Wink of Stella and Wink of Luna Brush Ink
Video #730: Let’s see if the inks from these Japanese scrapbooking brushes are compatible with polymer clay, or not.
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IN THIS POST: — wink of stella — wink of luna — pigment ink brushes — kuretake — golden polymer varnish — picreator — renaissance wax — (Topics marked with an asterick* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
Today in the PcT Test Lab, we are going to answer the question… “Will Wink of Stella & Wink of Luna, work with polymer clay?”
If you have never heard of these Wink products, they are a water based pigment ink in a brush pen that is designed to add sparkle to your paper projects. They are made by a Japanese company, Kuretake.
There are two lines of these brush ink pens… Wink of Stella, which is a line of glitter inks… and Wink of Luna which are Metallic Inks.
Being a water based pigment ink, I figured it probably would be compatible with polymer clay, so I wanted to bring it to the PcT Test Lab to find out.
I added the Wink of Luna ink to some sample pieces over 6 months ago, so that they had a good length of time to properly test for compatibility.
In the video when I showed how they work on paper, unfortunately the lighting does not show off the fabulous sparkle of the Wink of Stella pen, which is too bad, because it is very pretty!
For my polymer clay samples, I tested the Gold Wink of Luna pen on two types of polymer clay… (1) White Premo Sculpey and (2) Igloo Sculpey Souffle. For both the Premo and the Souffle samples I tested the ink on raw clay which was then baked… and I also tested on clay that was already baked.
As well, I apply sealers such as Renaissance Wax and Golden Polymer Gloss Varnish, to see if the ink would bleed or smear during application.
Watch the video to see how things turned out...
00:00:03 –> 00:00:04 Hi guys! This is Cindy Lietz,
00:00:04 –> 00:00:07 your Polymer Clay Tutor, and today in the PCT Test Lab, we’re going
00:00:07 –> 00:00:14 to answer the question: Will Wink of Stella or Wink of Luna work with polymer clay?
00:00:14 –> 00:00:22 Now, if you have no idea what Wink of Stella or wink of Luna is well it is a water-based
00:00:22 –> 00:00:31 pigment ink brush pen and it’s actually designed for scrapbooking.
00:00:31 –> 00:00:37 It’s a product made by Kuretake and it’s in the Zig line.
00:00:37 –> 00:00:43 And there’s two lines of these pens, they’ve got– they’re really quite cool.
00:00:43 –> 00:00:52 There’s the– the Stell– the Wink of Stella line which is a glitter, it’s like a glitter
00:00:52 –> 00:00:54 ink and there’s lots of different colors.
00:00:54 –> 00:01:03 This happens to be clear with kind of a platinum-colored glitter in it and this really wonderful brush
00:01:03 –> 00:01:07 tip pin at the top.
00:01:07 –> 00:01:15 And then they’re Wink of Luna line is– it’s all metallic so this is actually the gold
00:01:15 –> 00:01:20 pen in the line and they have quite a few colors in each of the line and being a water-base
00:01:20 –> 00:01:25 pigment ink, I figured it would probably work well with polymer clay so I wanted to test
00:01:25 –> 00:01:26 it.
00:01:26 –> 00:01:31 So I’ve got some samples here that I’m going to show you in a second but first we’ll just
00:01:31 –> 00:01:35 kind of show you a little bit about how the Pens work and how what they were designed
00:01:35 –> 00:01:36 for.
00:01:36 –> 00:01:43 Now, like I said, these are– there’s an ink in the pen and it’s like a brush so I’ve got
00:01:43 –> 00:01:47 a little piece of white paper and a piece of black paper just so you can see the difference
00:01:47 –> 00:01:50 of the two on the two different colors.
00:01:50 –> 00:01:55 On white it is quite clear, you can barely see it but it just gives a hint of a shimmer
00:01:55 –> 00:01:56 on top.
