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Can I use reinkers for stenciling without having the matching ink pad?
I just bought some stencils and I am having so much fun fun using inks to make stenciled backgrounds! Since there are so many nice sales going on right now, I wanted to get some of the Oxide ink for my stencils. I have one oxide ink pad and I stenciled it, and then spritzed it with water and the look is just LOVE. So anyway, here's my question. Can I just get reinkers and use them with the blending tools and get the same effect? Or do I need to get the ink pad for some reason? What I was thinking of doing was ordering a dozen or so reinkers, and then just put a little dot into a palette and get that blending sponge and stencil away. Just fyi I don't really stamp with colored inks, I prefer coloring in a black outline, so I don't see myself using these inks with stamps.
That sounds like an interesting project. I've never done it. I think I would search Tim Holtz teaching/demonstrating videos, and if you don't find anything like that, email to him!
I loved your first question. I am wanting to do the same thing. I would rather have the DI line in reinkers than ink pads.
I tried the same thing with my Distress Inks (not Oxides) the ink just soaked up into the sponge and I had to keep adding reinker. That was a fail fast because it wasn't going to be cost effective. I don't know if it was user error, sponge error, or ink error or geek error, lol.
What I am thinking is Ranger sells a product called Ranger Cut N' Dry. It comes in felt and foam version. It is used to make your own custom ink pads. My thinking is if we could just add the reinkers to the Cut N' Dry, so it is a like custom palette for techniques. The ink pads can be saved in small sandwich bags to be used again. They stay wet like an ink pad. You would probably need foam for the Oxides. Felt is for dye inks.
I have seen artists create custom paint palettes for the Ranger Inks. I am thinking they could be reactivated like our watercolor palettes. I have used sponges with my watercolors right from the palettes.
I hope I am not confusing you. I hope somebody else will weigh in.
I agree with DeeAnn, I think the Cut n Dry would work just fine. I do a lot of Stampscapes, and to add colour to those scenic images most of us use the Clearsnap Stylus tools, which seem to me to have the same sort of foam on them, and I know Kevin( Stampscapes owner), often uses the ink from reinkers alone to colour his images.
I haven't stenciled using the re-inkers on a blending brush but I have used them on a baby wipe and pressed the colour through the openings.
here is a card I did doing that: <sub></sub><sup></sup>
I agree, direct to an applicator will use far more reinker than you’d want to use. But the baby wipe idea is brilliant! Apparently (from vids I’ve seen) you can use the wipe many times before it runs out so have a lot of paper ready. Maybe more than one stencil too. Jennifer McGuire had a video a few months back where she used a straight edge, maybe a ruler?, wrapped a baby wipe around it and added drops of reinker just to the edge in rainbow order to get rainbow stripes. Very pretty.
Many years ago I read a post from someone using round stackable bead containers such as these https://www.michaels.com/bead-landing-clear-stackable-bead-storage-2.75in/10035497.html To make ink pads using Ranger’s Cut n Dry foam or felt products. I cut circles to fit & attach with carpet tape. Then ink them with reinkers. It was a way to relatively inexpensively have and try many different inks and colors.
My first venture into Distress ink was with these until I decided which colors I wanted regular pads for. Then I already had the reinker, which I had been using for reinker background techniques.
I have used both the 2” & 2.75” bead containers. A round blending tool fits perfectly in the 2” size, the 2.75” works well for inking stamps.
Since this thread began as a stenciling question, I will add that I have found small make up brushes, comparable to the Life Changing style brushes at the Dollar Tree, which would be perfect to use for stenciling.
I agree, direct to an applicator will use far more reinker than you’d want to use. But the baby wipe idea is brilliant! Apparently (from vids I’ve seen) you can use the wipe many times before it runs out so have a lot of paper ready. Maybe more than one stencil too. Jennifer McGuire had a video a few months back where she used a straight edge, maybe a ruler?, wrapped a baby wipe around it and added drops of reinker just to the edge in rainbow order to get rainbow stripes. Very pretty.
Felt rather than a baby wipe. Right after that I ran out (well ran out on line) and bought felt and did it. So neat.The felt holds ink well, providing a smooth cushioned/thick surface.
Thanks for all of the awesome responses! I ended up borrowing a couple oxide reinkers from a crafty work friend and used it with a foam blending tool, and it works amazingly well. I used a piece of plastic - the packaging from the blending tool actually - and just put a drop of the reinker on there, then picked it up with the tool and stenciled. I tried to attach a photo but it would not let me. I'm too new :(
Thanks for all of the awesome responses! I ended up borrowing a couple oxide reinkers from a crafty work friend and used it with a foam blending tool, and it works amazingly well. I used a piece of plastic - the packaging from the blending tool actually - and just put a drop of the reinker on there, then picked it up with the tool and stenciled. I tried to attach a photo but it would not let me. I'm too new :(
I have also thought about this, as I buy reinkers (for painting) before I purchase the ink pad. But it did seem to use a lot of the reinker ink. There must be a way to do this and I will continue to work on it. Like someone said above, I only buy the ink pads on my very favorite colors. Let's all work on this and keep coming back to this thread for our results. Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help with various problems and ideas!
