Hello crafters! Today we are going to take a look at Tsukineko all-purpose inks! I have to admit, I scratched my head a bit when I first received these; what do these little cuties do? Looking at them a little closer, these are very fluid inks with a watery consistancy. You can use them with a paintbrush or as Tsukineko reccomends, Fantastix. (Fantastix are uninked applicators that you can use for applying a multiple amount of mediums.)
Tsukineko describes all-purpose inks as:
“Due to its blendability, washability and versatility, this quick-drying craft ink has become a favorite among fabric artists. And because it’s water-based and non-toxic, All-Purpose Ink is fun for artists of all ages. Use it on wood, paper, leather and other porous surfaces too. All-Purpose Ink must be heat set on fabric for permanence. Heat set between color applications to prevent bleeding. Or layer colors to achieve a blended ‘watercolor’ effect.”
Here is a swatch of the inks on different surfaces:
They immediately beaded up on the foil paper, but I was pleasantly surprised that it maintained its form/mark on the transparency as well as the glossy cardstock. It cracked ever-so slightly, but nothing that is very noticeable. You can see on the sheet music and patterned paper that these are translucent, meaning any underlying image you layer these over will come through. However, the metallic colors as well as the white are opaque. You will really want to shake these colors up as they have a ball bearing in them to properly mix and combine the colors and pigments. Please note, the white and metallic inks will take longer to dry since they are pigment and not water-based like the other all-purpose inks.
You can also rubber stamp using the all purpose inks and one of Tsukineko’s ink sweeper. Just be prepared to stamp fast as soon as sweep your ink onto the stamp as the all-purp0se inks dry very fast. I expected these to bleed once I spritzed water on top of the stamped image and they didn’t move one bit!
It seems a lot of crafters use these for fabric arts. I am not the world’s best free-form painter by any means so I picked out a white bandana with a traditional design on it and got to work! The colors did bleed slightly but I think that’s because of the quality and loose weave of the fabric I was working on. Tsukineko recommends heat setting anything fabric that you plan on washing, which I did. I was happily surprised to see that the inks didn’t fade or bleed at all after washing.
I also wanted to try my hand at watercoloring a bit with these. I stamped an image using black archival ink and used a waterbrush to color it all in. It was easy to add more water to lighten the colors as needed. It made me feel very artsy doing this!
Lastly I wanted to just have fun. I poured a couple colors of ink onto a craft mat and use a brayer to pick them up and transfer them to a flat-back canvas. Once those were dry, I used the white ink with a fantastix to write a quote I had found. Again, the white ink is opaque and it only took one coat to get a good layer 0n. I outlined with a black sharpie and my little project was quickly done!
Overall, these were interesting to play with. I believe they are more geared towards fabric artists who really want a watercolor effect on fabrics. There are 45 colors available in half-ounce bottles at approximately $8 a piece. They are also available in multiple themed color sets and sold as workstation’s which include some of the fantastix. These are available in some of the big box retail stores as well as online websites such as amazon.
Well, what do you think crafters? As always let me know in the comments!
Disclaimer: Product provided for review
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Rosy Newlun says
Say, I really like these! I love how fluid, rich, and opaque they look. Great job using them on different mediums for us! I love your reviews!!!
Laj Robinson says
How can I be a tester for some of the products?
Jenny says
You can apply to be a reviewer with us. Just look at the top tab under “TeamCTD and Guest Posting.”
Sandy says
I just happened to “trip” over your site when I did a search for types of ink pads to use on fabric. WOW!! did I ever hit the jackpot! Thanks for doing all the scut work for me!
Sandy says
Did a search for methods of batiking at home and didn’t find anything. Maybe you could do a “test” for a dummy like me on the best method for removing wax after the design has been dyed?
I’ve tried all kinds of things and find they are very work intensive (original chanting method) or very poor results (Elmer’s glue method). I am currently trying out a wax stick and hope the results work well.
Looking forward to your tests.
Sandy