00:01:56 –> 00:02:02 On black, it’s the same sort of thing it’s this is the clear glitter so it’s got this
00:02:02 –> 00:02:11 shimmer to it and but it what it’s really designed to do is use on top of links, say
00:02:11 –> 00:02:18 a stamped image, so here I’ve got like a little strawberry stamped on some clay and you can
00:02:18 –> 00:02:24 just color in the image if you want, give it little highlights, if you want to give
00:02:24 –> 00:02:30 the whole thing and sparkle you can do that and it’s just really subtle and really quite
00:02:30 –> 00:02:32 lovely.
00:02:32 –> 00:02:37 Now the– is the– are you can be able to see that Doug?
00:02:37 –> 00:02:45 How neat that looks? and with the wink of Luna, and I– I think of the two between the
00:02:45 –> 00:02:50 the name’s, Stella is obviously a star the stars and glitter that kind of makes sense
00:02:50 –> 00:02:55 like the sparkles and then with Luna, I think of the Moon obviously because that’s what
00:02:55 –> 00:03:01 Luna really means but then I think of metallic with Luna but the metallic is a little bit
00:03:01 –> 00:03:02 different.
00:03:02 –> 00:03:07 It’s– it’s shiny but it’s not as sparkly so it has a very metallic kind of look and
00:03:07 –> 00:03:14 the neat thing about these pens is that you can go super fine lines with it or you can
00:03:14 –> 00:03:17 press straight down and get really wide brush strokes.
00:03:17 –> 00:03:22 So you can do some wonderful painting and all sorts of cool things with it now because
00:03:22 –> 00:03:29 it was designed to go on paper, I wanted to test to see if it would work on polymer clay
00:03:29 –> 00:03:34 because paper’s obviously absorbent and polymer clay isn’t really.
00:03:34 –> 00:03:39 So I’ve got a couple of samples here that I have banked up.
00:03:39 –> 00:03:46 Now I did–I only own the link of Luna pen at the time when I did these samples but the
00:03:46 –> 00:03:52 inks are the same, they’re based the same way but I did these back in November so they’re
00:03:52 –> 00:04:01 over six months old and I did two sample chips here using Premo clay and these two sample
00:04:01 –> 00:04:08 chips here using Soufflé clay just to show that there’s a little– if there– to see
00:04:08 –> 00:04:12 if there was going to be any difference between of a different clay or not.
00:04:12 –> 00:04:20 And I also did two samples each so I did one where I painted onto raw clay and then baked
00:04:20 –> 00:04:27 it and the one where I painted onto baked clay already and then just left it.
00:04:27 –> 00:04:37 So I can see after six months, I can see that it is compatible as far as it’s not smudging,
00:04:37 –> 00:04:42 it’s not sticky and it’s not– it’s not doing anything odd to it.
00:04:42 –> 00:04:47 You can usually tell that after six months, if it hasn’t done anything odd, then it’s
00:04:47 –> 00:04:52 going to be fine the one thing I wanted to test though was the difference to see how
00:04:52 –> 00:04:58 durable it was because I’m not positive how much binders would be in something like that
00:04:58 –> 00:04:59 if it’s meant for paper.
00:04:59 –> 00:05:04 So I’m just going to scratch it with my nail and see.
00:05:04 –> 00:05:11 Now this is the one where I put it on raw and actually that looks really really tough
00:05:11 –> 00:05:14 so that’s cool.
00:05:14 –> 00:05:19 So that– that’s really cool, I was thinking it might lift off a little bit but that’s
00:05:19 –> 00:05:20 really tough.
00:05:20 –> 00:05:26 So on– it doesn’t even look like it needs a coating at all.
00:05:26 –> 00:05:32 So on a raw polymer clay and baked, so basically, it becomes heat set it works really well.
00:05:32 –> 00:05:34 So that’s exciting actually.
00:05:34 –> 00:05:41 Now let’s try the cake to sample this is both, this is on Premo by the way, this is where
00:05:41 –> 00:05:44 I put the paint onto a baked piece already.
00:05:44 –> 00:05:49 Oh yeah, okay, see that?
