Custom Inked and Dyed Scrapbook Pages

Design by Erin Clarkson

Brighten chipboard and paper accents by covering them with ink. Erin sprayed ink on white cardstock to coordinate colors with patterned paper. She also splattered ink on a chipboard star and coated a chipboard heart with spray ink for funky embellishments.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: Crate Paper (turquoise), Fancy Pants Designs (purple), Making Memories (green dot), Scenic Route Paper Co. (pink dot). Font: Bebas off the Internet. Chipboard accents: Heidi Swapp. Flower: Making Memories. Brads: Making Memories. Punch: Fiskars. Embossing powder: Stampendous. Ink: Studio Calico.

Design by Becky Novacek

Change the color of lace, ribbon, and trim with spray ink. To get uniform color, spray the trim until it is saturated with ink. Remember, it may take several hours to dry. For a whimsical border, mask every other flower before spraying.

SOURCES: Patterned paper: BasicGrey (pink), Jenni Bowlin Studio (orange star, blue dot), KI Memories (stripe), October Afternoon (cream floral, text), Sassafras (geometric, pink floral, pink dot, letters). Stickers: Jenni Bowlin Studio (orange label), October Afternoon (letters). Ink: Maya Road. Punch, decorative-edge scissors: Fiskars.

Design by Valerie Salmon

Acrylic templates make it easy to create intricate backgrounds with spray ink. Simply place the template over a piece of cardstock, spray ink, and remove the template to reveal the design.

Editor's Tip: Before using a glimmer spray ink, gently swirl the contents around. Don't shake the bottle vigorously--this will form bubbles that will cause splatters.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper (pink, blue), Colorbok (glitter). Patterned paper: Pebbles, Inc. Template: The Crafter's Workshop. Rhinestones: Darice. Ribbon: Cosmo Cricket. Flower: Prima Marketing, Inc. Ink: Tattered Angels. Punches: EK Success (corner), Fiskars (scalloped border, butterfly, egg, circles), Marvy Uchida (scalloped circle). Rotary blade: Fiskars.

Design by Robyn Werlich

Heat-emboss a design on cardstock, and then cover the piece with spray ink. The embossed design will resist the ink, creating a colorful background. Spray the ink multiple times to make various splatter patterns on a cardstock background.

SOURCES: Patterned paper, stickers: American Crafts. Font: Uncle Charles by Autumn Leaves. Vellum: Martha Stewart Crafts. Chipboard accents: American Crafts ("m"), Making Memories ("QT"). Ribbon: Pebbles, Inc. (pink); Stampin' Up! (green twill, pink dot). Stamps: Hero Arts (dot), Making Memories (flourish, ink blot). Ink: American Crafts (green), Ranger Industries (orange), Stampin' Up! (white), VersaMark by Tsukineko (clear). Embossing powder: Hero Arts. Punches: EK Success (label), Stampin' Up! (flower, scalloped edge). Staples: Tim Holtz.

Design by Jill Cornell

Cozy pumpkin paper piecings and muted fall colors make great companions for pumpkin patch photos. Inked photo edges and an ink-splattered background add subtle character and more fall colors. Choose a few different ink colors for contrast and spray across the whole layout for cohesiveness.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: Lily Bee Design. Stickers: Crate Paper (square labels), Cosmo Cricket (cream/black letters), Jenni Bowlin Studio (oval label), Lily Bee Design (banner, "fall frolic"), Pink Paislee (orange letters). Chipboard accents: American Crafts. Ribbon: May Arts. Twine: Martha Stewart Crafts. Thread: Coats & Clark. Flower: Maya Road. Ink: Tattered Angels (orange), Tsukineko (brown). Pen: EK Success. Punches: EK Success (wavy border), Martha Stewart Crafts (maple leaf). Digital embellishments: Dear Diary Kit by Noel Mignon.

