Castaway Ink Effects

Castaway inkpads provide a more controlled version of stamping with bleach. You apply the "ink" to paper, let it soak in and settle for a few minutes, then heat it by applying a very hot iron directly to the "inked" paper. It doesn't work on all papers, works better on some than others, and doesn't work well with delicate stamps.

My favorite Castaway discharge project -- unfortunately, no pictures thanks to the "great hard drive crash" of summer 07...unless, that is, I ever find time to go through my backup CDs -- was using the refill bottle instead of stamps to apply Castaway ink directly to black card stock. I divided an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet into bands, then made mudcloth designs in between the bands. After heating, I punched the sheet into large tags.

The effect was very mudcloth-ish because the Castaway ink turned the paper kind of a creamy off-white, fading to dark brown around the edges.

You could probably get a cool batik effect with this stuff too.

Two problems though -- the paper SMOKED when I ironed it. I don't think it was the paper, actually, I think it was the product. The other problem was, if the ink was too heavy, it never, ever, ever dried. Ever.

Well, it occurred to me to do a little Google search to see what other folks are doing with this product. Here's what I found, from basic instructions, to tips, to photos of people's projects:

• Blockhead Stamps
  
• The Stamp Attic
  
• Hot Potatoes' instructions kinda tickled me when they said "the color is permanently removed" -- what? is there a discharge technique where the color comes back after awhile? ;-)
  
• Here are several reviews from ScrapFriends; scroll down to read them all and see project photos!

Overall, I'd say this is a fun product to play with, but it's not indispensable.