New Inky Technique and a Challenge!

I love trying new techniques. I rarely have time to do so, but I do love it. While Skype-chatting with my pal Julie the other day, she sent me a link for a crafty technique featuring the humble baby wipe. I had to give it a try.

Baby Wipe Technique

My "baby" is twelve years old, so we don't normally keep baby wipes around the house. I do keep them on hand for crafting though . . . mostly for clean up. I have to admit, this is the first time I've used a wipe as a "tool" or "medium".

I have to warn you . . . you WILL get messy. You need to be "okay" with having multi-colored fingertips after trying this technique. Thankfully, I'm totally okay with inky fingers because it's evidence of "play" time!

Gather your supplies: You'll need baby wipes (of course), some re-inkers (3-4 colors that coordinate nicely), and white or light-colored cardstock. I found cardstock with a nice smooth finish is best for this; too much texture and the ink gets "muddied", which, by the way, is NOT the look you're going for, as it can be very unattractive. Grab some stamps, too. Solid stamps, rather than "outline" stamps, are needed to really showcase the awesomeness of this technique.

Fold a single baby wipe in fourths, or if you're using larger stamps, layer 3 or 4 baby wipes together. I highly recommend placing the wipe(s) on a non-porous surface for easier cleanup. (Yep, that came from experience, folks.)

Squeeze a small amount of each color re-inker onto the wipe. I used four colors: Amethyst, Leaf, Moss, and Sapphire, and let the colors just touch each other. Essentially, you're creating your own custom ink pad, that happens to be disposable, too.

Stamping:
Press a solid stamp image onto the wipe, inking it thoroughly. Stamp image onto paper. Repeat as desired.

Create backgrounds:
Use a second crumpled up baby wipe to gently lift color from the original inked wipe. Sweep color across a cardstock panel to create a striated look.

Or, to create a mottled background (very Monet-looking), gently tap the crumpled wipe onto cardstock in a random fashion.

Once I started, I couldn't stop. I made a few more cards using this very cool technique. The sentiments are inked with the CS India Ink pad, as you want something waterproof when stamping over the ink/baby wipe combo.

Amethyst, Leaf, Moss, Sapphire

Amethyst, Moss, Topaz

Amethyst, Leaf, Moss, Sapphire

Ruby, Topaz, Earth

Hybrid Re-inkers

Take Wing Greeting UM

Hopes UM Borders & Backgrounds

Hopes Greeting UM

Tribal Greeting UM

India Ink Pad

InLinkz.com

Now for the "Challenge" part: Julie and I challenge YOU to give this technique a try. Take a pic of your creation(s), and use the linky tool below to share it here on the blog.  **CONTENT EDITED** On Monday, October 28th, Julie will randomly choose one lucky participant, and announce the winner on her Monday blog post. (Quickie tutorial on how to use InLinkz. If linking from the Club Scrap Community Galleria, please use the browser window link thanks!!)

An InLinkz Link-up

I can't wait to see your creations!

Creatively yours,
Karen