Polished Stone Technique

First of all I want to say that there are many many ways to do this technique. Some people use alcohol inks and felt; others use reinkers and cotton; others metallic leafing pens; and there are even some that use stamp pads to do this technique. But this is the way that I do it -- probably because it's readily available -- I already have the reinkers in many colors and cotton is cheap! :) And - this works for me! If you are not satisfied with this tutorial, and are not getting the results you want, there are many resources out there for Polished Stone -- just google it! (I apologize for the glare in the pictures -- glossy likes to shine!)

Supplies needed:
Glossy paper

Reinkers in 2 or 3 colors (more than 3 turns muddy)- These are regular dye ink, not alcohol inks.

Cotton balls

Rubbing alcohol

Start by choosing 2-3 colors that you like together. At the end of this tutorial, I will be listing some of my favorites that you can try. I love blues, so I chose Taken With Teal, Bordering Blue and Metallic Gold. Saturate your cotton ball with alcohol. I put 2-3 drops of each color in a random pattern on the cotton, alternating colors (think of the pattern of the number 5 on dice).

Quickly begin pouncing your cotton all over the glossy paper randomly. (I don't cut my glossy until after it dries.)
If you move too slowly, the alcohol will dry too quickly and you won't get the meshing of colors like you want.
Continue pouncing until the area is filled in, even pouncing on top of previous areas.
Next step is easy! Let it dry!
If you are using a metallic pigment ink, it will take longer to dry than if you are just using dye inks. Dye inks will dry within a few minutes; pigment metallics added in (like my gold) may take overnight. I never use my heat gun to dry these, it sometimes takes the vibrancy of the color out.


Once it has dried, I cut it to the size I want and it is ready for a card! If you move it under the light, you will be able to see the gold better. Check back tomorrow to see what I made with this piece of Polished Stone!

Check out the slide show (scroll down to the bottom of the blog) for a few other pictures of this technique using different colors. Sometimes I want a definite contrast and will keep dark and light separate, and sometimes I want a more subdued subtle stone look and will blend the colors more. I don't always have a metallic in the colors either -- just depends on the mood I'm in and what I want to make! Have fun with this! Practice makes it better. And don't throw any away! Trim them, put them away for a day, try them with different cardstock colors, and you may end up liking everything you made!!

POLISHED STONE COLOR COMBINATIONS to try -- and then make up your own! Any good ones? Let me know!
1. Only Orange/Really Rust
2. Green Galore/Garden Green/Gold (looks like real marble)
3. Only Orange/Really Rust/Bravo Burgundy w/Gold
4. More Mustard/Barely Banana/Gold (very nice)
5. Old Olive/Mellow Moss
6. Creamy Caramel/Close to Cocoa
7. Real Red/Summer Sun
8. Pale Plum/Perfect Plum/Almost Amethyst
9. Lavender Lace/Almost Amethyst/Platinum or Silver (very nice)
10. Summer Sun/Mellow Moss
11. Taken With Teal/Bordering Blue/Gold
12. Elegant Eggplant/Old Olive/Gold
13. Bravo Burgundy/Regal Rose/Silver
14. Handsome Hunter/Creamy Caramel/Platinum (looks like real marble)
15. Handsome Hunter/Bravo Burgundy
16. Bashful Blue/Green Galore/YoYo Yellow
17. Lovely Lilac/Taken with Teal/Brilliant Blue
18. YoYo Yellow/Tempting Turquoise
19. Real Red/Elegant Eggplant (gorgeous)
20. Mellow Moss/Bashful Blue
21. Cameo Coral/Close to Cocoa/Black (vintage look)
22. Pretty in Pink/Going Gray/Silver (very nice)
23. Elegant Eggplant/Real Red/Goldrush (gorgeous)
24. Summer Sun/Cameo Coral