Inventory & Organization

I know inventory and organization aren't always the most fun thing to do, but let's be honest. They are very necessary. Ever buy two of the same stamp? More than once? Somehow end up with the same color ink pad a time or two? Love when I'm shopping online and do these things! Ok so not really. Unfortunately, it has happened more than once.

all of the Liquid Pearls available

I spent an afternoon working on inventorying (is that a real word?) on a few of my inks and other liquid colorant goodies. I got to thinking. Instead of making a list that I probably would never update until the cows come home I should make a color chart. This I would actually use frequently. It would be a great resource to look up not only what I have, but what my color options are. There are many times where I'm looking for just the right color to coordinate with a cardstock or patterned paper and I hunt and hunt and hunt.

all the Dimensional Pearls I have

I have completed a couple of my collections thus far. I created an inventory sheet I can add to and print in the future. I have shared the sheets I have created and completed so far. They are on the upper right hand side under the heading Pages and Inventory PDF's. Yuppers, I converted them to PDF's so everyone can open and use them. Make sure you save them to your computer just in case the interweb eats them or they go rogue or aliens invade and steal them. Any of the above are entirely possible.... If you knew half the computer issues I have had in the past, you'd shake your head and walk away hoping it wasn't contagious.

working on the Alcohol Inks

Now some colorants are easier to make a color sample of than others. For things like Liquid Pearls and Dimensional Pearls, I just squeezed out a squiggly line and a dot. Things like Alcohol Ink aren't so easy. They're a tad on the messy side. My first attempt of the Alcohol Inks was messy and not cooperative so I had to come up with Plan B. Plan A was to squeeze out a drop of ink into the correct box. Ink doesn't always cooperate especially when the drops are the size of Texas and hey guess what! Paper absorbs thus ink spreads faaaaaaaar beyond the intended box.

styrofoam plate with several Alcohol Inks

For my Alcohol Inks (these are not the same as the Distressed Reinkers from Tim Holtz - those will be up soon), I used several styrofoam plates, a paintbrush, cardboard, and a pile of paper towels. What's the cardboard (not chipboard!) for? I placed it under my color chart sheet so if ink leaked through it wouldn't be all over my work station. Why styrofoam plates? Alcohol Ink drinks quickly and is easily absorbed. The styrofoam plate gives you an ink palette and doesn't absorb ridiculously quick. Also use a paintbrush you don't care about. Definitely don't use your favorite one! It will forever be stained. If not cleaned well, the bristles may become too stiff to use in the future.

What did I print the color charts on? Do not use regular printer paper! You'll end up with a big ole mess on your hands. Just about all colorants will leak through plain paper. I used cardstock. You can get a ream from Georgia Pacific anywhere from Wal-Mart to Amazon or from your stash. It doesn't need to be the good stuff from Bazzill or Papertrey Ink. I'd save the good stuff for better projects personally. I also wouldn't use the super flimsy cheap cardstock you can get at chain craft stores. Thickness is important.

completed Alcohol Inks color chart

I left my sheets out overnight to dry completely. They will be going into a binder in page protectors once I complete all of them. Why not hole punch them? I want to keep them protected since many of them will have raised bumps. With page protectors, the colors won't rub off onto other sheets either.

One other tip. I have a laser printer. I used that instead of my inkjet printer. This way the colorants won't run. If you don't have a laser printer, see if any of your friends do or you can print these at Stapes or Office Max for a small fee. You have my complete permission to print as many of these sheets as you want! Please don't cut off the copyright though! Please give me credit as I spent a long time working on these and stealing isn't cool.

Until next time *

Get inky! No seriously. Get inky! Get started on your Liquid Pearls and Alcohol Inks color charts.