Scrapbook.com’s ink blending tool is useful for paper crafters who are interested in stenciling, stamping and ink blending techniques. There are many possible ways to use it, but the following are a few of the most common uses:
- You can use it to make custom ink-blended backgrounds for your handmade cards, junk journal pages, scrapbooking layouts, mixed media art projects or other paper craft projects.
- You can use it for stenciling. Stick your stencil to your paper using Pixie spray http://shrsl.com/4f5cg or other similar repositionable adhesive. Then apply some paint or stenciling media to the ink blending tool, and dab it onto your paper through the stencil. When you’ve covered the entire stenciled design, or the portion of the stenciled design you wanted to use, you can remove the stencil and clean up.
- You can use it to ink around the edges of various papers, die-cut pieces and embellishments to give them more emphasis.
There are probably other uses for it beyond these, but these are the things I use this tool for most frequently.
My Experiences With Scrapbook.com’s Ink Blending Tool
My experiences with Scrapbook.com’s ink blending tool have been 100% positive.
I like the quality of the foam tip and the quality of the wood handle. I appreciate that the foam tips have Velcro that holds them on securely when I’m working, but that they can easily be removed and switched out when I want to do that.
The foam can be easily washed and cleaned with ordinary soap and water. I like to use castile soap for keeping mine clean, but you can use your preferred soap, whatever that is.
The foam does tend to get stained with whatever ink colors you happen to use with it, so it’s a good idea to have multiple foam tips and switch them out, depending on what colors you’re working with.
Scrapbook.com’s Ink Blending Tool vs. a Stipple Brush
Before I discovered this tool, I used to use stipple brushes to do some of the tasks described above. I still enjoy using my stipple brushes, too, but since discovering this tool, I found that I use it more often, and the stipple brushes less often.
As compared against stipple brushes, I’m typically able to achieve smoother, more even stenciled effects and blends.
In cases when you’d want smooth, even ink blends or stenciled effects, this is the tool you’d want to use. But in cases when you want a mottled, stippled or textured effect, you’d probably rather have a stipple brush for that.
So whether or not this ink blending tool would be useful to you, that really depends what you’re trying to accomplish. I think most paper crafters would benefit from having both kinds of tools, but I personally find this one more useful for the types of projects I tend to make.
But in the sustainability department, stipple brushes beat these foam-tipped ink blending tools by a wide margin. I’ve had the same few stipple brushes in my craft supplies stash since the late 1990s. If you buy good ones to start with, and you are proactive about cleaning them after you use them, and storing them safely, they will last a long time. In contrast, the foam tips on these ink blending tools wear out and eventually need to be replaced. So, considering the replacement costs, they end up being expensive in comparison.
Scrapbook.com’s Ink Blending Tool vs. a Foam Brush
As far as results go, you can do pretty similar things with this ink blending tool and foam brushes. I tend to use the two types of tools pretty interchangeably; this is especially true of foam pounce brushes.
I tend to prefer Scrapbook.com’s ink blending tool because I think it’s slightly less disposable, and is therefore slightly more environmentally friendly. With Scrapbook.com’s tool, you keep the wood handles and dispose only of the tips when they get too worn out to continue using. But you can re-use them many, many times before you need to throw them away.
If you’re really proactive about cleaning up your sponge brushes after you use them, you’ll find that you can also reuse them many, many times, too. But, your typical sponge brush has a plastic handle that gets thrown away along with the foam. It’s designed to be disposable, but I don’t recommend using disposable things if you care about the planet you live on.
So, I think Scrapbook.com’s wooden-handled tools beat disposable plastic-handled sponge brushes in the sustainability department.
The Verdict: I Think Scrapbook.com’s Ink Blending Tools Are Well Worth the Money
I highly recommend Scrapbook.com’s ink blending tools to other crafters.
I would also recommend getting a high-quality stipple brush to use in cases where you’d want a more textured, stippled look. But, in cases where you are hoping for smooth, even ink blends, this tool is a really fantastic choice, and I’d recommend using these over foam brushes when it’s an option to do so.
Where to Buy Scrapbook.com’s Ink Blending Tools
Well, you’re probably not going to be shocked to learn that Scrapbook.com is the place to buy these ink blending tools. I don’t know of anywhere else to get these exact tools, although there are many other manufacturers making similar products.
Project Ideas for Using Scrapbook.com’s Ink Blending Tool:
If you’re wondering what you can make with Scrapbook.com’s ink blending tool, I invite you to check out the following project ideas. I made all of these projects using this tool.
Ink Blended Birthday Cards Featuring a Dog Stamp by Hero Arts / The Stamping Village
Birthday Card Making Idea With Ink Blending and Dachshund Dog Design
How to Make a Birthday Card With Dachshund Dog Motif — Stamp by Hero Arts / The Stamping Village
By Amy Solovay
About Your Product Reviewer: Amy Solovay is a content creator and educator who holds a bachelor’s degree with a studio art minor; she has also earned a separate degree in textile design. Amy learned to stencil as a small child, and she still enjoys stenciling techniques all these years later. Beyond that, she enjoys introducing other crafters to the best new craft supplies, and she also loves helping crafters learn new techniques for making the most of the craft supplies they buy.
As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles.
Nowadays, Amy uses online platforms to teach digital courses to craft pattern designers, content creators and influencers all over the world. If you’re an artist, crafter or DIY enthusiast who is interested in earning income from your creative work, you’re invited to visit Crafterprise.com to learn more about monetizing the arts, craft(s) and / or DIY projects you do.
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This page was last updated on 9-14-2024.