Welcome, it’s Make It Monday again! Today I wanted to share a background technique that is quick and easy and provides great results by blending ink.
It seems like every time I use this technique I use at least three colors. Today is no different. Supplies needed:
- glossy card stock
- ink pads (today I used dye based ink)
- foam tipped daubers or sponge (I used my sponge rounds and cut them into 6 sections)
Minimal supplies for a background.
So that you don’t cross contaminate your ink pads with a totally different color, be sure to use an applicator dedicated to one color. You don’t have to have one for each ink pad, but have one for yellow, one for orange, one for green, etc.
I like to start with the lightest color and apply it first. Just use your applicator and rub it on your ink pad. Then apply it on the glossy side of your glossy card stock.
Apply your first color.
Next, you want to apply your second color, blending it up into the first color as you add it. You can use circular motions or just swipe back and forth.
Apply second color, blending it into the first color.
You may have already guessed, now you apply the third color! Again, blend it into to color you applied previously. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember it is going to be a background!
Apply the third color; again blending into the previous color.
A baby wipe can help you blend the color even more. However it will lift off a bit of the color as well, but can create a little different look.
A baby wipe can further blend the colors.
For the card I made with this background, I stamped a tree with Versamark ink, and then used black heat embossing powder. Because heat embossing will resist the ink, you can also emboss the image before you blend your ink onto the paper. Either way will work if you are heat embossing.
This was such a quick card. I used Bronze Shimmer Trim for even more pizzaz! And finished it off with a bit of bling from the Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment. I already had the tree stamp, but it is very similar to the Always Grateful, Close to My Heart set.
A sunset background using the a blended ink technique
I hope you’ve been enjoying the Make It Monday blog hops as much as I have! Did you land here from Digital Scrapbooking HQ? Melissa Shanhun always has great ideas on making memory keeping fast and easy. Today she shares how to use the new Project Life App for documenting a Week in the Life project. Next on the hop is Alice from Scrapbook Wonderland with a brilliant tip on using a postcard on a layout. Remember, to think broader than scrapbooks — think art journaling or mixed media, too!
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to leave a comment. You are always welcome to shop at my online Close to My Heart store if you are in the USA. The links for some of today’s products are below.
Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures,
