Bamboo Tiles - Adding Color

I colored up some bamboo tiles I've been talking about and have some samples ready to share. As I mentioned before these tiles have a great glossy surface to work with so there are several ways to use them.

Alcohol Inks -

Since their surface is sealed Alcohol Inks work perfectly. I have brown and tan (ivory) tiles so I applied the ink to both so you could see the difference. Both show the color quite well - the darker tiles show more of the bamboo grain when the ink has been applied which I thought was odd. You would think it would show up more on the lighter color. The tiles take the ink as well as dominoes so nothing special needs to be done to the tiles before using.

Krylon Leafing Pens -

O.k. these are way cool - if you've never tried Krylon leafing pens you must run out and buy a couple...they are THE best when you want a metallic finish. I use them all the time along the edges of my cards. Very dependable and great color. Each tile was colored with one coat - Gold, Copper & Silver. Great finish and quick to dry as well.

Stewart Gill Paints, Perfect Pearls, Twinkling H2O's

Here is a mixed bag of mediums for you....

Stewart Gill Paints - (blue) These things rock! I love their brilliant colors - very striking. I applied the paint over the coated surface so it took 2 coats. If you sand the tiles first I'm sure one coat would do the trick but since the paints have a bit of a transparent quality to them 2 or more is a must on the glossy surface.

Perfect Pearls - (multi colored tile) These were fun...simply pounce the Perfect Medium onto the tile and coat with the powders. You will need to seal the powders but let the tile dry/cure for a bit. You want to make sure the Perfect Medium has dried before you go adding another liquid to the mix. It will smear if you don't.

Twinkling H2O's - (pink) Sanding is a MUST with the H2O's. The pigments just bead up and roll right off on the glossy surface so just pull out a piece of sand paper and take that glossy layer off the tiles. Once you remove that coating the Twinkling H2O's work perfect.

Stamping on Tiles -

O.k. this pic didn't turn out worth a hoot...not sure what's up with that but I'll try and get a better pic tomorrow.

Since this is a glossy surface stamp with either Archival or Staz-On type ink....I think some of the hybrids might work too but I don't have any so I can't say for sure. Just ink and stamp. Let them dry of course and you'll be good to go :) Works like a charm.

(The images btw are from The Enchanted Gallery - GREAT STUFF!!!)

Adding Collage Images -

Adding collage images are easy to do...I just snipped the image to the correct size, applied it to the tile using Glossy Accents and covered the image with GA. I was too impatient to wait for it to dry so I just snapped the pic. (It will dry crystal clear.) I only added the Tuscan Rose image to the front but you could add another to the back for a double sided charm.

So there you go... a few ideas to get you starting playing with those tiles....

Now, you're saying but I don't have any?!?!?

WELL, no fear....

Just post a comment here and you could be one of 5 lucky folks to win a bag of 20 tiles for yourself. (10 brown & 10 ivory/tan)

You have until 1-10-09 to enter!!

Happy Stamping Friends!!