Second Thursday Tutorial: Easy Backgrounds

I apologize that the second Thursday of the month came around before I realized it, so I was definitely unprepared to create a tutorial.  I was looking for an easy tutorial, but when I couldn't find one, I came up with this one I call "easy backgrounds."  Not sure how easy they are, but they were certainly messy.

From an easy standpoint, these are all the materials you will need.

I'm using distilled water because it's all I use in my art, but I'm sure regular water would work just as well.

Although made by different manufacturers, these are ALL dye re-inkers and kept in the same containers.   Seems I have more dye re-inkers than any other type.

Besides dye re-inkers and distilled water, you will need a craft sheet.  Mine is a bit worse for wear, I fear. 

You will also need some paper.  I used 110 lb card stock and used file folders.  You should use whatever you have on hand, but I don't suggest lightweight paper, like copier/printer paper or thin scrapbook paper.

Once you have placed drops of various colored re-inkers on your craft sheet (I suggest monochromatic, or colors from the same family), spritz with water.

Continue spritzing until some of the colors blend together.

Lay your substrate face down in the mixture of re-inkers and water

You can twist the substrate slightly, or use your hands to spread and pick up all the color.

Lift and enjoy.   I had so much excess water and dye on my page, I grabbed another used file folder and swished the two together.

Then I did the same thing a second time.

You can see the two pages I got from one swipe.

Next it was time to clean all the ink from the craft sheet using a baby wipe (don't confuse these with wet wipes which are more plastic and less cloth).  Unfortunately, it did nothing for my fingers

and some of the ink on the craft sheet.  But don't throw that baby wipe away.  If I'd been thinking, I would have dyed some lace, too.  But hindsight is always 20/20.

I did the same thing using green dye re-inkers.

Unfortunately not all that ink was green.

I got these from those drops of green and turquoise re-inkers.  I keep reading my British friends tell they used a mop-up page, but never really understood what they meant until I mopped up the last of the ink on the sheet of white card stock on the far right in the second row.  Now aren't you glad you saved that baby wipe? 
Although I don't hang out at the Ranger site, I remember reading that distress inks take water well and don't dilute.  After checking all my distress inks, this was the only green or green-ish I owned.

I'm fairly certain I've mentioned this before, but I will reiterate that I sort my inks by TYPE, NOT BRAND.  I have dye re-inkers, pigment re-inkers, chalk re-inkers, distress and vintage re-inkers, specialty re-inkers, and Staz-on re-inkers.  I don't care who made them, just that they are in their correct storage space.  After all, each has its own special use and need. 

For someone who is not known for my stamping abilities, I have a lot of re-inkers.  I use them in techniques like these easy backgrounds, and for dyeing fabric and lace.  I use them in resist dyeing, too.

I admit, I was wasting time because I wanted the other background papers to dry before I continued.  I have very limited space in my main floor craft room, unlike in my basement studio, where I have a large concrete floor space.

When I first saw this page, I was shocked.  I thought the paper had pilled, or broken down due to too much water.  But that was not the case in the other card stock backgrounds I had created, so I decided it must be a by-product of the distress ink.

I got two decent backgrounds and two not so decent.

After I looked at this a bit, I decided it was a bird sitting in an evergreen tree.  Yes, I have a wild imagination.

Thank you for joining me today for my second Thursday tutorial which was a week late.  Once this goes live, you will find it on my Tutorials page under Easy Backgrounds.

This is also Day 16 of AEDM.  I created my monthly tutorial, which I hope you will try.  These can be used as backgrounds in altered books, art journals, cards, postcards, ATCs, scrapbooks, or as embellishments.  The possibilities are endless.