I use a sponge - I cut up a kitchen sponge, dabble it in the ink, and smear the sponge on the paper.
I experiment with different smear / blotting patterns and like the variety. I've seen people use multiple colors of the paper to give it more texture and depth - but this project is so temporary to me it's not necessary. (I also use it for scrapbooking, which I can totally see the want for more colors and depth.)
I should add: when I blotted the ink directly on the paper I wasn't happy with the result. (I didn't realize you needed a sponge until recently.) It was too "squared" and not at all the look I was going for; it didn't get on all of the paper and just looked odd to me. I was thrilled with the sponge results.