It's over 94 here today and promises to get hotter and muggier as the week goes on. Why not make the most of my time inside to get my Distress Ink products sampled and organized? I had already made swatches for my glazes on a tag. But that was just one product.
I had the print outs from Ranger Ink for my ink pads- how could I get swatches of all of my products?
l was certain that this would help me keep track of my inks and allow me to compare colors before I put them on a future project. Creating swatches was something Tim Holtz reiterated over and over again during his Spring 2020 videos, so I decided to give it a try.
My predicament was first, what kind of paper I wanted to use? Second, how to make it cost effective? I use mixed media heavy stock most frequently for my project, but it isn't readily available in my area. Most importantly , this would not have been a cost effective method to swatch all of the distress inks, sprays , crayons, glazes and paints. I also use Dyan Reavley's journals (I often cut the paper our of the journals to use) so when I found the creative flip journals on sale a light bulb came on! Why not use the pages from those journals and put all of my products on one page? I have to say the results were better than expected. Now I can see the sprays, inks, crayons, paint and glazes all on one page.
I am pleased with the outcome. I used the printed labels from Ranger's website to label each page. Then I decided to put the Spray Stain at the top. A stencil made from chipboard gave me the rectangle so it didn't just go all over the page. I used my splatter box. I cut a piece of chipboard the slightly larger than the page so I didn't have to cover other parts every time. Then I used a circle punch to create two circles for the oxide inks. I used one of the stamps to stamp the Distress and Oxide inks as well. I think that many of the inks look different when stamped rather than on a blending tool. On the third row I placed a scribble of crayon twice. The first, on the left side is straight crayon to paper, the second one I smudged with my finger which had a little water on it. I wanted to see how the crayon would look if I used it as a watercolor. Next I dabbed a little paint and finally on that row the glaze (if available). Finally at the bottom I used my second rectangle stencil for the Oxide spray. It was easier to make a second template that fit the bottom than reusing the top one.
A couple of tips if anyone decides to mimic this approach. First, make sure one medium is dry before you place the second one so you don't smudge. Second, when I sprayed I made a concerted effort to spray from the same height and angle and the same number of pumps. I purposely did NOT remove any of the splotches from the sprays. Sometimes I want those so I thought it was good to see how they would look. Finally, make sure that your inks are dry before you use your glaze unless you want some of your ink embossed. Later I thought I probably should have done a few water drops on the oxide ink to see it oxidize but I think I can imagine what that outcome might be.
This was a great way for me to rediscover colors and really look at how the intensity varied between the two sprays and the inks. It also gave me a really good inventory of what I was missing. Now, I will remove the pages from the journals and put them on rings. I considered leaving them in the journals but I want to be able to compare colors side by side. I wrote what each item was with my Pitt Pen.
Now, before someone asks...why aren't the markers on here? Well I have the markers, but I don't use them very often and they are being phased out. I could always add them later but for now I'll leave them off.
Here is the link on the Ranger page for the labels https://rangerink.com/pages/organize-your-ranger-products.
I think this will become a valuable tool for me. It is expandable as colors are added and gives me a true picture of how the mediums differ on the same paper. By the way, the Picket Fence will be on black. Later I may add all of them on black, for now I'm happy.
I hope you have time today to get some ink on your fingers! Take care - Pamela
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