| Store Index: pg.1: The Enchanted Gallery's Rubber Stamps, pg.2: EZ Mount Cling Cushion Mounting Foam, pg. 3: All Other Stamps, pg.4: Polymer Clay & Tools, pg.5: Jewelry Making Supplies, pg. 6: KrystalKraft - Acrylic Shapes to Decorate, pg.7: Mold Making Compound, pg.8 Face & Button Molds, pg.9: Nature Spirit Molds, pg.10: Goddess & Mythology Molds, pg.11: Fairy, Angel & Mermaid Molds, pg.12: Ink, Coloring Media, Embellishments, Stencils., pg.13: Handmade Jewelry, Artwork, Gifts and Clay Face cabs, pg.14: Miniature Food, Floral Scenery & Doll House Supplies. Gallery, Tutorials & Information Index: pg.1: Shipping & Store Policy pg.2: Flexible Push Mold Info & Instructions, pg.3: Kimberly Crick's Art Gallery, pg.4: Friendly Plastic Jewelry Tutorial, pg.5: Rubber Stamped Domino Jewelry, Pg.6: Paper Art Dolls with a Template, Pg.7: Other Ways To Use Domino Size Stamps, Pg.8: Stamp Positioning With Die Cuts (Nestabilities & Cuttlebug.) Pg.9: Coloring Media & Techniques. Pg.10: Creating Miniatures with Polymer Clay. Shipping/Payment Info Summary: Orders ship via USPS 1st class or Priority mail depending on weight to the United States only (policy), estimated delivery time is 7 to 14 business days. Quantities of 3 or more of the same item may delay shipping about a week, large quantity orders will receive an email within a few days to notify IF there will be any delay. Shipping info and optional insurance available here. I accept online payments only (US based credit cards/e-checks) through my PayPal shopping cart. You do not need to be a PayPal member to pay with my secure shopping cart system. (After you click "proceed to checkout" on the cart page just click the "Don't have a PayPal account? Use your credit card or bank account" link to the left of the PayPal log in box.) All orders over $100 ship free! My "Angel Company Policy" applies to The Enchanted Gallery's exclusive rubber stamps and molds only. For other rubber stamps, check with the manufacturer for their individual company's copyright policies. Comments/Questions? Check Q&A before you Email: EnchantedGallery@gmail.com - Want to know what's new? Check blog updates! |
| Welcome to Kimberly Crick's instruction page for using a variety of media to color your rubber stamped images. While there is a virtually unlimited amount of ways to color your stamped art, here are a few that I've tested out myself. Hopefully this helps you determine the "look" you'd like to go for and to explore new coloring techniques. The example pictures use my rubber stamps along with coloring supplies purchased at my local JoAnn's (or JoAnn.com) and Michaels craft stores. |
| Direct coloring - Water based markers are hard on paper, so you want to use a sturdy surface meant for watercoloring. Faux Watercoloring with Markers: You can also use the markers to scribble onto a plastic palette (any non absorbent surface will work) and pick up the color with a water brush. The water brush has an internal tube for holding water and a paint brush tip you can squeeze the water out on. There are water brushes available on the embellishments, ink and coloring supplies page here. This removes the need for messy paint tubes/water trays/clean up. |
| Adirondack alcohol inks by Tim Holtz , come in small dropper tip bottles. You squeeze a few drops onto a piece of felt attached to a wooden stamper. Depending on the colors you use and the alcohol blending solution (which lightens / dilutes) you can create faux marble / turquoise / stone effects and richly colored backgrounds. One awesome thing about alcohol inks is that they stick to tricky surfaces such as plastic / dominoes, acetate / film transparencies, glass, beads and other non porous surfaces! You can also use them with your papercrafting projects by using glossy paper. You can use these inks on regular paper, but it will not react the same beautiful way as it does with non-porous surfaces. As a variation on the watercolor painting technique, you can also fill your water brush with alcohol. Use these alcohol inks in a palette or scribble Sharpie markers onto the palette and pick up the color with your brush. This allows you to paint on tricky surfaces (transparency, plastic etc.) You can use alcohol inks to fill an empty copic marker and color with them on paper. If you fill a marker with a dark green, and a second with a light green, you can achieve beautiful blending on paper (just like genuine Copic marker coloring.) Like to use embossing powders and wish you had a certain color to match your project? If you have some alcohol inks, you can turn your clear or white embossing powders into any color you want! Just put some embossing powder in a small jar, squeeze a couple drops of alcohol ink into it and stir thoroughly to coat all the particles. You can also add metallic powders or glitter to your mix for your very own unique embossing powder! |
| In order to color a stamped image with the waterbrush you need to make sure you use a waterproof ink. Watercoloring will make some dye or pigment inks bleed, so I use my StazOn solvent ink pad. I've also had good luck with VersaFine pigment ink, which is waterproof once dry (or heat set if you're in a hurry.) You'll want to use a thick paper meant for water media, such as smooth pressed watercolor papers or bristol board. If you don't mind some missed ink areas you could also test out the thicker textured watercolor paper for a more painterly look. Tip: Try to lay down your lighter colors first. Once dry add details with darker colors and even outline with the marker directly when you're done. Mistakes are easy to fix, just squeeze out more water from your water brush and go over an area again to lighten and blend the inks. |
