24 Ways to Use Reinkers

For those of you coming to the Scrapbook and Treats party next week, a preview of what I am featuring....this will come in handy!

1. Re-ink your stamp pads. (The obvious one)

2. Shaving Cream Technique: This requires shaving cream and reinkers. It is a bit messy, wearing rubber gloves and putting down newspaper is a good idea.
-Spread the bottom of a shallow 9x12 pan with a layer of shaving cream. Spread it out with a spatula to about 3 / 4 inch thick
-Take a couple of coordinating reinkers and put a couple drops in a random pattern all over the shaving cream.
- Use something like a chopstick, knife or pencil to swirl the shaving cream around until you get a nice swirl effect.
- Now press a piece of cardstock down into the shaving cream. Press from the center and be sure all is touching.
- Gently peel up scrap off excess shaving cream with a clean paper towel.
- You can reuse the shaving cream several times. When the cardstock is dry, the surface will have a velvety feel.

3. Paintbrush technique: Select a paintbrush and palette. You will actually paint with the reinkers. This method adds more vibrancy to your finished project and you have the ability to apply undertones and highlights right where you want them. It works best to first emboss your image. Embossing gives a nice edge for the ink to blend to. You can also mix the reinkers and come up with your own designer colour.

4. Christmas ornaments: Take clear glass ball ornaments and remove the top. You will need to put about 10 drops of one colour into each ornie. (Add only one colour or you will have sludge) When you are done, turn the bulb upside down and let the excess ink drain off into a paper cup. Pour approx. 1 / 2 tsp of glitter into the bulk. QUICKLY SHAKE! (This needs to be done quickly so as not to form a big glob) Pour excess dyed glitter into a container (you can reuse). Put top back on ornament and tie on an organdy ribbon! These are beautiful!

5. Paper clay and reinkers: Mist to make your own specialty colours. Will leave a swirl pattern.

6. Liquid Glass and reinkers: Add a drop or 2 of reinker to liquid glass. Use it to give a raised effect. Add a bit of prisma glitter for extra wow factor!

7. Easter Egg background: Use a paper towel that you have wadded, dip in ink and pounce all over white cardstock. Use 2 or 3 colours and you will have cardstock that looks like dyed Easter eggs.

8. Resist technique: There are several products you can use to do this technique: waxed paper, white crayon, rubber cement, versa mark with clear embossing powder, white daisy ink. The results are pretty much the same regardless of medium. After stamping your image on paper, use an eyedropper to put some drops on the page. Hold the paper slanted down and let the ink run across the page. The ink is resisted in the areas that you have placed your wax or other resist product. You can also use your brayer to place re-inkers on your cardstock.

9. Batik: Use the reinkers to create cards that will have the look of this ancient art form. There are two methods to batiking that use reinkers.
- -Mulberry Batik Method: Emboss on mulberry paper using solid bold stamps, a resist pap, clear embossing powder and heat tool just until the image is clear. Then crunch the paper into a ball to crack the embossing. (ßOptional step) Place on one side of a newsprint and spritz with water until it is soaked but not drippy. Drop reinker of one colour in several places. Using brush dribble more water on to spread the colour. Clean the brush. Now drop another color and repeat process. Carefully unfold and transfer to a couple of clean sheets of newsprint in a flip-flop fashion. Fold the newsprint over and with an iron set on medium press for about one minute.
- Tissue paper batik method: Stamp a pattern using versa mark ink and a bold stamp onto tissue paper. Emboss with clear powder. Use reinkers and drop ink onto the tissue paper. Ink will absorb into the paper where there is no embossing.

10. Watercolor Brayer: Drop several reinkers onto a piece of plastic wrap. Fold wrap in half to spread ink around. Then unfold and ink your brayer by rolling it across the newly created palette. Spritz with a water bottle and roll out onto your card for a pretty watercolor look.

11. Liquid applique: Use white Liquid Applique. Squeeze a bit and mix with your choice of reinkers. Air-dry or puff up.

12. Soused suede: Taking 11 a step further. Squeeze applique on your cardstock. Now take a used gift card and scrape over cardstock like you are spackling. Randomly add drops off reinker and tilt card so that it spreads. Heat the liquid applique for a truly unique look (I LOVE this technique!)

