Tuesday, May 26, 2009

More fun with Alcohol Inks

I learned a very cool technique recently and have been having lots of fun experimenting. I created a card using Heidi Swapp ghost shapes (Thick clear plastic that comes in a variety of shapes and sizes), alcohol inks, and archival black dye ink.

First I inked up my butterfly (Heidi Swapp XL Ghost Shape) with cranberry and butterscotch alchol inks. I set it aside for a few seconds to dry. Then I inked up a flourish stamp with black archival dye ink (you have to use archival ink or this won't work). I stamped my flourish onto my butterfly and then immediately wiped the black archival ink off with paper towel. Wherever the archival ink was, it picked up the alcohol ink and left a clear impression of the flourish stamp. The rest of the butterfly was left untouched because the alcohol inks were already dry and set to the plastic. To enhance the image I outlined it with stickles. Pretty cool eh?!

I cut out my sentiment using the Cuttin Up cartridge with the serif function. The swirl behind the butterfly was cut using Graphically Speaking. I added some stickles to the cuts for added sparkle and to bring out the stickles on the butterfly.

The white background paper was embossed with the swiss dots cuttlebug folder.

I highly recommend this technique it is fun, easy, and very eye catching. Just be sure to use archival ink and a fat solid image for the best results.

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