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| If I didn't tell you, would you know that this dog was originally... Yellow?! |
Today's tip is all about getting the most out of the cardstock/paper you have on hand. A few years ago I came across a yard sale getting rid of a 12" thick stack of cardstock, which was already cut into 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" card-making size. The colors were bright orange, yellow, minty green, & light blue -- I think I got the entire stack for a dollar! Typically I don't use these colors as much in my card-making, and I haven't made cards in multiples of the same design...well, other than Nathan's graduation announcements, and I made about 80 of those. Anyway...that led me to finding ways to change the color of the cardstock (CS). There are several ways you can get an all-over coverage of color -- I've listed a few ideas below:
1. Paint - if you use a bristle brush you'll get a wonderful textured look, but remember that paint also acts as a resist for certain inks, so you'd want to avoid stamping directly onto the paint. Embellishments/ephemera are great to use on painted surfaces.
2. Ink Brayering - add ink to your brayer by rolling it onto an inkpad, then rolling it onto your paper/CS. This method will not give you as deep a color unless inking in multiple layers on to your CS. You can pattern your papers with the brayer by criss-crossing a variety of colors with the brayer such as in a plaid/checked design.
3. Direct to Paper - by rubbing the ink pad directly onto your paper. This will give it a somewhat mottled effect as it's not always easy to control the application of ink. You can use a foam blender to soften the ink edges while the ink is still wet. If you use Distress ink, you can spritz the CS with water after you've applied the ink which will help the ink to spread, or "wick" out. Distress ink retains its color when wet, so no worries that it will muddy up.
4. Color Wash - a water based dye ink in a spray bottle. Spray on color--great for full coverage. Tim Holtz has a great technique on his blog using Color Wash ---> HERE.
5. Ink Blending - simply tap a foam applicator, or a piece of Cut-n-Dry foam, into your ink pad and apply it to your papers. It tends to give it a somewhat softer/blended look.
6. Decorative Papers - adhere decorative scrapbook paper cut to fit your CS to cover it completely. The decorative papers will add design, while the CS will add durability.
7. Fabric - adhere fabric swatches cut to fit your CS--great coverage, great design. If you use a wet medium such as Mod Podge, your fabric will become stiff once dry. A dry adhesive will retain the texture/feel of the fabric, but depending on what you use, it may not hold it well.
8. Heat Embossing - (for all over coverage it's best to use on smaller pieces such as a die-cuts) apply VersaMark ink directly to the CS die-cut (making sure to cover entire area), then pour over a complete coverage of a colored embossing powder (shake off excess into a manila folder and pour back into jar). Apply heat with a heat gun until powder is melted. **In February I posted a box I made for Nathan for Easter. On the box I used Post-it paper to cut out a heart, but I only had the paper in a baby blue color. I changed the color of that to red with embossing powder (check it out here---> Chocolate Kisses in a Box).
And finally...the method I used to change the color of my dog from yellow to brown -- Distress Stains! These are new this year from Tim Holtz & Ranger. These inks are in a bottle with a nifty nozzle/valve that allows you to control the amount of ink stain you use by how much you press on the CS with the dauber. You can check out the product review by Tim Holtz HERE. There's also a fantastic video by ScrapTime of Tim demonstrating the stains HERE -- you're gonna love it!
I cut out the dog with my Cricut out of yellow CS and used Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, & Weathered Wood Distress Stains to change the color from yellow to brown. I liked using the weathered wood stain in conjunction with the walnut stain & antique linen, as I thought it gave it more of a mottled effect for the dog. I went around the edges with my foam blender and walnut stain Distress Ink for a bit more softness & dimension. And it was that easy to change the color -- pretty dramatic change considering the original color.
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| Pretty cool color transformation, huh?! |
I used my Cricut Expression2 (CE2) to cut out the dog from the Cricut American Alphabet cartridge that was pre-loaded on my machine. I also cut out the fence with my CE2 from the My Community cartridge. The background is simply blue & green cardstock--I added CTMH white pigment in soft cloud-like swirls to the blue cardstock and stamped "Ruh-Roh" ("Scooby Doo", All Night Media stamp) with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. I used Copic Marker #110 Special Black to color the nose & eyes, and gave him a "wet" nose with Glossy Accents. Pop-dotted up the fence with the tail popping out, & folded over his ear to finish up this Belated Birthday Card. I'm actually not doing too bad--I'm only a week late. [sigh]
Try changing colors using a variety of papers you might normally throw away (inside of envelopes, cardstock from a package of hosiery, plain index cards, etc). But wait, there's more -- I haven't even talked about changing the color of your ribbon! You might be more apt to buy white ribbon when you realize you can change the color of your ribbon too! If you haven't looked at the video link I posted above from ScrapTime with Tim Holtz, or if you didn't watch to the end (there are a couple places in the video that it goes black for 5 seconds--keep watching), you might want to take the time to watch--he shows a couple of ways to change your ribbon color too...with Distress Stains! Once you start playing with color, you just might find yourself getting inky quite a bit more than you imagined.
Have a wonderful, ink stained day! Lisa
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