4 MUST-HAVE Crafting Tools and Smart Ways to Use Them | Perfect Pairings with Jaycee + Video Tutorial!

Hi Altenew friends, it's Jaycee.

If I had to pick my top 5 essential crafting tools, Altenew's Ink Blending Tools would be one of them. Altenew currently offers four categories of ink blending tools. In my Perfect Paring Video, I share how I like to use them on my card making projects.

1. Ink Blending for Backgrounds & Stencils

Can you believe that this rainbow background was made with just three inks? I used two categories of essential crafting tools to make this rainbow background and rainbow focal element.

I like to use the Large Ink Blending Tool to make gradient backgrounds. TIP! I recommend using a maximum of three ink colors to avoid muddying inks on a small canvas.

The next of the crafting tools helped me with my focal element. I reversed the order of the rainbow to match my existing color palette but help it stand out against the busy background. I prefer the Small Ink Blending Tool (Set of 4) for stenciling large areas. I find it to be the perfect size for 6×6-sized stencils.

2. Crafting Tools for Layered Die Cutting

What I love about the Detailed Ink Blending Brush Set is the angled bristles. I can ‘paint' with these crafting tools to recreate the ruffled appearance of petals in a bouquet.

The mix of Detailed Blending Brushes and Small Ink Blending Brushes give curves and folds to the die-cut Craft-A-Flower: Garden Rose petals. Although these are flat die-cut papers, you can add convincing dimensions to a card front.

3. Ink Blending for Layering Stamps

Ink blending on photopolymer stamps is my favorite way to use these crafting tools. The Mini Ink Blending Brush Set is a tool I reach for on many of my layering floral stamp projects. I prefer to paint every layer instead of stamping solid images. This helps me create the illusion of loose watercolored florals without all the effort.

This technique does require your favorite stamp positioning tool to repeatedly build ink layers. Otherwise, this technique is well worth the repetition and patience to attain soft and photorealistic blooms.

Hope this inspired you to get out your ink blending tools today! Happy crafting!

Materials and Supplies:

Ink Blending Tool – Large [ ALTN ] Ink Blending Tool – Small [ ALTN ] Mini Blending Brush Set [ ALTN ] Altenew Detailed Blending Brushes for… [ ALTN ] Glacier Caves Crisp Dye Ink Mini Cube… [ ALTN ] Pocketful of Sunshine Mini Cube Set [ ALTN ] Red Cosmos Mini Cube Set [ ALTN ] Crafter’s Essential Stamping Mat [ ALTN ] Iridescent Shimmer Ink Spray [ ALTN ] All Things A Stamp & Die & Stencil… [ ALTN ] Instant Dimension Foam Tape [ ALTN ] Satin Masking Tape [ ALTN ] Sequins Satin White [ ALTN ] Craft-A-Flower: Garden Rose Layering… [ ALTN ] Gradient Cardstock Set – Red Sunset [ ALTN ] Itty Bitty Branches Die Set [ ALTN ] Red Sunset Crisp Dye Ink Mini Cube Set [ ALTN ] Cosmic Garden Artist Alcohol Markers… [ ALTN ] Green Fields Mini Cube Set [ ALTN ] Altenew Bountiful Bouquet Stamp & Die… [ ALTN ] Majestic Bouquet Stamp and Die Bundle [ ALTN ] Summer Afternoon Crisp Dye Ink Mini… [ ALTN ] Rock Collection Mini Cube Set [ ALTN ]