Swatching Your Inks

I’ve always said that necessity is the mother of invention, and that’s truly how many of my products are created - they start with a need I have myself.  That's the case with one the very first stamp sets I released back in 2021 - Swatch This - Inks.

The first in the Swatch This series, the Swatch This stamps are thoughtfully designed to help you swatch and organize your colors so you can find exactly what you need without digging through your entire stash.

Swatch This - Inks includes two different shaped ink pads with space for capturing the name of the ink color, along with an assortment of words to capture more information about the ink, including color, brand, type, mix, note, + and ............, where 'mix' and '+' can be used to swatch ink blends/mixes.

The process of swatching your inks is easy!  Here's the step by step process I follow when swatching my Distress Oxide Inks. 

Step 1 - Gather Your Supplies
Start out by gathering these supplies - the Swatch This - Inks stamp set (available in 2 sizes), an acrylic stamping block, your inks, something to clean and dry your stamps with, a permanent marker, a hole punch, and a large O ring.

Step 2 - Condition Your Stamp
If this is the 1st time you've used the stamp set, make sure to prime or condition it before using.  You'll find a free class here with several ways to do that.  

Step 3 - Cut White Cardstock
I use the square stamp, so I cut my cardstock into 3x3 squares*.  If you're using the rectangle stamp, cut your cardstock to 2.5x3.5".  Cut a few extras in case you need to restamp a few :)  

Step 4 - Ink & Stamp
Add the stamp to an acrylic block, ink up your stamp really well & then test on a scratch piece of paper.  You'll want to stand when you are stamping so you have more leverage.  Apply nice even pressure to the entire stamp, particulary in the center; because the stamp is a large, solid surface area, the center point sometimes does not have a solid impression if you're not applying even pressure.  TIP:  a MISTI stamping platform makes this process really easy!

Step 5 - Name & Punch
Write the name of the ink (you can include brand if you use multiple brands of stamping ink) in the space provided, then punch a hole in the upper left corner.  You'll want to punch the hole in the same place on each swatch so they fit nice & even on your O ring.  Let the swatch completely dry before adding to the O ring.

Step 6 - Clean & Dry
If you're swatching multiple ink colors in one sitting, make sure to thoroughly clean AND DRY between colors.  If there is any moisture on the stamp, it may interact with the ink, depending on the type of ink, and alter the color.

*If you're using the Swatch This Mini Inks stamp set, I recommend you stamp your swatches in a notebook to refer to; the stamps are pretty small and may be difficult to punch a hole and add to an O ring.  I've used a Standard Wide Lined Traveler's Notebook Insert below (5x8.25") and was able to fit 30 different color inks on one spread!

The time invested in swatching your inks will pay off!  I can honestly say that every single time I stamp, I pull out my swatches... it makes it so easy to find the color I want to use!

Check out the Swatch This - Pens & Pencils stamp set to swatch your pens, colored pencils, markers & highlighters, too!

Using a foam blending tool with your inks?  Check out the Ink Blending Foam Storage solutions!