All my Ink Pad Refill Recipes!

Hi friends! Over the years I have posted many DIY stamping ink recipes and tips for reviving dry ink pads. I decided to put them all in one blog post/video so you can bookmark it and refer back to it if you end up running out of ink in the middle of a project and need to make some fast!

Keep in mind the best practices for keeping your ink pads in good working order is to use the appropriate reinker so I make sure to have a reinker for any inkpad I rely on.  For those other inks that I am not married to I’m fine making my own ink. Sometimes a company doesn’t even offer a reinker or they discontinue a color and you can’t get one so this blog post can help you in those events too! Watch the video for a demo of all of these inks. You can find the written recipes below.

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Protect your workspace! I use these super cheap teflon mats than can be cut up to convenient sizes. You get 3 huge ones for $7. They are $25 each or more at the craft store!

Reinking a dye based ink pad. I have to say that for dye ink pads that adult stampers use your best bet is to buy a commercially prepared reinker. Most dye based pads are similar and you can cross brands. I have used Stampin Up reinkers to ink of other brands pads with no issues. In fact many popular companies all have their inks made by the same company. I like juicy ink pads to I keep adding ink to my pad until it stops absorbing ink.

DIY Dye Based Ink Recipe:

• Liquid watercolor
• Vegetable Glycerin

Directions: For children’s ink pads mix liquid watercolors to desired share and drip on ink pad.

For adult stampers ink pads  add 1 drop glycerin to every 2 drops liquid watercolor (mix to achieve the correct color) and apply to inkpad. If the inkpad stamps splotchy or seems to juicy leave uncovered for a few hours and do a test stamp. That will allow excess water in the watercolor to evaporate.

DIY Embossing ink: Glycerin *Use in pace of embossing re-inker

DIY Ink Refresher: Fill a 4oz spray bottle with water and 1 Tablespoon of glycerin, shake and spray on dried out dye ink pads.

DIY chalk ink:

• Drugstore Isopropyl Alcohol or distilled water (in a spray bottle)
• Chalk pastels

Directions: Spray some rubbing alcohol (or distilled water) on a teflon mat and scribble the select colors of pastel chalks to match the inkpad you wish to reink. You will make a cream consistency slurry or ink. Use your chalk inkpad to sop up the ink. Easy peasy and with 64 colors in the $10 chalk set you probably won’t have to mix colors!

DIY Ink Pads:

• For Dye inks you need Cut and Dry Felt (more expensive on Amazon)
• For pigment or chalk inks you need Cut and Dry Foam (more expensive on Amazon)
• A shallow container such as clamshell packaging. *I used 2 lids that Rubber Stamp Tapestry peg stamp come in and hinged them together with washi tape:)

Directions: Cut the felt to size and ink up with the appropriate ink!

*This is great for making custom rainbow and ombre inks. For a disposable option you can add reinkers to a baby wipe.

DIY Pigment ink:

• Gouache paint (opaque watercolor)
• Glycerin
• A palette knife or spatula for mixing

Directions: Take a pea-blueberry size dab of gouache and add 5 drops of glycerin, mix well with a palette knife and apply to dry pigment ink pad. If the ink feels too thick spritz with distilled water or drugstore alcohol.

*For metallic ink use metallic gouache or Pearl Ex (see below)

Pearl-Ex Ink pads:

• Pearl Ex mica powder
• Glycerin

Directions: Add ½ teaspoon of pigment powder to the ink pad. Drop on 10 drops of glycerin on top. Spread out with an old gift card. If it feels to dry spritz with alcohol.

*This will also work for old Mica Magic Ink pads, this is great on black paper!

Staz-On Ink refresher (alcohol ink pads)

• Denatured Alcohol

Directions: Apply to dry or sticky stazon pad. I use about 15 drops and let sit an hour before using. If your inkpad is used up you will get a faint impression but if it is just dried out this will reconstitute the ink. I alternate using Staz-On Reinker and Denatured alcohol because if you get too much reinker on the pad it feels sticky. *You can also use denatured alcohol to revive dried up alcohol pens. Do not spray apply denatured alcohol!

I hope you found this compilation of recipients useful! I had a couple of people ask me about DIY hybrid reinkers and honestly I couldn’t tell you because I don’t use hybrid ink pads. I have nothing against them, I just already had lots of pigment and dye inks by the time they became popular. They are fast drying and fade resistant, I reckon you could use gouache and equal parts glycerin and distilled water (or drugstore rubbing alcohol) to reink them as you want a thinner pigment ink essentially but as I mentioned before if you really rely on an ink pad (especially a color you stamp outlines with and them color with wet mediums) I would get a reinker but if you are just going to trash it when it runs out then give the homemade version a try. I also got asked about Distress Oxide Inks and I actually bought the full set of reinkers and pads for the first 24 colors because the pads can be used up quick and I use it like paint direct from the pad. For those if I had to guess I’d mix liquid watercolor and white gouache. I have a faux distress oxide look tutorial here if you care to try and not buy:)

Don’t forget to use Lava soap to clean up your hands afterward! Happy crafting!