Ink Dragging

I love paper! Beautiful, patterned, textured paper. I fall in love with it at the store and bring it home and SAVE it because it is just so pretty and I don't want to USE it because then I won't HAVE it. 

I know it may be hard to admit but I feel certain that I am not alone in this my crafty friends. Remember, I have seen some of your stash also! 

So what's a crafty girl on a budget to do? Even if I find a super sale of next to nothing I am not saving money if I do not use my supplies. So, my solution, DIY it! I buy mostly solid papers and I stamp and I ink and I layer and I shimmer and I emboss it to create the backgrounds I want.

One of my favorite ways to create a background is to ink drag over an embossed image. This is a quick and easy way to create beautiful panels for your projects. Let me walk you through how I do this. 

I start with some Neenah Bright White 90# cardstock cut to 5 1/4 x 4 inches and run it through an embossing folder. The texture alone makes a great card front or base for any project. Here I used Tim Holts Alterations Roses Texture Fade for a nice deep image. To kick it up a notch and match my project, I used mini cubes of Distress Ink in Picked Raspberries to lightly cover the project. Do not press, just lightly touch the paper. For best results, I start at the top and lightly drag the ink cube over the surface towards me, lift up and move over slightly to start at the top again. I don't overlap the color but I am no worried about gaps. This process will leave some white space, especially if using distress inks. **You can use any ink you prefer in mini or full size. I like the control I have using mini.  After going over the entire card in this base color, I switched to Festive Berries to go over sections in a diagonal pattern, leaving spots untouched. This is a subtle effect with complimentary colors that blend together well.  You can dry between color layers when using contrasting colors to avoid the muddy look. 

For the 2nd sample, I used a similar ink dragging technique with 4 x 6 inch card font on the opposite side of the texture, going for more of a Petals look.  With the roses, both embossed and debased sides look fabulous.  I began with Ripe Persimmon for the full card. Went diagonally in a few spots with Worn Lipstick. Selected a few spots to touch with Festive Berries and lastly, Wilted Violet Distress Oxide. **Note the smaller cubes are easier to get select placement but the Oxides look fabulous!  I finished off the top, bottom and sides in Worn Lipstick.

I hope this gives you some ideas about using your ink cubes, or Gelatos on a blending pad, to add color to your embossed panels.   Happy Crafting Y'all!