Design by Lisa McGarvey

Spritz on sparkle with spray inks. Color blocks of paper--like the paper behind the dragonflies--or mask designs to give your pages an artsy touch. The dragonflies on this page are masks sprayed with ink and stamped on spray-inked paper.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: Making Memories (orange), Scenic Route Paper Co. (blue), BasicGrey (pink). Font: American Typewriter. Stickers: 7Gypsies (labels), Me and My Big Ideas (vacation, orange, yellow tab). Rub-ons: 7Gypsies. Die cuts: Creative Imaginations. Ribbon: KI Memories. Buttons: K&Company. Pen: American Crafts. Spray ink, masks: Tatterted Angels.

Design by Sheri Reguly

Use artist watercolor paints -- not the tray your kids use -- to create a color-wash background that complements your photos. To make the background, add a small amount of watercolor paint to 1 cup of water and mix. Add it to a spray bottle and spritz the cardstock, using a cloth to rub the color into the paper evenly.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: October Afternoon (text); Pebbles, Inc. (scallop); Sassafras (floral). Decorative paper: Karen Foster Design (cork). Font: CAC Pinafore off the Internet. Stickers: Little Yellow Bicycle. Rub-ons: Lily Bee Design. Die cuts: My Mind's Eye (swirl), Sassafras (flower). Flower, canvas tag: Making Memories. Photo turn: 7Gypsies. Brads: Doodlebug Design. Buttons: Hero Arts (clear), BasicGrey (all other). Stamp, ink: Hero Arts. Watercolors: Cotman Watercolors. Punches: Marvy Uchida (large circle, flower), EK Success (other circles), Stampin' Up! (scalloped border).

Design by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

A formation of squares can create a simple scrapbook design. Julie combined stenciled blocks with square photos for a quick page. Make a stencil using cardstock with a square punched from it. Spray ink over the stencil in two colors, then layer a paper doily on it, and spray a third color. For a more artistic look, let your edges bow a bit.

SOURCES: Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned papers: 7Gypsies (pink, floral); Prima Marketing, Inc. (multicolor floral, text); Sassafras (yellow). Chipboard accents: BasicGrey. Flowers: Prima Marketing, Inc. Spray ink: Studio Calico, Maya Road, Shimmerz. Pens: Sakura of America. Punches: Marvy Uchida (scalloped circles), Martha Stewart Crafts (butterflies, doily).

Design by Lisa Truesdell

Commemorate your favorite holiday decorations in a scrapbook page. To dress up kraft paper, mask off the middle of the page with scrap paper and lightly spray the background with ink. This red spray invokes holiday cheer and adds color. Use label stickers to add info to each photo, and soften the design with scalloped ribbon.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: BasicGrey (yellow), Studio Calico (gray). Font: Vintage Typewriters off the Internet. Stickers, stamps: Studio Calico. Brads, ribbon: American Crafts. Decorative pins: Making Memories. Ink: Maya Road (spray), Ranger Industries (stamping). Punch, adhesive: Fiskars.

Design by Caroline Ikeji

Use leftover letter stickers and spray ink for a quick-and-easy masking technique. Simply arrange your letters on cardstock, spray with ink, and peel off the stickers to reveal colorful journaling.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: American Crafts (blue), Sandylion Sticker Designs (people). Stickers: American Crafts (masked letters, blue foam), Heidi Grace Designs (heart, red letters), KI Memories (masked letters), Little Yellow Bicycle (word strips, brackets), Scenic Route Paper Co. (border). Chipboard accents: Heidi Grace Designs: Tag: Little Yellow Bicycle. Metal accent, pen: American Crafts. Spray ink: Tattered Angels. Thread: Coats & Clark. Decorative-edge scissors: Fiskars.

Design by Linda Sobolewski

Ink mists can be used to create an artistic background. This layout evokes a girly touch with pink mist for a light and pretty look. Matching paper accents to the ink ties the page together.