00:05:49 –> 00:05:56 See it smudging so it does need that that heat set to it to really become bonded with
00:05:56 –> 00:06:03 the clay and that’s what I was wondering about because sometimes an ink like that will just
00:06:03 –> 00:06:05 kind of sit on the surface.
00:06:05 –> 00:06:12 So it is better suited adding it to the raw clay, I mean I’m painting it on raw clay,
00:06:12 –> 00:06:13 before you bake it.
00:06:13 –> 00:06:18 Now let’s see if it’s the same thing with the Soufflé clay I suspect it would be but
00:06:18 –> 00:06:19 we’ll see.
00:06:19 –> 00:06:24 Ok, so this is the one that was raw.
00:06:24 –> 00:06:29 Yeah it’s really on there were really well.
00:06:29 –> 00:06:33 It’s not scratching up or smudging or doing anything.
00:06:33 –> 00:06:36 And let’s see on the baked one.
00:06:36 –> 00:06:41 That’s on there pretty good but it is smudging a little bit.
00:06:41 –> 00:06:50 So, if you were going to add this any either of these inks to a baked piece already, you
00:06:50 –> 00:06:55 would probably need to seal it and that was another quick thing that I wanted to test,
00:06:55 –> 00:07:03 to see if any sealers would smudge it so let’s take these baked ones since the some they
00:07:03 –> 00:07:04 did so well.
00:07:04 –> 00:07:16 Let’s see if sealing it with some Renaissance Wax is going to lift up the paint at all.
00:07:16 –> 00:07:22 Just take a little bit on this piece of sponge and rub it on.
00:07:22 –> 00:07:28 I’m not seeing it really remove anything.
00:07:28 –> 00:07:34 Oh it might if I was to rub really hard.
00:07:34 –> 00:07:40 There’s a slight– it doesn’t seem to be coming off too much but then I am seeing some color
00:07:40 –> 00:07:48 on my on my felt here so it’s probably lifting it a little bit there.
00:07:48 –> 00:07:57 Let’s try a different spot on– on the– well it’s going to even do it more so on here.
00:07:57 –> 00:08:01 Yeah it’s going to smear it a lot there.
00:08:01 –> 00:08:08 OK, so on the on the raw piece the baked– the Renaissance wax isn’t the best option
00:08:08 –> 00:08:09 there.
00:08:09 –> 00:08:15 Now and another thing I want to try quickly to see if a varnish would smear it or do anything
00:08:15 –> 00:08:21 – and it’s always good to test things you guys.
00:08:21 –> 00:08:28 This is Golden’s Acrylic Varnish– Polymer Varnish this is the high gloss one this one’s
00:08:28 –> 00:08:30 already been diluted.
00:08:30 –> 00:08:37 I –now which one do I dilute this with with about twenty percent water and OK, so I’ve
00:08:37 –> 00:08:43 just got this on a brush and want to see if it lifts up or does anything.
00:08:43 –> 00:08:51 No, it looks really clean so it doesn’t look like it’s going to be an issue with varnishes
00:08:51 –> 00:08:55 and things, just with the Renaissance wax, probably.
00:08:55 –> 00:08:59 You know, every product is a little bit different.
00:08:59 –> 00:09:06 Now, PYMII – if you had put it on a baked piece something like PYMII would be great
00:09:06 –> 00:09:11 because you can just spray it on and it wouldn’t disturb it and it would seal it in so you
00:09:11 –> 00:09:15 wouldn’t get this smudging thing happening if you decide to use it on a piece that was
00:09:15 –> 00:09:17 already baked.
00:09:17 –> 00:09:20 Or you could try heat-setting it.
00:09:20 –> 00:09:26 I’m not positive because I haven’t tried that, I’m not positive whether the heat set would
00:09:26 –> 00:09:31 make much of a difference if it wasn’t on the raw clay or not because it in– I feel
00:09:31 –> 00:09:37 like it might need to bond with that clay during the baking process but I could be wrong.
