ACOT Message Board

 I can't start another collection of items (brads, ribbons, chipboard etc), but I do have a question about inks.  I am not interested in stamping, but I have seen the effect of inking the edges of paper, for matting pics or otherwise, in scrapbooks and like it.  My question- how do you do it?  Run the edges of the paper over the ink pad itself or use some sort of tool?  And, if all I am going to ink is edges for effect, is it necessary to buy a hundred different colors of ink?  I just don't have room/money for that.  Any help on this would be appreciated.  Thank you.

 You definitely don't need a ton of ink to start getting into it!  I find that I use brown and black most of the time and with options like the small catseye chalk inks you'll find that they don't take up much room to store either.  Rather than running the paper along the ink pad I run the ink pad along the paper... does that make sense?  I rarely use a different tool.  Sometimes I use a q-tip to transfer ink to very small things or super tight corners. 

 Inking on paper edges doesn' take any extra tool or anything.  I too use mostly brown, but since the little Cat's Eye inks are just $2 each, I do have a few other colors I turn to often.  I use blue, red, pink and green as well.  Maybe just get a brown or black to start, see if you like it.  I have been doing lots of Heritage type stuff lately, so the brown is great for that.

 This is a simple technique that I have seen pros like Jan Miller use on Sandi Genovese's Scrapbooking at  www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows - you may go there and watch videos of various techniques.

For stamping the edge- they hold the full length of the paper slightly off the table in front of them and then use the pad upside down and sort of pounce it on the edge going up and down thef ull length of the paper.  It has a very nice look to it. Good luck. Let me know how you made out.
Koi

I have a question related to this, or maybe I need to start its own thread...  but how does everyone get the very light inking look on their pages?  I have a stamp pad that is incredibly old and relatively dry, so I use that.  I can lean on that thing and all it gives is a nice light smudgy look.  But it's going to run out soon and I've tried replacing it, but of course everything I try is a new pad and it leaves really dark streaks because it's new.  Is there a kind of ink pad that will give this look, or do you use water for smudging?  I'm clueless about this.

Cortney I think it depends on what kind of ink you want to use.  I almost always use chalk ink and I have found that the cat's eye ones give that nice soft look.  But when I started running out of "chestnut roan" I bought a big pad of it and found that the pad was WAY more saturated with ink and I couldn't get the same softness.  So now I dab my old cat's eye on the bigger pad and tap it on the inside of the cover to get the majority of wet ink off and I can still have the soft look. 

 Or you could try spraying glimmer mist on the paper for an aged effect.

 I use my cat eyes on just about every LO i do.. I would say about 95% of LO

I use mostly Medium Brown, Dark brown, and like a kahki color.  I buy mine at acmoores and they usually have 6 different colors to a pack and they are 10 dollars (plus you can use your coupon for it) (they last a long time too)

 I like the cats eye inks as well.  They are small and easy to apply and dry quickly. 

 I have two favorite colors... Tim Holtz Distress Ink in "Brushed Corduroy" and "Tea Dye".  These are both shades of brown.  To apply, I use a make up sponge wedge like you use with cosmetics.  I also use the sponge wedge for chalking.  They are really cheap.  You can buy a bag of them in the makeup section at Wallmart for next to nothing. 

 You can also take a look here, it´s a video with Tim Holtz that tell about distressing with ink

*LINKY*LINKY*

 No, if I were you I'd buy black and brown. I think those are the two necessary colors for inking edges.

AlwaysHappy wrote: I have two favorite colors... Tim Holtz Distress Ink in "Brushed Corduroy" and "Tea Dye".  These are both shades of brown.  To apply, I use a make up sponge wedge like you use with cosmetics.  I also use the sponge wedge for chalking.  They are really cheap.  You can buy a bag of them in the makeup section at Wallmart for next to nothing. 

The Brushed Corduroy is my favorite too (used it a LOT!) and also I was just introduced to another -- it's a navy blue dye -- think it's called 'wood' something or other.   (sorry, cannot remember name right now).   

 I also have mostly black and brown with a few cat eyes. 

 OK well I am new to all this too but I have picked up a few good tips and tricks in my short time so far....

So
I find that I use a lot of Browns...like everyones been saying.  My
first one I bought was the distress ink....tea dye (Very versatile)! 
But here is a neat trick I like to use...I use those little makup
wedges (I got a bag of them for a dollar at the dollar store)...I fold
them in half and then clip them with one of those little mini binder
clips and use it that way!  It works great and it is CHEAP!!!  I like
how you can control how much ink you want to use on the sponge and the
little clip gives u a good grip!  Plus when one side of it gets yucky
or if you want to switch colors you can take out the wedge and fold it
in half in the opposite direction, using the other side!

 All great ideas!  My suggestion runs along everybody elses.  I have both large (stampin up) and small (cat's eyes), I find the larger pads do have too much ink or just to large.  I have Tim Holtz "Vintage something" is the largest size pad I like to use. my suggestion Cat's eyes for sure.


Here's my Question:   How do you store your ink pads.  Right side up or up side down.  I heard that to keep them better inked. to place them upside down so the ink runs to the top of the pad.