Wednesday, October 9, 2013

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





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!!)



I can't wait to see your creations!

Creatively yours,
Karen

19 comments:

  1. Those are so pretty and that really looks like fun!! I hope I can squeeze in some scrappy time.

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  2. Great job Karen!! I can't wait to see what everyone makes! Worked on some yesterday for my post on Monday. :)

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  3. Wow that looks awesome! Has anyone tried this with alcohol inks? I have a decent number of those but only the Earth re-inker (which wouldn't be very exciting.) Hmm I also don't have any baby wipes. If I add baby wipes to the grocery list do you think dbf will freak out?

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    1. LOL, Janet. He won't freak out if you tell him ahead of time it's for crafting!

      I haven't tried it with the alcohol inks yet. But I did think about testing direct-to-wipe using an ink pad in lieu of a re-inker. But then I suppose you'd need a re-inker anyway, to add ink back to the pad!

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  4. My goodness, Karen. I leave the office for some dental work, and you create this magic? Awesome!

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  5. I really like those! I have only baby wipes, no inks. Perhaps you will just have to send me one of those cards in the mail!! LOL Great job!
    Beth M

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  6. Great technique! But why the baby wipe -V- let's say, a damp paper towel?

    pat-czap

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    1. Give it a try Pat, let us know what you think.

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  7. Great technique - I did that on some of Bright Lights Big City coated paper - it came out awesome.

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    1. Barbara, please share a photo of what you made! We would love for you to enter the challenge!

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    2. Barbara, please use the linky tool above to share your sample...I bet everyone would love to see it!

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  8. Looks great - I may have to get in on this challenge also.

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    1. PLEASE DO! I sure hope folks get some play time this weekend. My cards are gettin' kinda lonely! ;)

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  9. Isn't that fun! Love the technique
    Pretty cards too

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  10. I posted three of the cards I did - This was great on the shiny Bright Lights Big City paper.

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    1. Great job! I can't believe how different everyone's are using the same technique.

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  11. great entries everyone! oooh i wish i had time to play. maybe i'll see if anyone has re-inkers at retreat this weekend...

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