmer or guillotine even if it is a good thickness.  How can I get a good straight cut without it ripping and bending on the timmer.  Also what is the best glue to use with this type of paper?"

Answer:
Handmade papers are under used just for this reason and it is such a shame as there are some beautiful handmade papers on the market and I recently found some stunning large sheets on the wrapping paper racks in a fab local gift shop.  Its all down to the fibres which, by its nature, are are not of a uniform size and when the paper is pressed the depth varies which gives it the lovely rustic quality. This allows the paper to bend easily without creasing and makes ia good product for wrapping gifts.  Card and paper have more densly packed layers of fibres of the same size which is pressed at high pressure giving it a support as the blade cuts.  All you need to do is to add support by placing a piece of scrap paper (eg copy paper) underneath the handmade paper...when the paper flexes it is supported and allows the trimmer to cut cleanly.

This same principle applies to paper Punches.  I have had many punches over the years brought to me to unclog and release when papers flex and get caught in the mechanism.  Just pop a piece of copier under the handmade paper and voila....a pefect punched accent. (with the butterflies I put a piece of copier paper folded in two.)

(Click once to enlarge)

Never use double sided tape on this type of paper as it is hard to remove the backing from the tape without it coming off the paper completely. I found that a glue stick (eg pritt Stick) does the job nicely.  Just be careul when applying that you support the corners and don't crease the paper with the action of putting on the Glue.  If you have a pattern on the paper like mine you can dot a tiny amount of PVA where the pattern is so that it doesn't show from the front.

I always appreciate your feedback if found this helpful and your comments are always welcome.  Don't forget, drop me an email if you want to get ideas or having any crafting dilemas, or advice rgearding equipment and materials and it may be in in the Craft Cinic in the future.