| Click to see card made with this technique on #Spri-106 |
| Which ink pad should I start with? / Which black pad is REALLY black/ has good detail? This largely depends on what material you are stamping onto and which coloring method you're planning on. The comparison chart above uses the 3 black inks I have on pink cardstock. Versafine is by far the deepest black and gives the best detail on PAPER. You can use Versafine with water-based markers, chalk and color pencil coloring techniques. I've heard people also like a similar pad like "Archival Ink" or "Palette" pads, but I have not tried these since I was already so pleased with my VersaFine Onyx Black ink pad. StazOn, while adequate for paper, is much better for non-pourous surfaces such as glass and plastic. Specifically I use StazOn ink pads for all of my domino pendants. Colorbox pigments are best for coloring by sponging or brayering into paper for backgrounds. The petal point ColorBox pads are great for sponging the edges of your paper. They also stay wet the longest once on your paper, making them great inks for embossing powders. *Also note that PAPER QUALITY greatly effects your stamped image. Copy paper and value pack cardstock is cheaply made with fibers that spread ink or absorb it differently than higher grade crafting papers. |
| They react with water making it easy to blend and spread color across your paper surface. To make backgrounds that look just like watercolor paintings you randomly tap the ink pad onto a non-stick craft sheet. Spritz the ink with a water bottle and press your paper down onto it. Dry your paper with a heat gun between layers to keep your colors from getting muddy. Repeatedly press your paper into the beads of ink water on your craft sheet until you achieve your desired color coverage. To see this process in action check out this video tutorial by Tim Holtz on YouTube! For the fall leaves I used die cut shapes (cuttlebug) but you could also use paper punches to cut out your shapes from thick cardstock or watercolor paper. |
| You can also use the reinkers instead of the ink pads, which have the bonus of being easily used just like paint with a brush. |
| Once you're satisfied with your colors take a dry embossing tool (metal stylus with a small ball at the tip for making indentations) and press a leaf vein pattern into the paper. I press into the back side so that the raised area is on front. It's easiest to make the impression when you work over a soft surface like foam or paper towels. Place your leaf shape with the colored side up on a flat surface, then lightly tap or swipe an ink pad across it's surface. I used "tea dye" distress ink for this step, taking care to only hit the raised surfaces. |
| <-- Here I've put distress reinker (I get mine at JoAnn.com) into a mini spray bottle (like "Mini Misters" by Ranger Ink.) I put about a dropper and a half of reinker into it and fill the remaining space in the bottle with water. (You can make your colors as light as you want by adding more water to ink ratio.) Stamp your image with VersaFine or other waterproof ink on thick cardstock or watercolor paper. Using the spray bottle filled with reinker/water, lightly spray over your stamped image. When you're happy with the colors let it dry, or speed the process with a heat tool. If your paper is lightweight or starts to curl, you can use a craft iron to smooth it out while wet (thats quick!) or set a heavy book over it while it dries. |
| I used distress inks in the following colors: Pine Needles, Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick. The diamond pattern rubber stamp background is from sheet #Back-100. |
| Additionally you can use the ink pads direct to paper for your backgound coloring. Here I dragged the pad across my paper, then spritzed and rubbed with a damp paper towel to blend: |
| Gel pens are awesome for adding a special finishing touch. Above I added golden sparkle details and outlined the Klimt image with white gel pen. |
| I ship within the USA only. All orders over $100 ship free! More info: Shipping & Store Policy, Tutorials & Gallery, Home, Artist Q&A |
| More images on the way! Embossing a rubber stamped image: 1) Use a slow drying embossing ink or pigment ink to apply your stamped image to paper. Working over a non-stick craft sheet, embossing powder collector bin or at least a large sheet of scrap paper will make clean up much easier. 2) Select your chosen embossing powder, and dump enough powder out of the jar to generously cover your stamped image. The powder will cling to your damp ink. Lift your stamped paper up vertically, tap it gently a couple times to make the powder fall onto your work surface below. Return that excess powder to it's jar. 3) Turn on your heat gun (similar to a hair dryer with less wind and more heat) and hold it high above your image at a slight angle. This may take some practice because you want the powder to start to melt before getting blown around by the air coming from your gun. As the powder melts in one area, continue to move your heat gun to melt the remaining powder. (This doesn't take long, somewhere around 30 seconds usually.) Once its melted it should be cool to the touch within minutes. In addition to simply making a raised or metallic effect here, you are also preserving your inked lines. You can now color with watercolors, markers or any media of your choice without worrying about smearing the stamped image. The raised image also helps give a border-bumper to help contain messy coloring! |
