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Stamping with Liquid Ink: Andy Skinner’s Something Special Stamp Tutorial

In this step-by-step video tutorial, Andy Skinner demonstrates how to create soft, watercolour-style backgrounds and striking stamped designs using Cosmic Shimmer Water-Based Inks and Andy's range of Rubber Stamps for Cosmic Shimmer.

Andy begins by showing how to dilute the inks and apply directly onto rubber stamps to achieve painterly, blended colours in beautiful background patterns on mixed media card.

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Once the colourful backgrounds are ready, he then stamps on top with his Something Special Rubber Stamp using black archival ink for a crisp design that really stands out.

This versatile technique is simple to follow and perfect for creating tags, card fronts, and mixed media artwork. Watch the video to see Andy’s process and learn how to bring extra depth and impact to your stamping projects.

WATCH: Stamping with Liquid Ink

Prepare your materials
Wear protective gloves and place a sheet of acetate on your workspace.
Squeeze out a small amount of antibacterial hand sanitizer onto the acetate.
Add a few drops of Cosmic Shimmer Water-Based Inks – in this example, Andy uses Raspberry Ripple and Tuscan Teal.

Mix the inks
With your gloved fingers, massage the inks into the sanitizer gel until smooth, removing any lumps.
Blend the two colours slightly together – where the teal meets the raspberry, you’ll achieve a rich dark purple.
Leave the mixture to sit for a few minutes; the ethanol in the sanitizer will evaporate, thickening the gel into a stamping medium.

Stamp with the gel
Place smooth white cardstock on your surface.
Ink up your stamp – in this example Andy uses the Old Seals Rubber Stamp by patting it into the gel mixture.
Press firmly onto the cardstock to reveal a clean, colourful impression.
Continue stamping multiple times – the gel retains enough ink for many impressions, creating variations in tone as the colour fades.

Create a bonus acetate print
Don’t waste the remaining gel! Lay a clean sheet of paper down, then press the inky acetate sheet face-down.
Lift to reveal a unique print that can be saved for future projects.

Make a background with the Distressed Mandala stamp
Dilute Cosmic Shimmer Water-Based Ink in Marigold with water in a Misting Spray Bottle – 50% water, 50% ink. Dilute Cosmic Shimmer Water-Based Ink in Turquoise Blue with the same water to ink ratio.
Protect your desk and lightly spritz the Distress Mandala Rubber Stamp first with the diluted Marigold Ink, then a second misting of diluted Turquoise Blue Ink.
Stamp onto mixed media card to produce a soft, watercolour-effect background.
Repeat with different colour combinations for variation.

Add the feature stamp
Once the background is dry, secure your Mandala patterned card on a stamping platform.
Position the Something Special Rubber Stamp and its sentiment, making sure they are square and aligned.
Ink with Jet Black Archival Ink and press firmly onto the card.
Because mixed media card has texture, you may need a second pass for a crisp finish.

Optional finishing touch
Use a corner cutter to round off the edges of your stamped panels.

These pieces can be used as tags, card fronts, or layered elements in mixed media projects.