Playing with Oxide Inks, #1 (and Hero Arts)

Hi everyone! I am thrilled to say I finally got a chance to play with my oxide inks and, if you could see my craft room, it is very apparent that I am nowhere near done.  But I tore myself away from playing to write this up and begin to show you how I used the inks.  As always, you can find tons of information on YouTube, Pinterest, and many other social media sites.  Here is my card:

For some reason the "Thank You" looks really pinky red.  It matches better

than that in real life

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
White Panel 
Hero Arts Spice Market Background, #CG638 (Disc. Got mine at Amazon)
Simon Says Stamp Fine Detail White Embossing Powder
Distress Oxides in Wilted Violet, Cracked Pistachio & Broken China
Lawn Fawn Thank You Border
Scrap of Matching Paper for Border
MISTI
Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool

In the interest of general disclosure, I really thought I wouldn't be able to this. I was positive that I would mess it up somehow - it was so bad, in fact, I waited, with all the products out & ready to go, while I gathered my courage. Turns out it was one of the simplest things I've ever done!  While some people suggest you do your background first and then do the embossing, since this is such a large stamp (I have missed inking up parts of large stamps before) I decided to do the embossing first,  I used my trusty MISTI, just in case I missed a part of the stamp, inked it with embossing ink, and stamped onto white card.  I then repeated the procedure just to be safe.  My embossing ink pad is SO old, it has different embossing inks and fluids mixed on it but I do get a faint pink color after something has been stamped, so that does help you to know you are good and got the entire stamp. 

How I started the Panel

I used Simon Says Stamp Fine Detail White Embossing powder (backtrack a bit - I did dust the paper with those dust things that are supposed to help you to only get embossing powder where you want it.  I do it every time because I'm conditioned and I do think it helps a lot.)  One of my biggest issues was with white powder.  I always, without fail, get it everywhere.  I never embossed white onto black or navy because it looked just SO bad.  Since I have been using the Simon Says Stamp Fine Detail White Embossing Powder, my fears have gone.  I don't know what magic they put into this, but I have had nothing but nice, clean embossing (unless *I* mess it up.)  I bought a bottle a month or two ago and I already need another bottle. Worth it to me! (I am not compensated by Simon Says Stamp, I just love it when I find a solution to a problem and I hope others might benefit from the information.)

The Panel before it got cut down

Anyway, once the heart embossing on the background was cooled, I took the Tim Holtz Mini Blending Tool and some blending foam and went to work.  I love these inks.  You don't HAVE to spritz them with water, in fact, for this card I like the "straight" (no water) technique.  I just patted my blending tool (with the foam on it) onto the ink and randomly sort of slid my ink around the card.  The ink is not exactly wet, but it is creamy so you can slide fairly easily.  And I used regular cardstock for this card.  Once I had the colors the way I wanted them, I simply sized the panel down, cut out the "Thank You" die in a complementing color and attached everything together.  I am very pleased with the colors I used and how well they work together.  I have been playing like CRAZY (lots of good info on Pinterest; I have a Distress Oxides board you might want to look at) and can't wait to show you the next card I made.  I resisted these inks, even after I saw what they could do, my left side brain said "They are just chalk ink" and my right brain  

Just another Look

said "Oh, heck no! Tim put out new ink!" and I researched them, YouTubed them, finally decided to bite the bullet, and I am SO glad I did!  You don't have to buy all of them (I didn't, I bought a few, played, and then bought all of them) at first; you can make stunning blends with just two or three of them.

It's a shame you can't see the card in person.  The colors are so pretty and so much brighter than the photos. Also, the "thank you" die cut is actually much more purple than pink, but I fiddled with the photos like crazy and I can't get the color to come out right, you'll have to trust me.  I've got a couple more cards in the works using these inks and I can't wait to share them with you.  Did you get the Oxide Inks? What do you think of them?

Thank you SO much for reading and I hope I've inspired you to try something new! Please consider following me (if you do, tell me in a comment so I can follow you back!) on any of the social media options I have on the sidebar.  Hope you are having a blessed day! Christi

I am entering my Thank You card in the following challenges:
a 2 z Scrapbooking - M, May Challenge - Sentiment is the Main Focus
Mix It Up - #1, May Challenge - Anything Goes w/option of Embossing
Making Memories - #5, May Challenge - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - A Hint of Pink (and Hero Arts)
Card Mania - #92, May Challenge, Life is Colorful
Color Throwdown - #441