I did get to set down and make a large mess this week. I tried out several ways mentioned about. Everything I tried was with SU reinkers and Distress Ink reinkers. I do not have the Oxides in reinkers.
Tried bjeans felt method. This actually worked really good with our blending brushes. It was messy. I think it was mess because of the user. I looked like a toddler after a finger painting session, lol.
I did try the felt method with our foams but I didn't like it. Distress Inks worked better with the felt/brushes and felt/foams. The SU reinkers were drying fast on the felt. Makes sense since that is what they are supposed to do is dye. Distress has extra additives in it to not do this.
Added reinkers to my paint palettes. Once again my foam just sucked it up and there was a lot of waste. My blending brushes really loved this and I got great results. I didn't save my results because they were a hot mess and not photo worthy after I was done, lol. I was just testing and playing.
I won't do baby wipe because I like to keep my inks pure when I am working. Adding soap is a pretty technique but it does break down inks and changes the properties a bit. I think it's a great technique but not one for me.
All in all I am happy with my playtime mess because I have been struggling with purchasing more ink pads. Struggling because I don't want to. It did help a lot that I am in the group that needs reinkers more than the pads.
I am going to try out some other things but I don't know when I will get a chance to do that. Next month will be my best time.
I’m enjoying imagining your mess without my getting messy. Great experiments! You’re so right about dye inks. Oxides are the outliers - they stand apart when it comes to drying time and “wanting” to be used with felt or other techniques, and give a more opaque, almost painterly quality.
So to the OP, born for joy, yes, you can just use Oxide re-inkers. I use Oxide pads for blending backgrounds, so if you decide to do more than use them for stencils, the pads might be handier and use less ink? But you’d still end up getting re-inkers in all likelihood. They’re the only inks my LSS owner buys re-inkers for other than one black ink pad, and the only ink pads Jennifer McGuire suggests buying re-inkers for. So maybe try and see how it goes for you - or buy just a couple pads and see which you like? Oxides can be used for so many techniques.
I’m enjoying imagining your mess without my getting messy. Great experiments! You’re so right about dye inks. Oxides are the outliers - they stand apart when it comes to drying time and “wanting” to be used with felt or other techniques, and give a more opaque, almost painterly quality.
So to the OP, born for joy, yes, you can just use Oxide re-inkers. I use Oxide pads for blending backgrounds, so if you decide to do more than use them for stencils, the pads might be handier and use less ink? But you’d still end up getting re-inkers in all likelihood. They’re the only inks my LSS owner buys re-inkers for other than one black ink pad, and the only ink pads Jennifer McGuire suggests buying re-inkers for. So maybe try and see how it goes for you - or buy just a couple pads and see which you like? Oxides can be used for so many techniques.
Beth
The pads have ink on them that you never use, so whether I'm wasting it on there or in a blender sponge, not really a concern here. I live in the desert and stuff dries out quickly here, so having ink in a bottle makes more sense for me than on an ink pad that could dry out... plus storage of little bottles in a tin (how fun!) works better for me than trying to store big ink pads. Anyway, question was more about the technique and whether or not that works, which in hindsight was a silly question. Of course it works, it's just ink from a bottle instead of ink from an ink pad.
The pads have ink on them that you never use, so whether I'm wasting it on there or in a blender sponge, not really a concern here. I live in the desert and stuff dries out quickly here, so having ink in a bottle makes more sense for me than on an ink pad that could dry out... plus storage of little bottles in a tin (how fun!) works better for me than trying to store big ink pads. Anyway, question was more about the technique and whether or not that works, which in hindsight was a silly question. Of course it works, it's just ink from a bottle instead of ink from an ink pad.
BornForJoy that makes a lot of sense. If I lived in a desert climate I would be hesitant about buying a lot of ink pads. I live in a very humid climate so I have to worry about art items being too wet and forming mold. That is one of the reasons why I don't like to buy a lot of ink pads. I am careful about these things and I haven't really had issues with mold in my art supplies, only a couple of times, in thirty years. It is a concern that I watch for.
I agree the ink refills look so cute in their little storage containers. I love opening up my box and seeing all my pretty refills. Open my box of Distress Inks I own and I see storage issues, ROFL. My DI reinkers make me so happy.
Can I use reinkers for stenciling without having the matching ink pad?
