Sponge Daubers are my little secret… but not any more! Thank you to Fiona for your question about what you can use sponge daubers for, I’ve finally sat down and put my thoughts together in one place. Also, Kim B you asked about pastels, you might find some more ideas here. Karyn, you asked whether I use Sponges or Sponge Daubers, I much prefer sponge daubers – to get the colours blended in well I start with only a little bit of colour and work in small circles while adding more colour as I go if needed. I love sponge daubers because before them I couldn’t get nice smooth and blended sponging, no matter what I used plus they’re so versatile. These little beauties are always within arms reach on my desk. So what can you use sponge daubers for? Here’s a list of Sponge Dauber ideas to keep you busy:
Sponge Dauber Ideas:
Poppin’ Pastels. Stamp with Versamark then use the sponge daubers to dab colour onto your stamped image and make your image pop.
Double Poppin’ Pastels. Sponge pastels/chalk onto the cardstock first, then stamp your image with Versamark then use the sponge dauber to add the same colour on top.
Stenciling. Use your sponge daubers with an inkpad and stencil to do stencilling.
Pretty rainbow background. Use your sponge daubers with a variety of coordinating onto glossy cardstock to give a dreamy background then stamp your image over the top of the background with dark ink. Somehow I can’t photograph that stamped one to show the colours that well but I used the background in the first photo and stamped over it, so the background is green/blue/purple.
Basic Colouring. Stamp in a dark ink (black/navy/chocolate) then use sponge daubers with chalk to add colour to your image.
Colouring Emboss resist. Stamp in Versamark, emboss in any colour and then add colour to your image with sponge daubers loaded with ink from your inkpad.
Fun Background. Load the sponge daubers with chalk then use that to make a ‘dotty’ background. Do that by pressing the dauber onto the cardstock then giving it a little twist. (that idea from my 11 year old daughter Jade, this photo is of Jade making the background in her favourite colour-combo: Pink Passion and Green Galore)
Make customised coloured rub-ons! Apply white rub-ons then use a sponge dauber and chalks to add colour to the rub-on to change it from white to any chalk colour you like. Use a small brush to dust off any excess chalk and an eraser to erase chalk from areas you don’t want it to be on.
Softening Edges of your cardstock. I use this method a lot! I love the look of sponging around cardstock, either with a neutral cardstock like white or vanilla or sponging the same colour ink as the cardstock I’m using. The cards and scrapbooking layout in the photo above all have sponging around the edges, in this case I’ve used three different colours to create a depth and interest. In the second card I’ve sponged blue cardstock with brown but only very lightly around the edges to soften the hard lines. And in the third card I have sponged Olive ink on Olive cardstock then Ruby Red ink on Ruby Red cardstock to give the card some warmth.
Multi-Coloured Stamping. You’ve got to try this, it looks absolutely awesome and nothing but Sponge Daubers will give you this smooth and blended look… trust me, I’ve tried many other ways! Not sure if you can see the grading of colour in the heart but it’s really fabulous. Ink up your stamp in one colour as usual, then use a Sponge Dauber to add a different colour around the edges to give a two-toned effect.
Sponge Dauber Tips:
* I keep one sponge dauber for each colour I use and label it so that I can use that same sponge dauber with either the chalk or inkpad of that colour. The daubers are then all stored in a plastic Stampin’ Up! container that used to contain little stamps (I gave those stamps away).
* You might prefer to keep one sponge dauber for each colour ‘group’ such as one for greens, one for yellows, one for reds, etc.
* Sponge daubers can be washed with a little bit of dishwashing liquid and warm water. That’s a bit of a hassle for me though which is why I keep one for each colour.
Okay that’s it. I’m tired now after all that but feeling good that I have a heap of little bits and pieces of stamped and sponged cardstock that I have ready to turn into cards. I hope you’ve enjoyed my Sponge Dauber ideas. All the products I’ve used in this post (apart from the one feather stamp) are from Stampin’ Up! and are available for purchase through me at angelasargeant@gmail.com. Email me now to get your own pack of Sponge Daubers!
