Going With The Flow – Alcohol Inks

GOING WITH THE FLOW – ALCOHOL INKS

Hello stamping friend! I hope that you had a great weekend, and also had a chance to see my post on Saturday. Yes – Saturday! I don’t normally post on a weekend, but it was for our Scrap ‘N Stamp Design Team blog. I shared 3 different techniques using on stencil. It was tons of fun, and I got to get inky & messy! Be sure to read it IN THIS POST, if you missed it.  Today I’m sharing another fun technique – going with the flow – alcohol inks.  Using alcohol inks is a bit different from ‘regular’ inks; you don’t apply them with a stamp, but in other ways. On my card today, I used the ink direct to paper, with some special blending solution.

FLOWING INKS

Alcohol inks dry very fast, so for best results, you should use a specialty medium such as Yupo Medium,, or a glossy photo paper. Yupo Medium isn’t actually a paper; it’s a “synthetic, tree-free paper, that is everlasting, and non-absorbent”. In fact, you can wipe the ink off of the Yupo if you’re not happy with how it looks! The ink also retains is true brightness, because it doesn’t get absorbed.

Doesn’t this look like fun to create?! And it was!!

CARD DETAILS

First, start with a panel of Yupo Medium, cut to 4″ x 5 1/4″. Decide which direction you want your ink to flow. In this case, I wanted it going diagonal from corner to corner. Take your Alcohol Ink Blending Solution, which is colourless, and spread several drops across the panel, in the direction you’ll be adding your ink. Next, take your first colour of alcohol ink, and apply some drops onto the panel. You’ll notice that when it touches the blending solution, it reacts and spreads. The blending solution also slightly lightens the intensity of the ink, so keep that in mind as you’re adding it.

To create movement of the ink, you can do a couple of different things. You can tilt your panel in different directions, causing it to flow. You can also use a straw or other device to direct air onto the ink, pushing it along. I found that a straw caused me to get rather light-headed, so I now use this cool air blower, that is actually meant to be used in cleaning camera lenses! It works a treat, and I don’t get dizzy!

Next, add your second alcohol ink. The first ink I applied was Amethyst, and then I applied a Gold Mixative.  Add more of the blending solution, to keep the inks fluid, so that you can move them where you want.

Once you’re happy with the colours and blend, set your panel aside to dry. It doesn’t take very long; as I said, alcohol inks dry very quickly, especially as they’re not absorbed into the Yupo Medium.  So unless you’ve created a large puddle of ink, it’ll be dry in a few seconds.

In the close-up photo below, you can see the mixing of the purple with the gold. I think it looks like clouds, swirling together!

CREATE YOUR CARD

The ink is so gorgeous on it’s own, I wanted it to be the focal point of the card. So, I simply die cut a sentiment to attach to the lower left corner. Die cut the sentiment 3 times; twice in black cardstock, and once in gold foil cardstock. Layer them all directly on top of each other. The easy way to do this is by first applying Stick It adhesive sheets to the back of the cardstock before die cutting. Then you just have to peel off the backing, and stack them together. If you’ve forgotten to do that, just use liquid glue.

Add a few gold enamel stars to the panel, and then attach it to a black cardstock base, with foam tape.

HAVE SOME FUN YOURSELF!

I highly recommend going with the flow – alcohol inks style! I was  having such fun I did several panels with different colours; I’ll share those another time. If you’d like to get creative, I’ve included links below for you to order online. I only recommend stores I do business with myself, and products that I’ve used. That way, you know you’re getting quality products and service! Have fun – and leave a comment, to let me know what you think!

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