There are three core elements required to make cheap handmade cards. These are low cost rubber stamps, inks and card. See How to Buy Cheap Rubber Stamps and How to Buy Cheap Card for more useful tips!
When making rubber stamped handmade cards on a budget, one essential material to factor in is the ink. Without ink or a colorant of some form, a rubber stamp is useless. Inks for rubber stamping projects are available in a huge range of colors and types. There are designer inks, specialty inks, inks for use with certain materials and many more! The choice can sometimes appear overwhelming and the temptation to spend more money than necessary can be great. While fantastic handmade cards can be created using a wide range of lovely inks, it is also possible to achieve great results with the bear minimum.
Cheap Inks for Rubber Stamping Handmade Cards
There are different types of handmade cards. There are the special one-off heirloom cards that are lovingly created for a wedding, anniversary, birth of a baby or other special family occasion and there are the more run-of-the-mill cards that are sent every year. For very special cards it is definitely worth using the best quality materials as the cards will be kept as family mementos for years to come. For other cards, however, when money is tight the very cheapest of inks will be fine - particularly if the image is to be colored.
Here are some tips for buying cheap inks for rubber stamping projects:
Buying Second Hand
Ink pads do dry out and as such, buying second hand is not always a great option. Ink refills, however, are available for many ink pads and this is a good way to revitalize an old ink pad. Ink pads are widely available and are reasonably priced.
Color
The cost of lots of different colored ink can soon add up, therefore keeping to a simple color scheme is a good way to help to save money. One or two colors can produce very effective handmade cards, particularly when matched with complementary embellishments. When planning seasonal stamping projects don't worry about having the 'right' colors. Keeping to a tight budget is the perfect excuse for trying new and unusual color schemes and breaking with traditions!
Black Ink
One great way to save money is to just buy a black ink and add color to the image using colored pencils, paints or marker pens. This technique works best with stamps that have a bold outline as this has plenty of space for coloring. Black ink also works well when stamped on colored paper as this provides a strong contrast.
Dye Inks
Dye inks are quick drying and don't require any special equipment like a heat gun which makes them a good option when working on a budget. Stationery ink that is used in businesses is also a low cost solution.
No Ink Solutions
There are even some no ink solutions which has to be the cheapest way to stamp!
- Bleach: Plain household bleach can be used in the same way as ink, although this takes the color out of paper rather than adding color. Bleach works well on darker colored papers. See How to Stamp with Bleach for more information.
- Marker pens: Marker pens can also be used to color rubber stamps before stamping. Fast drying marker pens won't work so well, however 'huffing' on a stamp (breathing over it) will often be just enough to dampen ink for stamping). See Profile of Marker Pens
- Wet paper casting: We tissue paper can be used to 'cast' images from rubber stamps. This gives a three dimensional image that is useful for adding to greeting cards.Wet Paper Casting
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