Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
Just curious what is best for blending: round blending tools (foam?), rectangular blending tools (cotton), brushes, or ???? So far I'm not having any luck with any of them . It's probably me, but I get gobs or blobs of ink, not nicely blended ink.
Also, any advice on what inks are best for blending? I've found the distress oxide blend a little better than the regular distress inks. I've watched several YouTube videos and it LOOKS so easy, but it's not for me.
Hi Jan. I am a total disciple of Tim Holtz. He explains (as I am sure many others have explained) that any number of foam/brushes will leave edge marks if you place the ink right where you want to put it. His suggestion is to start totally off the paper and in a circling motion, work your way towards the paper. The card example was done using this technique, as you can see from the hexagon stencil in the photograph. I have used many different tools from makeup sponges to makeup brushes to domed foam. the technique is the same for all. I did use Distress Inks for this card, but I use many other types of inks, too. Try the circular motion, starting off the paper and continuing on to the spot you want sponged with color. I am thinking this technique uses a little more actual ink, but a nice price to pay. Tim Holtz also uses this technique to edge his paper with color. Have fun experimenting.
I've used all the methods you've listed, and personally either the egg shaped sponges or the 'toothbrush style' make up brushes work best, for me. The TH style blending tools depend very much on having the tool at the right angle, I find. It is important, whichever of these you use, to ink up your tool, then dab off some of the excess ink onto your mat before applying it to the card. You can keep picking up the excess ink from your mat as you work.I do think the make up brushes give more control, allowing you to have the ink as light, or as dark, as you want. The sets of make up brushes are available on Amazon, and are a really good buy. The 10 piece set has a lot of different sizes, making it easy to add ink to large or small areas.
But whatever you prefer, the really important bit is NOT to go straight from the inkpad to the cardstock, but to dab some off first. Most dye inkpads are quite wet, or juicy, and you will have far too much on the tool to blend it without getting blobs unless you do this. This is why the TH tool technique of starting off the cardstock also works well, as you are removing some of the excess ink before you get to your cardstock. You're not wasting ink, as you can keep picking ink up from your craft mat too. You do need to be working on a suitable surface- a glass mat or craft sheet, or a mylar sheet.
Pretty much any dye ink should work ok, I did a batch recently using my Adirondack pads, which have been discontinued for a few years now, but yes, Oxides do blend very smoothly. It's also important to have a good, very smooth cardstock to blend on- Papermill Direct have a lovely supersmooth white cardstock, ans Lavinia stamps have their Multifarious card.
Don't get down. Blending takes a little while to get used to. It is a very LIGHT touch...and people often make the mistake of pounding the tool on the pad to pick up a lot of ink esp if they see an uneven pick up of color on the sponge...practice it! You will get the hang of it! I often will swirl my sponge on the side to even out the ink on it as well as let some go.
Totally agree with what people are saying here about starting off to the side on a good surface. Also about paper though I find Neenah to be fine. What I never use are textured surfaces but some people do great with them.
Think of it as you are going to lay down several layers of ink...not put it all down at once. You can add more but you cant take away. As you use the inks you will get a feel for which ones are light to start with and want more layers and which are dark and you need to use less.
Some light colors never get super dark no matter how many layers you put down...that is mistake I used to make. I used so much ink I over saturated the paper. I also can think I have less color than I actually do, esp if I am using a stencil so it is good to peek under it.
Dye inks dry fast so blending can be tough with them for ME. Esp if you want to do multiple colors. By the time you get your next color, the first one is either fully or too dry to blend well imho. Pigments and hybrids will stay wet longer for blending. I don't work as fast as others and that may be part of it.
Edges have ever been the bane of blending. Even when we switched to round over rectangles...and now brushes are super popular bc they are better about it but I still could get "lines" from a brush from too much ink.
Wow..thanks so much for all the info! I think I probably have been using too much ink and will try a lighter touch now. I have watched the video about starting off the page but still get streaks and blobs, but maybe that goes back to the too-much ink and too heavy touch issues.
Everyone has given great tips. My main problem is the LIGHT touch. That means really light. And the "touch the brush to the mat off the paper first" really works best.
I use the blender brushes only if I want a light background or if I'm using a stencil. Otherwise, I find that the ink looks very blotchy. When I use ink applicators, I find it helpful to put a lot of ink on the applicator. That helps it glide across the paper better. I agree that the smoother the paper/cardstock is, the easier it is to apply inks in this way. With Distress Inks, the more I blend them, the smoother the ink looks.
One thing one could look at is Kristina Werner when she is doing the color swatches for the oxides-she does a lot of blending in general but this is dedicated. If you scroll down you will see the original series for all the colors.
https://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/?s=oxide+combo
Oh and btw...you can always use up the ink, esp if it reacts with water by spritzing the side area and popping a new card on it and swirling it. You can get a nice look!
Blending- I agree with everyone- Start off on the edge, circular motion, smooth cardstock and light touch. I think light touch is the key because you can always add color but you can't lighten the color.
Patience, lots of patience. I admit I didn't like blending. I thought the ladies who loved it were hodling some mystical secret why it was so much fun, lol. Now that I have learned some tips and techniques it can be relaxing. I watched a lot of Coloring Book YouTube videos about blending. ZucchiniKitty is the Queen for InkBlending.
Best for blending?
Tips for Blending
