Introducing ... Ink Pads!

You might be familiar with the ink pad more commonly used in a office with the company chop. Usually this office ink pad comes in 3 colours and its use is foolproof.

Ink pads for crafting, however, are not all made equal.

There are a myriad of brands/colours/types out there and for various uses. Brands are generally based on personal choice -- you’ll notice that I favour a certain brand -- so rather than dwelling on that, let me introduce to you the types and uses!

For Paper

If an ink pad does not specify a use, then it’s almost certainly for use on paper projects such as scrapbooking and card-making. 

For Fabric/Wood

These versa craft ink pads pictured above are for fabric/wood. They are easy to distinguish from their general use counterparts by their beige cases (the normal ones are white). They can be used on paper as well so they are well worth it if you're on a budget! 

Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)

These are great for creating that vintage look. However, if you print an image, it won’t be a sharp print. If you'd like to use these, stick to a pattern without small/fine details, or choose a stamp with a bigger surface area.

Travel ink pads

Want to bring your stamps on a holiday to document your experiences? Then the multiple inks in a set (pictured above in a wheel display) by Shachihata are super convenient.

Permanent

StazOn by Versa is a specialised line of ink pads. They are great for non-porous surfaces such as glass, metal or even leather. For such surfaces, regular ink pads won't work. The StazOn ink does adhere rather strongly to the stamp and are more difficult to wash off, so do use with caution! The gold ink pad is a particular favourite of mine because it has the best gold texture out of all the gold ink pads I’ve come across.

Dabbers

Dabbers are small, cheap and portable. They’re great for smaller stamps, applying different colours on 1 stamp or blending/creating ombre effects.

Emboss/Watermark

Embossing requires an ink pad with the embossing ink, embossing powder and a specialised heat gun for crafting. Ink pads for watermarking are for signing off on your work.

So, that's it! A whole new world of ink pads for you to enjoy with your stamps. Have fun!

Want to learn stamp carving from Kimberly? Her class is open for registration here!