Leap Year Technique of the Week: Adirondack(r) Pigment Ink Stamp Pads

Happy Tuesday! I've not done a Technique of the Week lately, but was itching to play with these Maya Road Sheer Sheets. I'm not sure what Caroline and Deborah initially thought how these should be used, but I instantly looked at these suckers as stencils or masks! So, what I've got here are coordinating Adirondack(r) Pigment Ink Pads in Cloudy Blue/Sail Boat Blue and Denim; I wanted opaque coverage on the watercolor tag that I created from an AccuCut(r) tag die, plus Ink Blending Tools and Foam.

Here's a close-up of one of the Sheer Sheets. At CHA I played with one that is filled with a wonderful collage of butterflies. They also have swirls, stars, hibiscus-like flowers and some hearts n' swirls....they are such a nice and sturdy vinyl (I think vinyl?); the bottom line is that you can really work with these things. They are sturdy. The key to this is to use as a stencil/mask you will need to really hold or use a repositionable adhesive if it's too much of a gorilla for you to hold onto!




Step One: Using the lightest color of pigment ink, load up the foam with the ink (you will have more control doing it this way than direct from the pad as too much ink may "squish" under the Sheer Sheet.


Here's a close-up of the application of the first color. Since I'm my own photographer, I couldn't hold the Sheer Sheet and ink at the same time, so something had to give...! What is important to remember is that you are more or less "pouncing" in an "up and down" motion, applying the ink; NOT in a circular motion as you would when edging cardstock, as you will bend or move the stencil. Trust me on this!







Here's what the finished layer looks like. Now, on its own, this would be great for a nice spring card, Easter card (remember, Easter's early this year!), Baby card, etc. It's a nice bold image that can be overstamped or used as a background for a photo. You get the picture!




Step Two: Okay, now to the next color-the Brights! In this case, Sail Boat Blue. If you have the time, quick mist the Sheer Sheet with water to wash off the first color of pigment ink. It's not a big deal, but just makes less ink transfer to the next color. You can use the same Blending Foam, but if I was going to make a bunch of these, I'd probably have a different foam for each color. Now-the key to this fun look is to move the Sheer Sheet just a bit so it is a little bit off register from the initial ink application.



Here's another close-up to see what it how "off" it needs to be moved to make an impact.







See how great this looks? You can click on the photo and it should open up to the much larger file. In case you can't, here's another close-up!






Step Three: Okay, you know where the next one is going. Repeat what you've done in the previous steps, cleaning off the stencil again, replacing the stencil but moving it AGAIN so that the third layer, the Denim Adirondack Pigment will not overtake the rest of the colors...it's almost going to look like 3-D!








Here's another close-up; again; it's just a subtle layering of color, but in the end, boy does it pop!










See how it looks? Get those crazy 3-D glasses out (no, not really!). I just love the look of all the colors. I've broken this tag down to most simple of finished products, but you can conceivably create an entire 12" x 12" page, then use it for die cuts for title pages, layers for a card or scrapbook page. You can create the look almost old, vintage wall paper by using Distress Inks(tm) (my mind is now thinking of too many things...one at a time!).





For the finished tag, I just stamped a sentiment from Impression Obsession with the Denim Ink (yes, I know I included an Archival Pad on the initial photo, but, what the heck-it's my technique to show and I changed my mind :-)!). With the Ink Blending Foams containing the Cloudy Blue and Sail Boat Blue, ripped the edges around the stamped square and edged it.

I hope you like this technique! Once the Pigment Inks and Sheer Sheets are out, I'd love to see what YOU create!

Inky Hugs, Robin