frugal inks

 

When I am inking I use Tsukenko memento dewdrop inks. Mostly because they, for the price, are a good value for me. I'd love to buy Tim Holtz inks but that is beyond my purse strings. Memento Inks don't work the same way as TH inks as they are a dye based and don't spread out using water. So in a way they are good if you are don't want your inks to run when you are using glimmer mists/water based sprays. To make your memento inks to behave like a water color and to blend there is a product by Tsukenko called Ink Potion no.9. It is a blending solution for their inks.  I buy a 2 oz bottle from overseas and I can tell you it goes fast and costs a lot to use. So I've been thinking about what I could do to make something similar.

 

A search on line gave some good blending solution tips for Alcohol inks (different product) so not really what I need. I thought I'd play around with turpentine used by artists for oil paints to see if that produced anything and that attempt was a failure. I then tried methylated spirits, and success! The colours do seem to be a little duller than what the ink potion gives and the paper does buckle a bit but nothing ironing out will do. The down side is the methylated spirits obviously have a smell about them, but I think artist brands might have a similar odourless variety. I'm used to turpentine smelly things as I painted in oils paints for years and the smell is something I'm used to. But in a pinch this is going to be my go to for trying out ideas and such for blending. It is much cheaper in the long run.

The tag I smooched ink on a TH craft matt and sprayed some Mehtylated Spirits (MS) onto it and mooshed the tag in the pool of inks. I then used a sponge to blend around the edges. I think the MS did okay for the look.

I'm off to make some cards. Have a nice day everyone.