It’s Glenda and I’m here to talk about inks. A few friends and I have been discussing ink a lot lately—different shades of different colors and which inks work best for which stamps. Just a disclaimer before I start: I’m not here to endorse one brand of ink over another, as I do not own every ink in every color by any stretch of the imagination. I’m here to show you some comparisons. I will be showing you some of the inks I have used with both acrylic and rubber stamps. The white cardstock I’m using is Xerox Color Expressions Elite which is a 100lb stock with a satin finish (somewhere between matte and glossy), which I purchase in bulk at my local office supply store.

Here is a quick refresher on the basic inks:

Dye ink=quick drying
Pigment ink=slow drying, best for heat embossing
Chalk ink=quick drying pigment ink with a matte finish

First up, I tackle grays. I have several variations as it is a color that seems to be a bit tricky and there are so many shades. I find it interesting how the shade and color can be so different between the rubber and the acrylic.

The next one is light brown/kraft. There is definitely a lot of variety here with some trending lighter and some trending darker.

White is another tough one and here are a few options shown on Gina K. Designs’ 120lb Pure Luxury kraft cardstock.

A post from me would not be complete without some red in it. I suspect the reason I don’t have more is that light red is pink and I’m not a pink fan.

Just for fun, I decided to do green as well. As soon as I photographed this, I realized I missed one (VersaMagic Chalk ink in Key Lime which is a lovely bright lime). I think this confirms my suspicion that I have more green inks than any other color.

I hope this has been helpful for you. I couldn’t leave without sharing a quick card using a few of the inks shown above.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Glenda

Supplies used for card: Thoughts and Smiles stamp set from Avocado Arts; Dandelions Dreams stamp set from Skipping Stones Design; Luscious Bold Flowers stamp set and Red Royal ink pad from Hero Arts; Reflections stamp set from Paper Smooches; VersaMagic Sky Gray ink pad and Memento Tuxedo Black and Pear Tart ink pads from Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko; crystal fine glitter from Martha Stewart Crafts; corner rounder punch from EK Success. 

Inks: Crumb Cake (new style), Real Red, Cherry Cobbler (new style), Bravo Burgundy, Certainly Celery, Lucky Limeade (new style), Old Olive and Wild Wasabi inks from Stampin’ Up!; Soft Granite, Wet Cement and Royal Red from Hero Arts; Adirondack Pebble from Ranger Industries Inc.; ColorBox Frost White, Dune and Gray Whale from Clearsnap Inc.; Memento (London Fog, Desert Sand, Lady Bug, Rhubarb Stalk, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves, Pear Tart), VersaMagic (Cloud White, Wheat, Red Magic, Tea Leaves), Brilliance Moonlight White and VersaColor Sky Gray inks from Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko; Currant and Sage inks from A Muse Studio; Memories White ink pad from Stewart Superior Corp.

Stamps for inks: Leaf from Reflections stamp set from Paper Smooches; chile from Stamp A Mania.