While at CHA Winter in January, I had the pleasure of meeting Dyan Reavely, the newest signature designer at Ranger. She’s developed a line of stamps, stencils, and ink sprays. Her line is notable for it’s whimsy and bright colors. Take a look at the video I took at CHA:
So today I’m reviewing the Dylusions Ink Sprays by Ranger.
From the website:
Dylusions Ink Spray dyes are a high quality, acid-free, non-toxic concentrated colorant for porous surfaces. The Dylusions Ink Sprays’ bright and vibrant palette will colorize paper, Sticky Back Canvas, wood, paper, clay and more. Use to create backgrounds on cards, scrapbook and journal pages, and in mixed media art projects.
Available in 12 splendid colors.
• Concentrated colorant for porous surfaces
• 12 bright and vibrant colors
• Acid free and non-toxic
• Fine mist sprayer
Available in 12 colors, these oh-so-vibrant sprayable watercolors almost pop off of the paper. The are sheer- there is no pigment particles in them. And they are a TRUE watercolor- they are both water-based AND water-reactive. (That’s a fancy term for “they go back to being runny when exposed to water.”)
So first, let’s see how the spray works. Since there is nothing to mix, you just spray away- no shaking necessary!
Top: 4 inches from paper; Middle: 7 inches from paper; Bottom: 12 inches from paper.
And now let’s see how they look on different surfaces.
As I mentioned, these are watercolors…so they don’t work well on shiny, non-porous surfaces. Note the “puddling” on the glossy chipboard pieces above. Also, since there is no pigment particles, you see that unless you are using a light or white surface, the bright colors of the sprays don’t really stand out.
So now let’s play! First, I misted some white cardstock and used my water mister to encourage bleeding.
Then I blotted it a bit.
I tried the “ghosting” technique- which is more like a watermark- which is spraying water through a stencil to re-activate the spray and then blotting up the color to leave a lighter image. FUN.
Then I took that stencil and blotted it onto some sheet music. I kind of got carried away with going back and forth between the stencil and sheet music. The next thing I knew, I had green fingers and six sheets of dyed paper!
Note: even though the Spray Inks are water based, they will still stain your fingers!!
I wanted to test how “fixed” the sprays were after the papers were completely dry. Take a look:
Papers misted with spray inks.
As you can see, whenever these spray inks come in contact with water- or any liquid medium- they will “re-activate” AKA bleed. You will want to be very cautions if you want to use Mod Podge, Diamond Glaze, or any other water-based sealer or medium on top of it. Pouring or squeezing on top might work better than brushing it on.
I did get around to making a few things with the sprays. Here I used the background for a Shamrock card:
And here I used the sprayed paper as a background for the filigree effect I got from the Purple Cows Punch It.
While I’m a big fan of the shimmer-glimmer type of mists, I also love the Dylusions Ink Sprays. The intense, bright colors are marvelous, and if I want to add some shimmer spray on top, I can! That’s the joy of water-based media; you can mix and match all you like.
Dylusions come in a 2 ounce bottle and retail for $4.95. Considering how concentrated they are, it’s a good price. AND you don’t have to worry about the nozzles clogging up! And don’t forget- this IS watercolor- so you can pour it into a water brush or spritz different colors into an egg carton and use it like traditional liquid watercolor paint.
Now, if you want to know how these inks stack up against Colorwash Inks, stay tuned! We have a special post on just that coming up soon!
Lastly, if you’d like to see that “Ghosting” technique, check out Dyan’s video!
What would YOU do with Dylusions Spray Inks? Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
Disclosure: Sample provided for review
To see projects made with Dylusions Ink Sprays Visit the Link(s) Below:
Valentine Gift Tags with Dylusions Ink Sprays
- Spooky Spider Halloween Bookmark Craft - October 24, 2018
- Review and Demo of LDRS Hybrid Ink Pads - October 15, 2018
- Review and Demo of Nuvo Hybrid Inks - October 1, 2018
- Craft Studio Tour and Organization Ideas - September 20, 2018
- Wax Paper Resist Background Technique - March 20, 2018
- Comparison of Liquid Watercolor Markers/Pens - March 16, 2018
- SAI Japanese Traditional Watercolor Brush Markers- Review & Demo - February 23, 2018
- Rinea Metallic Foil Paper & Ghost Ink Review - February 21, 2018
- Jane Davenport debuts at Creativation 2018 & Watercolor Card - February 13, 2018
- Creativation 2018: New Product Showcase - January 20, 2018
Teresa Jaye says
oh those colors are yummy – and that ghosting technique is a-ma-zing!
Dee in NH says
Oh my!!! These are so at the top of my wish list!!! Her stuff is amazing!!! I can’t wait to make flowers that are colored with those cool colors!
Sue K says
Oh my goodness, I don’t know what I’ll use them for, but I have to have them. And I am totally stealing her paper towel blotting method – nothing slows her down!
Susie says
Thanks so much for the videos. These inks are amazing!