Alcohol Ink Technique and Koi Dies: Love Our Life Together
Alcohol inks…it’s all the rage…again!
There are so many fabulous artists out there that have inspired me recently; Tim Holtz, Jennifer McGuire, Jessica-Frost Ballas, Emily Midgett, and Erica (cacacraft on instagram) to name a few. I was in the mood to just play a little bit yesterday so I pulled out the inks and started experimenting.
If you only have time to look at the pictures make sure to scroll to the end, and read the last paragraph, to see my “oops…” moment.
____________________
One of the techniques that I wanted to try was alcohol inks floated on water. I found an old plastic picture frame box and filled it with about a half inch of water.
I dropped different shades of yellows and oranges into the water and a couple of drops of blending solution. I gently swirled it around and then slid a 5.5 x 4.25 piece of regular Neenah Solar White paper into it. It’s really different. You have absolutely no control over the process! Sometimes the backs are even prettier than the fronts. You get what you get.
I laid the piece aside to dry and added a second piece of paper. The results were much lighter. You can keep adding more ink to the water without changing it as long as you stay in the same color family.
I changed the water and started to work with shades of blues and greens. Because my container was so big I realized that I could add two half sheets of paper at the same time, or even a whole sheet. Instead of sliding them into the water I just laid them on top. You don’t get the color on the back but it is much faster and more efficient.
I left the pieces to dry overnight. The colors are much more vibrant after they dry. Because you are working on regular cardstock they are also heavily warped. To flatten them, place them between a piece of folded copy paper and iron them or place them between your plastic plates and run them through your die cutting machine.
Today, for the card, I wanted to use two new dies from Poppy Stamps, the Curious Koi and the Elegant Koi.
While I had no control of the background papers I did want to have some control of the placement of the dies. The dies are solid so it is difficult to place them precisely. First, I cut them out of white cardstock. Putting Press’n Seal on the back helps to keep the pieces in order.
I used the leftover opening as a frame to pick out the background that I wanted. I placed the outline back in as well to see if I liked the results.
Next, I removed the outline and placed the die back into the cutout. You will feel when it falls into place. Tape it down and run it through your machine. I laid Press’n Seal on the back of these pieces as well to keep them in order. (see pics above and below)
I chose a blue background and glued the koi white outlines on top. It is easy to add glue to the openings and inlay the colored pieces.
Next, I stamped the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp “Hey Love” stamp set series. I die cut four “loves” out of black cardstock using the coordinating die and glued them together.
To finish the card I added blacks dot to the eyes with a Gelly Roll pen and then added glossy accents on top.
Full disclosure: After I finished the card and this tutorial I realized that both of my koi fish were upside down. Yep…upside down! Go ahead, turn your computer upside down and look. I’ll wait for you. I am sitting here shaking my head in total disbelief. I am hoping that if it took me that long to figure it out maybe nobody else will notice…or care. Also, I am not starting over! I still have the colored outlines to make another card. I will do better and get that one right! LOL
Joyfully, Jo Ann
