2017 #10 Dark to Light: Contrasts & Layers {by Helen Chilton}

2017 Topic 10: Dark to Light: Contrasts & Layers

Well they may be particularly hard to get your hands on these days, but Ranger's new Oxide Inks are probably the most exciting product our industry has seen in many a year. They are super-easy to work with as they are a hybrid ink with properties of both dye and pigment inks: thick, creamy and opaque, but like all distress products, reactive with water. We have recently received our delivery of the newest colours, so take a look at Helen's take with them, and we will be back with more hybrid ink magic in an upcoming blog topic soon!

Hi everyone, it's Helen with you today, and I'd like to share with you a project using Distress Oxide inkpads and reinkers. I thought the Oxides would be great for this topic as you can build them up one over the other from dark to light - that's one of their fun properties!

I've used Hot Picks stamps HP1506 ...

...and HP1202 

I ended up making two tags...

...not what I intended at the start, but by the end I wanted to show one stamped in white (the ultimate light colour) and one stamped in black (ie. going back to dark colours).

They started life as a stencilled piece of kraft card using stencils PS023 and PS040 - I love working on this brown base. Iced Spruce Oxide, Walnut Stain Oxide, Faded Jeans Oxide

Then came the splattering technique as per Tim Holtz. I could sit there and do this all day - just look at the colours! I forgot that of course the stencilling underneath would run and react with the water as well, but I kind of like it - you get the stripes and shapes popping up every now and again.

It was at this point I got out the Distress Oxide Reinkers - the colour in them is very intense and great for painting with: Broken China reinker and Spiced Marmalade reinkers - drip and spread with a brush. The lighthouse is stamped directly onto the background and painted so you can see how easy it is to build up the colour.

Tip: don't forget to give them a really good shake, there is a ball bearing in the bottle to assist with the product mixing up well in the bottle.

They're also great for adding a final layer of splatters. Cracked Pistachio reinker, Wilted Violet reinker, Fossilized Amber reinker and all the rest plus all the new Distress Oxide inks are all available online at PaperArtsy here.

This technique will work on any colour card - just give it a go and see what happens. How heavy handed you are with your dipping will affect the size of the splatters - although I liked the finished result, the card I used ( 8" x 8") was quite large for dipping delicately - smaller pieces are easier. Personally I just love seeing the build up of colour on colour and how they all intermingle. You could get some fantastic die cuts out of the splattered card too!

Helen

Blog: A Splash of Colour

Teaching at The Craft Barn: 
Inky Fingers: Wednesday 16 August, Wednesday 20 September
Kit 'n' kaboodle: Saturday 26 August, Saturday 23 September

Starting on a dark card surface, be it painted or direct-to-card, is exactly what this topic is all about! It's a great challenge for those of us who are generally used to starting with a light surface. I think the choice of Oxide Inks is genius, as one of the properties you least expect from them is high opacity. Because they are fully opaque, as you layer you get defined spots, then add water and it's a whole new world! I love how you used the re-inkers to add further colourful layers too! Excellent! ~ Leandra

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The current topic link Topic 10 (Dark to Light) will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, August 5th 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

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