How to Use Ink With Rubber Stamps in Card Making

When it comes to card making, rubber stamps can create messages, add background motifs, build borders and design eye-catching accents. All the rubber stamps in the world, however, would be useless without ink. Experiment with these simple techniques to produce cool looks for your next project.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Rubber stamps
• Stamping ink
• Mesh or bubble wrap
• Paintbrush
• Pens or craft chalk

1. Select the type of ink for your project based on the effect you'd like to achieve. Dye-based inks dry quickly and are ideal for simple stamped images. Pigment-based inks have more vibrant colors and stay wet longer, making them perfect for heat embossing. Use solvent ink for stamping on slick surfaces without smearing. (See Resources)
2. Choose a color that coordinates with your project and that will provide a nice contrast for the card's base. If you plan to heat emboss the image with colored embossing powder, however, you can stamp with most any color of ink since you won't see it once it's covered.
3. Turn the stamp over and apply the ink to the rubber rather than tapping the stamp onto the ink pad. This way, you'll be able to cover it evenly and completely. Press the stamp onto the cardstock, applying even pressure to the wood or acrylic block without rocking it.
4. Vary the colors of your stamped image by applying a few different shades of ink. Pounce one shade along the top of the stamp, a second in the center and a third to complete the image. Allow the layers to blend slightly where they meet.
5. Add texture by inking a solid stamp such as a large circle, square or heart and then pressing a piece of mesh or bubble wrap onto the stamp. The materials will "lift" away some of the ink, creating a patterned image when you stamp it onto the cardstock.
6. Color and shade stamped images by adding a little dye-based ink with a brush, coloring with pens and colored pencils or shading with craft chalk.