Technique of the Week: Make a Splash!

In conjunction with the Art 'n Soul weekly newsletter, here is the new Technique of the Week.

Splash Ink is a product that I have been meaning to get back to. They are so fun to play with, and give such beautiful results.

Splash Inks are made of pigments suspended in a fine acrylic emulsion. They are compatible with all waterbased mediums and paints and can be used for watercolor techniques on most porous surfaces. We carry sets of these at Art 'n Soul, and they come in 4 basic colors: magenta, yellow, blue & black. Hundreds of different hues can be mixed using these 4 colors. The recipe card that comes with the set has instructions for mixing 100 colors.

Lisa Lee of Inchie Arts came and did a class for us, where we sprayed Art Squares with water, and then just dropped color directly from the Splash Ink bottles onto the wet Art Squares. After setting them aside and leaving them to dry, we had amazing little works of art that, when attached to a base card with a sentiment stamped, made gorgeous and quick cards for any occasion.

Here are the cards I made

Magenta stamps: I.0406 Fresh Bouquet in Square; 
07.670.H I love the way our lives are interwoven

Magenta stamps: G.0432 Fish; 07.734.F See the World

Magenta Stamps: 09.163.H Flower; 07.954.G Think about you often

Magenta stamps: 23.249.J Framed Daisies; 
07.525.F You are the Sunshine

I chose 4 Magenta stamps, which are older images that I found in my stash. I wanted stamps that had a good amount of open area in them, and would also fit onto a 2" Art Square.

I chose white 2" Art Squares (Twinchies), stamped each one with a Magenta image in Versamark ink, and embossed each with JudiKins Opaque White embossing powder.

One by one, I sprayed each square with pearly water (1/4 tsp Perfect Pearls powder in 2 oz water). I then dropped drops of Splash Ink onto the wet image, and left it to dry overnight. When I first dropped the ink, it completely obscured the image, and I wondered if my experiment was going to work.

After absorbing into the Art Square, the embossed image did resist most of the ink. 

I used a damp baby wipe to wipe a little of the color off the embossing, but not all. I like the way the colors have a watercolor look; unpredictable but beautiful.

To finish each card, I got a strip of cardstock that would coordinate with the Splash colors used. Each strip was embossed with a different embossing folder, and adhered to the base card. The finished Art Squares were mounted to each card with a piece of slightly smaller white fun foam underneath, thereby popping up the square. I then chose Magenta sentiments to stamp beneath the panels on each card.

I hope you try this technique. It was very easy and a lot of fun. Art 'n Soul does carry sets of Splash Inks. The colors can be mixed and also used for painting. They are intense and beautiful.

For more photos of this process and a complete list of the materials used, please visit my blog post here.

One last note:

We still have mini MISTIs in stock! We also have some standard size MISTIs on the way to us. If you want a standard one, please do a paid order. 8 of the 12 MISTIs that are on the way are already sold.