| Out of all the traditional coloring media I've ever tried, Copic markers are by far my favorite way to color. Achieve beautifully blended, watercolor looking effects, quickly, with no mess. These markers are alcohol based, and unlike water based markers they blend well with each other and do not cause water damage (warping/peeling paper.) As with any coloring media, paper quality will effect your results. I've had the best results with smooth cardstock such as PaperTrey Ink's "Stamper's Select", X-Press It Blending Card, and papers meant for marker coloring. Experiment with what you have first. Currently there are 334 colors available, but they also sell reinkers and empty markers so you can mix any color you want! The quality of these markers are fantastic, each marker is refillable and each brush or chisel tip is replaceable. These are meant to last a lifetime, they are not disposable markers. They average about $3.50 to $5.50 per marker, but can be bought in sets with coupons at JoAnn.com for the best deal I've found. There are a few types of Copic markers (wide, original, sketch and ciao) which vary in how much ink they hold. Originals and wide have different brush tips than the sketch and ciao. Sketch and originals fit Copic's airbrushing gun system, but if you're not interested in airbrushing - the ciao versions are the cheapest. Most of my markers are ciao, they hold plenty of ink for the average user, and they are refillable when you eventually run out. |
| Stamp your image with Memento dye ink pad. I have tried several other ink pads, including Versafine and Stazon, but the Copic markers make those inks bleed. Or you could use any ink if you heat embossed it to seal the image first. For the best shading effects, I recommend using Copic markers in groups of 3 to 4 of a similar color. For example, a light, medium and dark pink. Start by coloring your darkest shadow areas first, then color over the dark area with your medium color, then color over everything again with your lightest color. The quicker you work the easier the blending will be. If your work dries and isn't blended well enough, go over the entire image again with your lightest color and soak the areas with harsh lines. If you are debating on which markers to buy, I would research the color chart and combinations online. There is a wealth of information on google, copicmarker.com, and I Like Markers Blog. |
| See the finished card and other rubber stamps from the ladies in flower dresses set #Dres-M07 here. |
| Flower and leaf stamps from sheet #Bouq-M02 |
| Water based markers: such as Marvy LePlume and Tombow can be used to color, ink and even as a replacement for watercolor paints. Since they stay wet longer than alcohol based inks you have time to draw the color directly onto your rubber stamp and then press it onto paper. This allows you to create multicolored stamped images in just the right places. |
| Press the ink pad onto a non-stick surface, or use a reinker to add a drop of color to your acrylic paints, glues, sealer/varnish, or other mediums. Below I use the tinted varnish to bring out the details on polymer clay. |
| Distress inks are a dye based ink formulated to work like watercolors. |
| You can use distress inks, or any dye based ink pad such as memento, with sponge daubers to create backgrounds for your stamp art. Here I have stamped my image on to a scrap piece of paper and cut out the image. Then stamp onto your project and use the scrap paper you stamped on as a mask to protect it from ink while you work on your background. Dye inks dry quickly and blend beautifully for a quick and easy background. You can use paper punches or scissors to create masks/stencils with paper to apply ink over for various effects (such as cloud or leaf shapes shown above.) <--- This image uses distress ink and paper masked background (I cut a circle for the moon and a scallop pattern for the clouds) and then colored the fairy stamp art with water based markers (Marvy LePlume II.) |
| I hope that you have enjoyed my tutorials. Please consider sending any size donation to help me create more artwork, tutorials, free patterns, and to maintain this website. Thank you :) |
| Chalk / Soft Pastels Great for coloring on paper, over stamped images to give a delicate pastel coloring, on domino jewelry (domino tutorial here) and also work great on polymer clay (check out the miniature food tutorials.) |
| Achieve amazing colorful effects with alcohol inks on non porous surfaces, or use as a coloring ink/paint/in a marker for paper coloring. Also works well as a dye for embellishments, metal, ribbon etc. to match your project. There are so many things to do with Alcohol inks, I'm working on a whole page dedicated to them. Check it out - All About Alcohol Inks: Tutorials, Color Charts, Project Ideas & More! |
| If you rubber stamp onto paper with clear VersaMark, Perfect Medium or embossing ink, you can gently apply chalk over the image to color the design. The clear ink works as a chalk dust attractant. Use make up sponge type applicators or cotton balls for this method of coloring. |
| You can use ANY KIND OF INK PAD with the sponge dauber and masking method. |
| Here I have cut a "mask" (like a stencil) with jagged edges to mimic snowfall over a bumpy landscape, and a scalloped edge to mimic clouds. I stamped the trees with black Memento ink, and applied the gray ink with a sponge dauber using the paper mask as a guide. I applied white gel pen to the edges of the trees and dotted all over as snow. I repeated the paper mask and inking method on background paper and also used a snowflake paper punch as a mask. |