00:09:37 –> 00:09:39 That would be a fun thing to test as well.
00:09:39 –> 00:09:46 So, I am excited about this product I think there’s– I actually bought these myself at
00:09:46 –> 00:09:51 Michaels so they’re around, you can find them in lots of different places and they are a
00:09:51 –> 00:09:56 really neat little– neat little tool.
00:09:56 –> 00:10:00 Now, what I could have used it on, is something like this.
00:10:00 –> 00:10:09 Now this is like Dogwood Flower Pendant I did a long time ago where I used the– I used
00:10:09 –> 00:10:10 PearlEx Powders and things.
00:10:10 –> 00:10:17 You could easily use the glitter pen to highlight areas on here, around the edges, it’d be a
00:10:17 –> 00:10:25 wonderful thing to add to something like these little Foxglove Earrings, you could put the
00:10:25 –> 00:10:26 little sparkles on the inside.
00:10:26 –> 00:10:32 I would, like I said, I would do it all when the clay was raw and rather than baked because
00:10:32 –> 00:10:35 we can see that’s where it is the most compatible.
00:10:35 –> 00:10:37 Alright?
00:10:37 –> 00:10:39 So I hope this was helpful for you.
00:10:39 –> 00:10:45 If it was, do let us know if you like this video and if you’ve got a product you like
00:10:45 –> 00:10:52 me to test with polymer clay or you’ve got a technique that you don’t understand or something
00:10:52 –> 00:10:58 you just want to learn more about with polymer clay and you haven’t found a video on it yet,
00:10:58 –> 00:11:04 then make sure to suggest in the comments section below and maybe we can make a video
00:11:04 –> 00:11:10 for you. Alright, so we’ll see you next time and bye for now.
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Resource Links:
- Amazon: Wink of Luna, Wink of Stella **
- Related Video: Sculpey Souffle Polymer Clay
- Related Video: Renaissance Wax On Polymer Clay
- Related Video: PYM II Polymer Clay Safe Spray Finish
- Related Video: Sealing Polymer Clay Best Practices
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Hi Cindy,
Thanks again for a great video, I don’t have the wink of stella pens instead I have the range of Spectrum Noir products and their equivalent to wink of stella is the sparkle pens in a range of colours. But not knowing how they would work with polymer clay I’ve set up a test based on the test you have done in this tutorial. I have used Premol Sculpey; Souffle and Fimo Professional and tested the following Spectrum Noir products with each Spectrum Alcohol Markers; Spectrum Sparkle pens; Spectrum Aqua pens and Spectrum Aqua Tints. Applied each to a little square of each clay then baked. Also baked some blank discs and applied the same products to the baked discs. I then thought I wonder how the sparkle pens and the Aqua Tints would react when blended in to Translucent and Souffle so tried that too. In your video you say you wait 6 months to see how they finally stand up to things so if you wish I will update you after a couple of month intervals. I can say immediately though that when applying the Sparkle pens and Aqua Tints to the baked clay it forms globules and smudged even after a couple of days just barely touching. the clay so on these at one corner I have applied a little Golden varnish diluted 4:1 (varnish:water) I am documenting at each stage.
I had heard about these pens before but really didn’t know what they were. I just assumed they were another alcohol pen but they are really different. I like the way the brush works from fine line to broad stroke. I might need to invest in these in the future. Thanks so much for showing them to us Cindy!
You’re welcome Dixie Ann! I think they would be cool to refill with something else once they were finished too… even if it was just water. The brush is so lovely to use.
This sounds cool! Good to know it is better on raw clay. I might try putting it on baked clay and then re-bake it to see what happens. Haven’t done the Dogwood Flower in awhile. May have to revisit that tute soon!! (Cindy, sounds like you have a cold. If so, I hope you feel better soon!)
Do let us know how well it fairs when heat set on baked clay, Catalina. I would be interested in the results. Yes I have a cold of sorts… more like one of those walking pneumonia that sits in your lungs and throat for an eternity. I don’t feel bad any more though, so that’s good.