Beyond the Brayer Basics
What's a Brayer?
By
the simplest definition, a brayer is a tool; used as an applicator in
rubber stamping & other arts & crafts involving ink. (Remember
lino priniting in the 7th grade?) By MY definition, a brayer is an
adventure in creativity & an indispensible part of my card-making
& scrapbooking toolkit!
A brayer consists of a handle and interchangable rollers, the most common being made of rubber. (Foam and acrylic rollers can be purchased separately - they have their own uses that I'll talk about a bit later)
How do I Use a Brayer?
The brayer's main function is to apply ink evenly
over larger areas (just like a paint roller on your walls). Roll the
brayer over your ink pad & then over a large stamp to ink it up.
The ink gets to every part of the rubber, and you'll get a more uniform
image this way.
It's also designed to apply even pressure
when stamping a large stamp onto card stock or paper. Place your stamp
on the table rubber side up and apply the ink with your brayer. Lay
your card stock on top of the stamp, then cover it with scrap paper
large enough to cover the entire stamp. Roll your brayer (it doesn't
matter if it's still a little inky - that's what the scrap paper is
for) over the entire stamp. Discard the scrap paper & gently lift
off your card stock - a perfect image every time!
Those are the basic uses... but when have you EVER known a crafter to stop at the basics? To borrow a popular title, there must be 50 Ways to Love your Brayer - here's just some of my favs...
Stripe it Up: Use markers to draw stripes or wavy lines directly onto the rubber roller, then roll the brayer across your card stock. Try repeating in the opposite direction to create a plaid design! Try using several colours, draw dots or circles...well, you get the idea.
Wrap it Up: Pop the roller out of the handle & wrap rubber bands around it for added texture. Reassemble, ink up the bumpy brayer & roll onto card stock to make a unique background image. Try other household items - yarn, string, crumpled saran wrap, cheesecloth, plastic netting (save that bag of oranges!) ... the sky's the limit! (This works bestl with the acrylic roller, but you can also use the rubber roller)
Spectrum (Rainbow) ink pads: Ink up the brayer on your Spectrum pad (TIP:keep the coloured sections separated when using a brayer, push them together when using a stamp) - then roll your rainbow-inked brayer over card stock. Use a slight "V" motion when rolling to help the edges of the colours blend together & cover any uninked gaps.
Resist Techniques: There are many variations on the resist technique, but the basic idea is always the same - you apply something to the card stock first, then brayer ink over it. Wherever you have applied your "resist" material, the brayered ink won't stick. Some examples:
- Basic Brayer Resist: stamp an image onto card stock with VersaMark. Do not emboss. Ink up your brayer with any Classic ink & roll over the (almost invisible) images - they will magically appear!
- Embossed Resist: stamp an image onto glossy card stock with VersaMark or Craft inks (they are wet enough to hold embossing powder) Heat emboss the images with Clear Embossing Powder. Ink up your brayer with Classic ink (you must use Classic ink on glossy card stock for this step) and roll over the embossed images.
- Joseph's Coat: Brayer glossy card stock with Spectrum (rainbow) ink - the brighter, the better. When dry, stamp images over top with VersaMark, then heat emboss the images with Clear Embossing Powder. Ink up your brayer with a dark Classic ink (black is best, honest!) and roll over the entire card, covering all of the rainbow ink. Wipe excess black off the embossed images & you'll see the rainbow colours showing through!
- Also check out Crayon Resist, Rubber Cement, & Wax Paper Resist - all good techniques to try!
Mirror Imaging: Ink your stamp & set it on the table, image side up. Use a clean brayer to roll over the inked image, then roll the brayer again onto card stock - this will give you a reversed image. This is a handy technique to create trees mirrored in the lake below, or to place two characters face to face on your card. Just ink up the stamp, brayer over it to pick up the inked image & brayer onto the card. Next, re-ink the image & stamp it directly onto the card. (If an exact placement is necessary for your design, use the Stamp-a-ma-Jig)
Kissing Technique: A variation of Mirror Imaging, the Kissing technique can be done without a brayer, but using one gives a sharper image. Ink up your brayer with ink, then roll it over any textured stamp (many of the background stamps work well). Be sure to get a good covering over the entire stamp (here's where the brayer does a nice job). Next, take an un-inked solid stamp (Monogram letter or solid flower image, for example) and "kiss" it to the inked stamp. The design will transfer from one stamp to the other. Stamp the image onto card stock & voila!
Homemade Textures: This technique works best with the foam roller - lay a material such as paper doilies, a scrap of lace, cheesecloth, a leaf, bubble wrap, Magic Mesh© or drywall tape down onto your card stock. Ink up the foam brayer well, and roll over all. Remove & discard the textured material, leaving you with a uniquely patterned paper! This technique will also work on plastic stencils, as the foam roller has the flexibility to deliver the ink into all those little creases & crevices.
This information page is provided by Donna Henley, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
Email your Comments to: donna@scrappinwithdonna.com