SOURCES: Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye. Stickers: October Afternoon. Decorative tape: American Crafts (yellow), Sassafras (glitter). Stickers: American Crafts. Buttons: Sassafras (flower), Jenni Bowlin Studio (pearl), My Mind's Eye (all other). Brads: Crate Paper. Mist: Maya Road. Pen: Creative Memories.

Design by Lynn Ghahary

Spritz white mist lightly on the background of kraft paper for the look of falling snow. Punched snowflakes add to the wintry theme and echo the white color.

SOURCES: Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: BasicGrey (multicolor dot, plaid), Crate Paper (green dot), My Mind's Eye (red, text). Font: Kingthings Typewriter off the Internet. Stickers: BasicGrey (letters), Crate Paper (scalloped border). Thread: Coats & Clark. Mist: Studio Calico. Punches: Martha Stewart Crafts.

Design by Patricia Anderson

Patricia tinted her handmade paper in shades of the same orange. Longer dyeing times resulted in bolder, darker hues. For a balanced page, Patricia included smaller hand-dyed elements such as the dark olive chipboard flowers.

SOURCES: Patterned paper: Chatterbox. Handmade paper: Artistic Scrapper. Fonts: Times New Roman (journaling), Arial (years). Rubber letters, rub-ons: Scrapworks. Dye, eyelets, chipboard shapes: Making Memories.

Design by Erin Clarkson

Waxy rub-on transfers will repel dyes, creating cool resist effects. Erin applied white rub-ons to cardstock before dyeing the sheet orange for a bold look. Once the piece was dry, Erin added more of the same orange dye with a brush, giving it a blotchy look.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: Junkitz. Font: Incognitype. Rub-ons: Making Memories (words, letters, date, butterfly, stem), Memories Complete (letters) BasicGrey (flowers), Scrapworks ("Erin"). Dye, chipboard shapes, staples, label holder, brads, trim: Making Memories. Decorative tape: Heidi Swapp. Flower charm: XOXO Clothing. Ink: Clearsnap.

Design by Erikia Ghumm

Spray dyes create complex dyed designs nearly effortlessly. Erikia used this method to make her background paper and stamped title. Rather than using traditional ink, she sprayed blue and teal dyes onto negative block alphabet stamps. Once the stamped title was dry, she outlined the letters with a black fine-tip pen.

Design by Dana Smith

Use paper dyes to create an aged look. Rough up the paper before dyeing it to break surface fibers, allowing those areas to suck up more dye. Dana dyed her background cardstock to duplicate the soothing blue-sky color in her photo.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper, stickers, tag, ribbon: Chatterbox. Ink: Ranger Industries. Metal molding, acrylic paint, rub-ons, dye, distressing kit, jump rings: Making Memories.

Design by Dana Smith

Dip papers in different color dyes to create eye-catching stripes, or use a brush to apply multiple colors and take the process up a notch. The thick stripe of Dana's layout is a great complement to the thin stripe in the patterned paper she placed behind it.

Editor's Tip: If your printer uses water-resistant inks, you can print your journaling on your paper first and then apply dye without smearing the text.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper, chipboard letters, rub-ons, photo corners, tacks, ribbon: Chatterbox. Decorative paper clip: Carolee's Creations. Dye, distressing kit, metal number, metal-rim tag: Making Memories. Ink: Ranger Industries.

Design by Patricia Anderson

Patricia used clear embossing ink and powder on patterned paper, giving her page depth by both exposing and blocking out the background design. She used a foam brush to apply large swaths of dye over her resist background, allowing the colors to blend where they meet.

SOURCES: Patterned paper: Autumn Leaves (stripe). Font: Times New Roman. Rub-ons: Autumn Leaves. Stickers: FoofaLa. Stamps: Hero Arts (harlequin), Rusty Pickle (letters), Plaid (flower), Rubber Stampede (butterfly), Making Memories (date). Ink: VersaMark by Tsukineko. Embossing powder: Stampendous. Dye, eyelet: Making Memories.