Dabber Technique(s)

[CritterPortraits]

Oh my...is this a sneek peek?

[Deb Lovett]

Yes, it is for you. I just made it this afternoon so it missed hopping in the envelope that left this morning. It will probably be with the TJ ATC swap... or maybe earlier.... Ü

Deb what a beautiful card!!

You are reading my mind btw, thanks for finding and reviving this thread. I saw a tip somewhere this week about using the pads you put on the bottom of furniture as dabbers but couldn't find it later. Anyone know something about this and what exactly it us that you use? Would love to find a cheap alternative.

[Inky Whiskers]

Fun foam can be used to dab paint! I made a big cat paw stamp recently out of layered fun foam I had die cut & attached to a bg size wood block. Alas, my textured walls prevented perfect prints. So I went with the sponged look that resulted, except sometimes a toe print would be mostly missing & as that wouldn't do I used a piece of foam the same size as the missing toes to dab in the missing paint. The foam has fine pores so doesn't texture the paint like most sponges & it cleans up with soap & water, plus it's pretty cheap & you can use scraps to make daubers since the color doesn't matter for this.

Thanks Inky! Have tons of that left from kid projects, will have to give it a try. I think I'll go by the $$ store to get an acrylic mount that I can put double sided tape or Aleenes T&O on for a handle. Would still like to find that discussion, I got the impression the furniture things were the dabber handle.

[Deb Lovett]

If I remember these furniture pads right, they have pieces of carpet on the bottom to protect the floor?? Anyway, how about carpet as a dabber? Sometimes you can pick up small (4"squares) carpet samples from Lowes or Menards.They may charge for them, but that would add some great texture.

This also makes me think of shoe polish. I wonder if they still sell bottles of shoe polish with dabbers on the top?

Originally Posted by stampin stacy

I saw a tip somewhere this week about using the pads you put on the bottom of furniture as dabbers but couldn't find it later. Anyone know something about this and what exactly it us that you use? Would love to find a cheap alternative.

[Spideycindy]

Originally Posted by Inky Whiskers

Fun foam can be used to dab paint! I made a big cat paw stamp recently out of layered fun foam I had die cut & attached to a bg size wood block. Alas, my textured walls prevented perfect prints. So I went with the sponged look that resulted, except sometimes a toe print would be mostly missing & as that wouldn't do I used a piece of foam the same size as the missing toes to dab in the missing paint. The foam has fine pores so doesn't texture the paint like most sponges & it cleans up with soap & water, plus it's pretty cheap & you can use scraps to make daubers since the color doesn't matter for this.

Got pictures to share? Would love to see or e-mail?

[Deb Lovett]

Originally Posted by stampin stacy

...... Would love to find a cheap alternative.

I wonder if envelope moistener bottles with sponge tops will work? They're about $1.29. I bought 2 -- 1 to try with acrylic paint and 1 to use for water. They don't come with a plastic cap though, but you can unscrew the cap and rinse the paint out of the sponge.

[Deb Lovett]

"Peggy" posted these tips on the ranger site and wanted to copy them here, just in case this happens to any of us.

What to do if your dabber inks dry hard:

. Shake bottle well before using.
. When using the dabbers for the first time, prime them by inverting the bottle, pressing down on the dabber top and gently squeezing the sides of the bottle. Hold down for approximately 30-60 seconds or until you see paint. The dabber bottles have a valve, that when pressed down, opens the valve to allow the paint to flow. Holding the valve open longer allows more paint to properly flow into the dabber top. Do not repeatedly tap, bang or hammer the dabber, as you are not allowing the valve to stay open long enough to deliver the paint into the dabber.
. Close paint tops between uses to prevent paint from drying on the dabber top.
. If dabber has not been used for an extended period of time, it may be necessary to re-establish flow. Do this by spraying water on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet and rub dabber top in water; this will help re-wet the paint inside the dabber top to rejuvenate a continuous flow of paint.
. Blend dabber paints on canvas, paper, and rubber stamps. If different color paint gets on the dabber top, simply dab onto paper towel until dabber top is clean.
. Immediately clean stamps with water or stamp cleaner after using paint dabbers.

*******. Note: if paints thicken up over time: unscrew the cap, add a little water to thin, and re-mix the paint inside the bottle with a craft stick.

[Deb Lovett]

You can also do the Dabber Technique on scrapbook paper.