I have a lot of craft products. What, you too? I’m sure between you and me we could open our own warehouse! For this blog series I wanted to put my crafty stash to good use and talk about some of the products I never put away. (Not because I’m that messy–but because I’m using them!)
Let’s talk ink.
Once upon a time, my husband commented that I seemed to have a lot of black inkpads. Well, it’s true: I have several and they’re all used for different things. It’s like having more than one pair of black shoes, as far as I’m concerned. You wear different styles of shoes for different reasons, right? So here are the inkpads that never leave my desk.
1. Ranger Jet Black Archival. Ages ago, Leandra at PaperArtsy told me: “Once you use this inkpad, you’ll be hooked”. It’s true. This dye-based ink is waterproof, permanent and acid-free. It does dry on glossy card but takes about 20 minutes or a zap with a heat gun. The black is true and deep, and the pad itself is not superspongy. If you need a good basic black inkpad, this is it. Plus, I’ve had this pad for probably three years and use it almost daily—yet I’ve never had to re-ink it. (Yeah, I just jinxed myself, didn’t I?)
2. Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black. My mother is a Versafine devotee and got me into this quick-dry pigment ink. Usually pigment inks take a looooong time to dry, but this one is superspeedy on matte cardstock. Glossy paper needs time and a heat gun, as you can imagine. But that’s all kind of beside the (very important) point: I’m not sure how they do it but Versafine ink really does make the tiniest details stand out on a stamped image. Whenever I have a detailed stamp or one with really fine lines or lettering, this is what I use.
3. Clearsnap Black Surfacez. I stamp a lot on non-porous surfaces like glossy cardstock and acetate. I also stamp or do inky stuff on top of surfaces that have a lot of other medium on top that makes it non-porous—dried gesso, dried Gelato color, dried embossing paste for example. All that really makes the paper surface a bit tricky to deal with. Other inks can bleed but my Surfacez inkpad does not. You will want to get a re-inker for this one because it’s solvent ink and the pad can dry out more quickly than other inks. The other cool thing is that although there’s a solvent-ink smell, it’s definitely not as strong as others I’ve been around.
These three are stored with a few other must-have inkpads in a recycled plastic container and on my desk so I can grab and stamp without searching around.
Just like shoes, huh?
Happy Monday!
