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i was so excited, went to tuesday morning and bought some alcohol ink markers, ink pads and distress watercolor crayons to use with some embossing folders and stamps. but my color is getting on the folder outside the design and it isn't covering very well. i don't really know what i'm doing. you guys made it look so easy! i wanna make a pretty card! help please.
I can’t picture the problem. I’m very visual. Could you post a picture so we could give you suggestions? Also, please remember that we often make “mock-ups” or make pretty trash when trying new things too. Anything new is going to have a learning curve. Have fun with it. We tend not to post what we don’t like.
I’m a bit confused on exactly what you did with all the products you bought and what you hoping/expecting the result to be.
Near as I can tell, you applied one or more of the coloring agents (ink pad, alcohol marker or distress crayons) to the inside of an embossing folder and the color didn’t go where you expected it to. Is that the case?
susy, i hope you can see the ink pad...i'm wondering why i don't get more color on the folder . also can you see the ink that goes beyond the embossing on the enlarged photo? how do I avoid that? i was hoping for more vibrant color on the card stock. thanks.
Oh heck yeah...sometimes I make a lot of them before I get the hang of it! A lot of this is practice.
So you are trying to put ink in the debossed areas? (aka "letterpress effect") Because you are showing us that side in the picture.
So then you want to put ink ONLY on the raised part of the EF. This can be tricky. One reason cubes and small pads are good but you can do it! Just carefully pat the pad to the raised areas. You may have to take a bit of paper towel and wipe the other bits if you get where you dont want it.
If you want the area around the raised parts to have color (and leave them white or CS color) you ink the flat side of the folder. If you dont want the whole area inked you can use some blue tape and mask off a smaller border around the image.
As for color...some inks are not bold. I am assuming the word stamped is with that ink? So to me, that is borderline. Do you have a brighter color to practice with for the moment? Or just use black till you get it.
If you use dye inks they dry fast. You might want to try pigments so they stay wet longer on the EF. Could smear so be careful removing it from the EF. Lay it aside to dry or hit it with the heat gun.
If I have it wrong what you want to do, let me know.
If you have a pic of a card you like and are trying to do....that could help us too.
FYI-you could end up staining the EF doing this-it will not affect how it works. Just how it looks.
when I look at the inkpad in your photo to me that looks like it is some kind of squishy foam pigment ink pad. and it seems to me that I have better luck inking embossing folders with an ink that will react and move with water.
( sometimes I mist it with water to smooth the lines, sometimes I apply it with a brayer.) just depends.
but, one thing I will tell you is
I tend to reach for my distress oxide ink pads to do that sort of thing followed by my dye inks. and each of those pads the pad of ink it self is firm, not squishy and they are water based inks.
( will run off the folder under the sink faucet with no staining on the folder)
the water based crayons what I would do is you need to use a little water. so, sometimes I take a damp paint brush and run that across the tip of the crayon to "paint" with it, sometimes I mist the folder and then scribble the crayon direct to the stamp or folder and mist it again with water if its not moving enough for me. but, it is going to depend on the shade you pick and the color of your paper as far as how dark it will end up. (you may have better luck with gelato's than the distress crayons) and remember the distress line is just that, its been formulated to give you a finished look of broken color. the more water you add to smooth it out will more than likely dilute some of the color. ( it separates and such, its not a soild smooth coverage. even the embossing powders) hence the name "distressed"
I think the oxide distress line tends to hold its colors a little better than the original distress inks but, that's just what I think.
I do not think I would use the alcohol ink on the plastic embossing
folder unless your goal is to change the color of the folder.
another thought about adding color to an embossed piece of cardstock is to run the paper through plain and then color the piece you just added texture to.
( you could use the alcohol markers that way. )
I am also thinking that you could if you wanted to take a pair of scissors and cut out around the edge of the embossed heart and it would not matter that there is a halo of ink on the outside of the cardstock? and then use adhesive to place just the heart on another cardbase or background? just a random thought if you did not want to toss it.
Ah, now I see what you're trying to do. I love the look that you can get with this technique: however, I've found that this is more of a "messy" technique. It's difficult to not get ink where you don't want it. I find that using pigment inks with a light hand works best. I've also learned that when you're rolling your folder and paper through your machine, go very slowly, so that you allow the ink to press down into the paper. Alcohol ink isn't a good ink to use with this technique. It dries too fast, and it will stain your embossing folder. I hope that helps.
The best way for me, personally, to get good results with this technique is to use a brayer to apply the ink. You can build up the color and make sure that it's even that way. I've never been successful using markers or misting with water or using an ink pad directly on the folder, although others (obviously) have. Using a deeper color will give a higher contrast result than using a pastel, so that's another thing to keep in mind.
Having said that, I think that the result you have is lovely - subtle, yes, but still very pretty. I don't even mind the color outside the embossed heart. You could perhaps add some small stamped hearts in the same ink and it would look intentional - like you were creating a fabulous background for the heart. In any case, hooray for trying (that's how we learn) and go, you!
I think you found a pretty folder. I have tried what you are trying, but am not good. These ladies know their stuff. I am learning reading their comments.
I really like the pale halo effect. I might add slightly darker shade on the heart to give it a bit of focus. Isn’t it great how we all have different ideas for where to go with it?
Looking through the comments, she does suggest a brayer for inking just the raised areas - but I agree with the comments above that a brighter, harder pad might do the trick.
Thank you for sharing. The crossover looks interesting. If I didn’t already have a vagabond 2 , a sizzix pro , and a cricut maker , this would be the one to buy! Adjustable rollers seem like a game changer
Yes! this is the advice i was looking for! thanks so much for your comments. i will keep trying. i think when you are a beginner and trying to buy the supplies you think you need, it is helpful to hear from others what works for them. i have a few other hobbies and not a lot of space to keep my supplies so if i can just buy what i need to accomplish my goal, my purse and my family will be happier.
I think you might have put the ink on the wrong side of the embossing folder. Try inking with dye ink (felt pad not sponge) the flat side of the folder and put it through your machine with the folded side toward the machine. See if that helps
ugh! need very basic help stamping