13. Dye mulberry: Use the reinkers to change white mulberry into any colour!

14. Bubble background: Add reinkers to dishwashing soap and water in a 9x12 shallow pan. Take a straw and blow bubbles (don’t inhale!) Quick dip the surface of your cardstock into the bubbles.

15. Dye Ribbon

16. Foil paper technique: Emboss an open image without a lot of detail onto front of card. Use black ink and clear embossing powder. Stamp the same image onto plain foiled holiday gift wrap and colour in using reinkers. You can cut the whole image or parts of it…depending on the look you want to achieve. Cut the inside line of the image. Glue the foiled pieces inside the embossed image on the card.

17. Paper casting: Place stamp with image side up on table. Select up to 8 squares of toilet tissue and stack them. Dampen them with water and lay them over the stamp. Place a hand towel on top and gently press down expelling some of the water from the tissue and molding it to the stamp image. Now paint on the colour you want using your reinkers and a paintbrush. Carefully remove all the tissue at one time from the stamp and lay it aside to dry. The image will appear similar to paper casting!

18. Tissue paper/Window Sheets: On a sheet of window sheeting, squeeze out a blob of liquid glass. Spread around with your finger and leave it fairly thick. Drop a few different colours of reinkers on glass and spread around. Add more drops to achieve a marbled look as desired. Cut a piece of white tissue slightly larger than the glue/ink and set aside to dry (peel back a corner to check that ink is dry) when dry, peel tissue away from window sheet and use whole or in pieces for a cool background. Finished paper has the look of stained glass. (I have also used transparencies and page protectors)

19. Aluminum Foil: Fold a piece in half and reopen it. Squirt some of your reinkers on the foil. Fold the foil in half again pressing together (with hand or brayer) allowing the ink to mix around. Open up and lay a blank card in the inked foil. Fold the foil over the card. Smooth your hand over the foil allowing the ink to get on the card. Open the foil and look to see if you need to add any more, if so, repeat process.

20. Reinkers and Glue with tissue paper: Stamp all images on transparencies. Colour stamped images on reverse side of tissue paper. TO highlight use metallic markers. Put drops of white glue on reverse side (once marker is dry); add drops of reinkers. Use your fingers to smear glue and colour as desired. (Work carefully over marker as it will flake off – it is worth the effort as the metallic markers are what really make this pop!) Crumple white tissue paper and adhere to the glue to seal. Layer with background papers onto card.

21. Caught in crystal: This is a very clever use of an ordinary household cleaning product, clear acrylic floor finish (I use Future) Stamp the design of your choice onto a transparency (or page protector) with staz on ink. Heat fix. Spray with clear gloss fixative and heat to dry. Tape transparency, stamped side down onto a sheet of paint white paper. The tape will act as a barrier to keep the inks and future from seeping under the front of the transparency. Pour a puddle of future on the transparency and spread evenly over background. Add a light sprinkle of glitter. Tear a piece of tissue paper a little larger than your transparency. Crumple, open and smooth onto transparency. Add more future-you want the surface wet so the dyes flow easily. Add drops of dye from reinkers. Blend edges of colours together using a soft paint brush. Blot with a paper towel. You control how deep the colours will be at this step. If the tissue tears, don’t panic! Tear off a small piece of tissue and patch with more floor finish. Heat to dry. Hold the heat fun about 6-8 inches from the transparency- you don’t want it to melt! Add another layer of future0this is what will turn the piece crystal clear. Again, heat to dry. Cut out the inside of the taped area. The finished piece is now ready to be applied to your project.

22. Other objects for crating backgrounds:
Kooshballs: dab in reinker and pounce.
Marbles: put in a shallow dish and roll
Rubber ball: bounce it in reinker and then on cardstock
Piece of mesh: dye it or use a sponge and reinker to create a cool grid on cardstock
Bubble Wrap: dab in reinker and press into cardstock
Sandwich baggie: crumple and pounce
Sponges
Try any household object!

23. Reinker plus Pearl Paint makes a wonderful custom shimmer paint.

24. Add reinker to homemade glitter mist (this takes a lot equal amounts of reinker to alcohol so unless you want a specific custom colour, I honestly think it is just as cost effective to buy glimmer mist)