Inspire Me Monday: Make it like Batik!

Hi all and welcome to another Inspire Me Monday with yours truly.... Julie! I have a fun and quick little tutorial today that was sparked by a freebie I got! Not too long ago, I replaced my inkjet printer. Well, in the box was a stack of 4 by 6" photo paper. I set it aside not really knowing what I would do with it and then, I remembered a fun technique I learned FOREVER ago. I'll use that paper to give it a try again! I call it the Batik Background technique but I just made that name up. I know there has to be an official name for it. 

What got me thinking about this technique is this fabric....

I had it pulled out because I was on a mask-making frenzy, sewing to outfit my family and my friends. I was basically throwing masks and whoever might want/need one! ;-) I love, love, love Batik fabric. Okay, now that' you've seen my inspiration, let's get to what I created using that freebie photo paper! 

Aren't these colors so vibrant and fun? I love how the photo paper really soaks in the ink and never seems to dull! 

So, I started by stamping my image onto the photo paper using Versamark ink. You can use any clear pigment ink. Way back when, they taught you to use clear embossing ink. For my samples, I did hit my paper with an embossing fun to make sure the ink was set and dry. 

For this first card, I used the Power Poppy clear stamp set called Poppies! 

Now comes the fun part. Since batik isn't a blended fabric that moves easily from one color to the next, I had to remind myself of this and just go for a more rough, less blended look. So, this is what I did....

I literally did an old school direct to paper technique and rubbed my ink pad over my paper. As you can see below, the results look rough, but that's the beauty of it! 

When you are done adding color, just wipe off the paper with a dry and clean paper towel to remove any excess ink that might just be sitting on the surface. As you can see, the Versamark ink resisted the ink perfectly and beautifully! Look at that rich color! 

And here's a peek at the ink pads I used for this version...

And here's a peek at the finished card! The sentiment was heat embossed and I used the stamp set Loving Tulips. 

And, since I was having so much fun, I decided to make two more cards! This next one, I used these colors, and the stamp set Folk Heart.

And here's a peek at the final card! Bling had to be added... of course! ;-)

And, here's a look at the third one! For this card, I used the same colors of ink as my first card, I just didn't use that much of the barn red ink. The stamp set here was In Praise of Sunflowers. 

And... here's the finished card! For the sentiment, I used the "hello" from the Loving Tulips set and then accented by cutting it out using the coordinating die.  And, loved adding a little bling to the exclamation point! 

So friends, if you have some Versamark, photo paper and fun inks, you can do this! I hope you give it a try because it creates very, very vivid creations in a jiffy! I had fun making these and I didn't even get my fingers TOO inky! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!