Creative Chemistry 101- Stamping with Markers Technique

Of all the uses Tim demonstrated with the Distress Markers, this is one of my favorites.  I have a limited supply of "solid" stamps for which this technique works best, but I found a few that provided interesting results.

The technique involves using the Distress Markers to color onto the stamp and then subsequently stamp the image on paper.  This allows great flexibility in the image color and very detailed results.  The key tricks include starting with lighter markers- since the dye is translucent it is very difficult to see lighter colors over darker ones.  If you get the balance wrong there is little to "go back" and fix if all the darker colors are on while if the light color is wrong, the darker colors will cover.  The last tip or trick is that the inks are activated by water.  Thus, the markers can dry while you apply (I'm a slow colorer because of my insecurity I think).  All you need to do is huff hot breath (yes, literally from your mouth) over the stamp before stamping. 

This first image is a crown stamp.  The image on the left is the first image using the colored stamp (first generation).  The image on the right is the second image (second generation) using the same colored stamp without applying more ink.  Although there is a slight deterioration in the image quality, it is very small.  Cool, huh?

The rose stamp created my favorite result.  This stamp was colored with three different greens and three different red/pinks.  The paper was ultimately shaded using the Ink Blending Tool and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Very nice results if I do say so myself.

A repeat with blue markers created a lovely result and the aggressive Ink Blending Tool use "ruined" this lovely image.  I'm seeing some fussy cutting in my future....

Finally, this piece was created using the same technique and finishing with the spritz and flick technique (spraying water into your hand and flicking the water in a random way onto the distress inked surface).  Nice effect, but I like the clean version slightly better.  This card is also an example of the first generation (left image) and second generation (right image) images.  I'm off to catch up on loading some more images of my practice effort.  The homework for this class is (luckily!!!) never ending!

Andie