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?
I'm newly into sponging backgrounds, particularly sky, mountains, water, and wonder if there are certain brands and/or kinds of ink that are better than others for sponging. I have craft inks, alcohol inks, distress inks, hybrid inks, pigment inks, solvent inks, water-based dyes inks, washes.........and inks that don't say whether or not they are any of those.
this link might help.
i love sponging! i just bought my first alcohol inks and have not tried them yet but cant wait til i can!
i would say just use scrap papers and expeirement with them all and see which you like best, and make notes of things like : which dries better without embossing , which ones blend together better, which gives the result you were looking for etc etc..........
juts play and have fun!
I find that the Distress inks are easiest to sponge with because they stay wet just a tad bit longer than regular dye inks. I always seem to have the nicest results with them, but that may just be me. I use the little finger sized sponge daubers with them. I have used SU and Adirondack inks to sponge with as well, but find that my sponging is not as smooth and even.
My favorite pad are the Distress ink pads or chalk ink pads. I find that these are the best for blending. I also use the sponge daubers from Tsukineko, both the small finger ones and the medium sized ones.
My absolute FAVORITE is Versamagic or Colorbox Chalk Inks! They are SO forgiving! With distress inks, if I get an ugly "line" I can't sponge it out, but with chalk inks, if I get too much ink or a really blunt line of ink, I can "buff" it out till you can't even see it! LOVE me some chalk ink! Distress Inks are definately my 2nd fave though!!!
I don't have much luck with daubers, they always seem to leave a mark for me so I now use cheap sponges, the kind that don't get hard when dry. I cut into squares then pick small pieces off the straight edges until I have an uneven edge. They seem to work with all my ink pads. I have some very small ziplocks I found in the jewlery area that I can label and keep the sponges in and keep in a bead sorting box. That way I never have to wash them out and have just about every color sponge at my fingertips. Cheap enough to have one for every inkpad color.
Wow, I didn't expect so much help so fast. Thank you soooooo much, All. this is exactly the stuff I wanted to know. I've made too big a waste pile and needed to hear what others have success with.
I don't have much luck with daubers, they always seem to leave a mark for me so I now use cheap sponges, the kind that don't get hard when dry. I cut into squares then pick small pieces off the straight edges until I have an uneven edge. They seem to work with all my ink pads. I have some very small ziplocks I found in the jewlery area that I can label and keep the sponges in and keep in a bead sorting box. That way I never have to wash them out and have just about every color sponge at my fingertips. Cheap enough to have one for every inkpad color.
OMG, I have been trying to think of a way to keep my sponges separated so I can keep re-using them. For some reason my mind would not go smaller than a ziploc sandwich bag. Reading your post was a real "DUH" moment for me. I have tons of these little bags. Now to go and mark my bags. Thanks so much.
For the OP, my fave is my distress inks. I love the looks of them and actually use them more for sponging than stamping.
Best inks for sponging (IMHO)craft inks
pigment inks
water-based dyes
chalk inks
Ok but not as good
distress inks
Not suitable - they dry too fast
alcohol inks
solvent inks
washes
Paper types:Smooth coated papers work best as the ink sit on top and do not absorb into the paper as fast. I especially like glossy cardstock (not photo paper) as it is the most forgiving
Sponges:I prefer soft sponges like SU stamping sponges. I use the thumb sponges but you have to have a light touch to keep from having round moon shpes of ink.
Storage: I just toss all my sponges in a big zip lock as I don't worry about what blue I used. I cut the sponges into quarters and have a lot so I just look for a sponge with light blue or drk blue. I store my thumb sponges in a great little box tht has compartments. I got it at a convention.
I sponge a lot but I only have a couple of pics in my gallery:
I use distress ink and chalk inks, it depends on what I am sponging. I have also tried different kinds of sponges, to see the differect effects the give to the card.
For distressing on plain cardstock I use just about any ink I have handy and whatever foam I can find around the house (usually a makeup sponge or fun foam wadded up). But if I want it to blend or fade nicely, I use a coated cardstock. So, I think that cardstock also plays a big part in the results you will get with sponging. The best part and the most fun of it all, is just getting in there and experimenting and making a mess. I'll bet that a lot of the techniques we use now were actually mistakes turned around. P
I think it's pretty much a personal preference on the ink. I do a lot of sponging. For soft colors, like skies, I love using the Memories shadow inks (dye inks). For stronger colors, I'll use any dye ink the color I'm looking for or distress inks. Occasionally, I'll use pigment, but I'm just too impatient for them to dry.
I love all types of inks and sponges. Friday I will post about my sponges and inks on my blog. I will try to remember to post here when the post is up. It's already scheduled to go.
And for those of you looking for inks--Hobby Lobby has them 40% off this week (in store only, all ink pads including distress inks)!!!!!!!!!!
__________________ Patter
Mom to Adult Identical Triplets--a police officer, 3rd year medical student, and special education teacher
Love chalk inks for the soft style and the ability to rub any marks out. Ditto on the distressed inks too--just tried them in the Tim Holtz card class at Archivers. They had us rub the sponge on the ink and then rub on a slick surface to allow for a soft effect when sponging. Works great. The pumice stone is a great color for aging.
__________________ Pam
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13
Which Inks for Sponging?
