Other Uses for Inks

Ink pads are for more than just rubber stamping. Here are some tips and tricks for using them in your scrapbooking, card making and paper crafting projects.

What exactly is "inking?" Inking, in general, refers to gently swiping an ink pad or pen along the edges of a piece of patterned paper or cardstock, creating a subtle outline. This enables the "inked" piece of cardstock to stand out from the background paper and provides a finishing touch.

When inking, it is best to start with a little. You can always add more, but it is difficult to remove once ink is on your project. Begin with a light hand, very gently rubbing the ink pad on your project. Continue making light strokes until you are satisfied.

Inking is often the perfect finishing touch you've been looking for to make your card or scrapbooking project look "just right." There are many different ways you can use ink to add something special to a scrapbook layout or card. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

Swipe your ink pad around the edge of any cardstock or patterned paper in your project, including journaling spots, photo mats, accents and background paper. Warning: Inking can be very addicting!

Use an ink pad to accentuate torn cardstock or paper. Lightly rub the ink pad along the torn edge of paper to highlight the tear. This will work with either dyed cardstock or paper (white when torn) or solid colored.

Make an accent or embellishment stand out from the background paper. If your accent is mounted on cardstock simply repeat the above step of "inking" the cardstock. You can also ink the edges of any embellishment made from chipboard.

Alter alphabets and chipboard using ink. Use a brush, or apply ink to your stickers or chipboard directly from the ink pad. Ink is a great way to color chipboard to match your scrapbook layout.

Use a subtly darker-toned ink to highlight petals on a fabric flower. Brush the ink over the petals lightly until the desired effect is achieved.

Emphasize the texture on a piece of textured cardstock or an embellishment. Rub the ink pad over the face of the textured item. Remember to begin with a light coat - you can always add more later.

Similar to emphasizing the texture of something, ink can be used to emphasize distressed cardstock, or to help distress cardstock. Take your piece of cardstock, or a tag or similar item and crumple up. Flatten it out and rub lightly with your ink pad. The crumpled folds will pick up the color and be emphasized.