I adore Toybox’s Monoprinting technique book. It has become my go to book for creating fantasy colored glossy cardstock. I’ve altered their instructions by using thin recycled plastic instead of acetate book report covers. I like to use shrink wrap and scrapbooking packaging, (as long as it can be slightly crinkled in your hand then it is good! ).

First, you need 2-3 different colors of DYE INK, a sheet of glossy cardstock, (I have also tried glossy photo paper but it doesn’t look as nice to me), and any old recycled thin plastic! Lightly ink on your plastic with the lightest color ink first. Fold the plastic in half and have fun crinkling it and using your fingers to tap a little pattern on to it. Open up the plastic and dip your glossy paper glossy side down. You can do this step over and over again by refolding and crinkling the plastic the way you like. Next, I use the darker colored inks and tap around random spots onto the plastic and dip my glossy paper onto it.

Adirondack sprays make a great finishing touch. Also, StazOn Black ink did work for this technique but dries quickly. The last thing I did for my purple colored cards was to rub purple ink onto the card over a dried background. It gives a dimension to the artwork, each one is so unique! I have also tried monoprinting on MATTE Glossy cardstock and I liked lighter colors best, and rubbing the inks into the cardstock as well made a watercolor look instead of a marbled effect. Have fun trying this technique out!