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Issue 15 - July 21st 2014
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Hands up if you have a brayer, but you're not that keen on the results you get with it? I have had many people tell me they bought a brayer after seeing a demonstration, but when they tried it themselves, they just make a mess.
If that's you, then today's email may help change your mind as I'm going right back to brayer basics, plus I have a couple of great tips on what to do with those less than perfect pieces.
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What exactly is a brayer anyway?
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A brayer is a hand held roller originally used in printmaking for spreading ink. Brayer rollers are usually made from a rubber compound and come in various hardnesses, depending on what they will be used with. Rollers also come in plastic and foam and these can be fun to use in mixed media. A soft rubber brayer is the best type for working with stamp inkpads - inks can bead up on plastic rollers, but the soft rubber type is similar to a rubber stamp, so most dye inkpads will transfer well onto and off the roller.
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 | Choose a water based dye ink for best results
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There are no hard and fast rules about which inkpad is best to use with a brayer. Generally though, they tend to be used with water based dye inks.
Solvent based inks (and cleaner) are not recommended as they can make the brayer shiny and this will affect its ability to accept and transfer ink.
Pigment inks do not dry on coated glossy card so would not be recommended for the techniques we are talking about here.
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You will need a coated card which may have a glossy or satin finish. The coating is made from china clay - a plastic coating such as laminated card, will not work.
Colours look stronger on coated cardstock when first applied and dry back slightly paler so bear that in mind when choosing colours.
Experiment with thin strips of card until you have mastered the technique - you can use them for bookmarks!
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Roll the brayer over the inkpad using a 'lift and roll' action so that you are ensuring the roller is covered.
Take a look at the roller and if you see gaps, go back and ink some more.
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This image shows what happens when you roll your brayer after inking. The pale blue image shows the gaps that you get if your brayer is not inked all the way around.
The teal line shows what happens when you roll in one long fluid motion. The dark rectangle is the first layer of ink coming off the roller, then the second and so on.
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In the series below, you can see the progression of a brayered strip. This was created with a Kaleidacolor multi-coloured inkpad.
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 The first roll will always leave a mark unless your paper is shorter than the circumference of the roller. |
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 You need to lift the brayer and roll again to blend out this mark. If you roll backwards and forwards without lifting, you will just enhance that first mark.
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By the third or fourth time of lifting and rolling, you should start to see the lines blending together.
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 Time to re-ink your brayer - work quickly and roll on another layer of colour. |
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 Keep lifting and rolling to blend this second application of ink. The more you roll, the better blended the ink becomes.
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 You generally don't need another application of ink as usually the coated cardstock cannot absorb any more at this stage. If you want a deeper colour, let it dry out thoroughly before applying more ink.
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Here is the progression of a strip that was brayered with a single colour of Distress ink. If you right click on the image (CTRL click on a Mac) then select 'view image' you should be able to see an enlarged version in more detail.
There is still some banding showing in these photographs which I took as I was going along. Here is a photo of the same piece an hour later - the ink is fully dry and the stripes have disappeared.
Clean your brayer with water or a wet wipe. Most brayers have a detatchable roller so you can rinse it under the tap if you prefer. Store your brayer so it is not resting directly on the roller and keep out of direct heat or sunlight.
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 You may find it helpful to use a mylar mat as an intermediary stage when you are first starting out. Mylar is a type of plastic (polyester) sheet that is normally used to manufacture stencils. It allows you to get a more even coating of ink on your brayer before you start. |
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 Here is the first roll onto a sheet of mylar. You can see the banding as the ink transfers off the roller onto the plastic surface. Because mylar is not absorbent, you can work your brayer over the ink as much as you want until you have a good even coating.
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The advantage of this is that you can go back to the mylar sheet to pick up more ink rather than the inkpad, knowing your are picking up a smooth even coat.
You still need to follow the steps above to blend out any stripes if you want a smooth finish.
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Don't throw it in the bin ...
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It takes practise to get the smooth gradients of colour and you may generate test pieces along the way that you are tempted to throw away, Please don't as there are always ways to alter these a bit to hide any problems.
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If you have used a waterbased ink that is not waterproof, then you can create some great effects just by using water.
On the far left is a coloured strip just after I spritzed it with plain water. You can see how the water droplets are starting to 'repel' the ink.
The second picture shows how it looked about 20 minutes later once the water had dried.
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Here is a more dramatic version of the same effect. The dark blue Adirondack dye ink shows the water reaction off very strongly.
On this one, I sprayed water into my hand and shook it onto the card, creating a mixture of small and large droplets.
Another way to create a water reaction is to spray water onto a plastic mat then press the brayered piece onto it. This will give a much more random, mottled look.
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 Here's a top tip from Lesley Wharton on how to use up the waste paper that gets inky during the process. |
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 Choose a colourful piece of your scrap paper, pat a Versamark inkpad all over, then emboss with a transparent sparkly embossing powder such as holographic. Once cool, use it to punch or die cut shapes to use on your cards.
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 You can read more details about this Christmas tag on my blog. |
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Scratches, fingerprints, fluff on your brayer and lumps under your card can all get in the way of getting a good result. It's also down to practise. This is one of those techniques where you can't just read about the theory then call yourself an expert - you really do need to put aside some time to try it out, make some mistakes and get some experience.
Once you get the basics right, you can move on to using the brayer for some really fun techniques like reflections.
So dig out that unloved brayer and have a PLAY!
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Materials used in this project are available online at
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 I originally ran this series in 2013 and this time round, I am using my own tutorials to inspire me to create a new piece of artwork to share with you each week. I love to create and I am also passionate about inspiring and enabling others to create too. I hope that this email gets your mojo working and you feel motivated to get into your crafty space and have a go. PS - if your creation features Chocolate Baroque stamps, then why not share on our Facebook Group or our wonderful private forum. In both places you will find a wonderful community of like minded Chocolate Baroque fans.
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