Anything New with Die Cut Diva's

Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season was wonderful!  Since it is a new year, Die Cut Diva's has chosen the January 2019 challenge to be Anything New and we are sponsored by the fabulous Bugaboo Digi's.  Bugaboo is offering a

$12 gift certificate to our winner; you can get some great digi's with that much credit!  For my Anything New entry I used these Altenew dies which are brand new and, honestly,  I probably would not have purchased them myself, so I consider them a new design for me as well.  They came in a box of stamps and dies I had bought from a designer; lots of popular designers get so much given to them and they typically design for more than one team, that they can't possibly use it all.  Now, since they can't resell the items {which I didn't know}, a few have put together charity boxes where they stuff as much product as they can into a box, sell the box, and then the proceeds go to their charity of choice.  It's a win for everyone; the designers get to clear out some stash, the buyer gets FANTASTIC deals on stuff, and the charity gets money!  

What I Used to Make My Card:
White Card Base
Grey,  White, Yellow, Red, Orange, Blue, Green & Purple Card
Altenew Shattered Triangles Die Set, #ALT2031
Die-Namics Fishtail Sentiments Strips Die
Altenew Painted Rose Stamps, #ALT1542
Wendy Vecchi Ink in Watering Can
Line Stitched Die {literally a metal line with a pattern on it - manufacturer unknown}
3mm Crystals
Orange Copic Marker

Click to make photo larger

The first step in making this card was cutting out all of the triangles.  I used the smaller set of dies and I first cut out the top of six triangles in white, which are actually the detailed dies in the picture, then cut out the bases, the solid die.  I made a "cheat" sheet of how the dies look so it would be easier for you to understand my references.  Then I cut out the colors using the detailed top again.  I chose muted primary colors - not exactly pastel but I didn't want the colors to be the focus of attention.  I wanted you to notice the intricate detailed "tops." 

Tons of Triangles

Once all the triangles were pieced together and glued, I set them aside.  I cut a panel from gray card and covered the white card base.  Then I used the fishtail die to cut a small banner.  The sentiment was stamped onto a scrap piece of white card.  I wanted some stitching on the sentiment panel but I don't have a die the right size; this is where the line dies come in handy.  I used the stitched one and put stitching on the top and bottom of the sentiment, tucked the gray banner under it, and attached those to the card.  While I was pleased with the triangles, I felt they need a little something more so I put matching gems on each one.  I didn't have an orange gem to match so I colored a clear one with an orange Copic marker.

Finally, after trying out many configurations, I decided to just glue the triangles

Another Peek

randomly onto the card.  I did keep the colors in rainbow order but I didn't place the triangles in any special manner.  I love this card and I'm already thinking of ways to use these triangles; I could cut them out in red and green for the holidays, metallics for special occasions, and tones of red for Valentine's Day!  Making this card has opened up so many possibilities for the geometric dies I have.  I'm thinking of how I could use all the shapes I have in different ways, other than just to mat images or sentiments.  

I hope your imagination has gotten a bit of a spark from this creation and you look at your geometric shape dies in a different way!  I especially hope to see your Anything New entry in this month's challenge.  It's the perfect time to try a new technique, new stamp set, and of course, new dies!  Thank you so much for stopping by!  I'd love to visit you back so be sure to leave your blog, Instagram and/or Pinterest link in your comment.  See you again soon!   Fondly, Christi

Since I posted this late, I am now entering my Card in the following challenges:
Fab 'n Funky - #422, New Beginnings {well, new product?}
City Crafter - #444, Give Piece a Chance
Cuttlebug Mania - New {new product}
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Use Something New
Make my Monday - #87, Use Words or a Sentiment
Challenge Up Your Life - #103, New {new product}
Papercraft Business Challenge - Anything Goes, option of New Beginnings 
Take It, Make It - M, Anything Goes
Cardz TV - #80, Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes w/ Dies

House of Cards End of Term Blog Hop

Wow, did the last six months fly by or what!?!? For our end of term Blog Hop here at House of Cards, we are offering the lovely inspirational photo below or you can use the theme of ANYTHING GOES! I wish I could stay on with the fabulous & talented group of ladies but, due to some ongoing health issues, I feel it is in the best interest of the blog that I step down.  However, no need to be sad! The team is carrying on and will have many more challenges for you to enter, and, it's the perfect time for you to follow me so you don't miss a post! Before I get into the hop, let me share this card I made, actually using a digi stamp from Digistamps4joy (if you are a follower/reader of my blog you know I do not do well with digital stamps) and this time I think I did fairly well!

First:

This hop will run FROM June 1st AT 6:00 AM CST THROUGH June 15th
 AT NOON CST.  ANY CARD STYLE is welcome and we've got a gorgeous photo inspiration for your crafting enjoyment!

Here is the photo inspiration~

And, here is my Card:

What I Used to Make my Card:

Light Blue Card Base

White Cardstock Panel

Digi Stamp from Digistamps4joy Coral Corner

Copics & Spectrum Noir Markers

Wink of Stella in Clear

Hero Arts Ink in Intense Black

Various Colored Cardstock

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Kit, May 2017, #heroarts 
Oxide Distress Ink in Broken China 

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Labels, #660060

Nuvo Crystal Drops in Duck Egg Blue, #680N

Pop Dots

I'm sure you want to get hopping, so I'll be extra quick with my tutorial.  I first

printed the coral stamp on some white card, trimmed out the panel, colored it with Copics and Spectrum Noir markers, then set it aside.  I stamped the mermaid with Intense Black Ink, colored her with the alcohol markers, die cut her with the matching dies (seriously, these Hero Arts kits are an amazing value!) and added some clear Wink of Stella to her fins.  I then stamped the fish on some colored cardstock, die cut them, and began to work on the placement of everything.  I adhered the white card panel to the blue

card base and stamped the sentiment on some light blue card and die cut it.  I Pop Dotted everything except the coral image, attached the items to the card, and finished off with some dots of Duck Egg Blue Nuvo Crystal Drops.  I've decided to start adding to my Copics collection as I really enjoyed coloring these images! 

So, are you ready to get hopping?!  Yep, it's time, but first we've got some 

fabulous sponsors  to share with you!  Make sure you leave a comment at each person's blog along the way because the prizes are hidden and we'll be doing random drawings from the blogs where they are hiding! :)  After you're done, make a creation to share with us here, too, for another chance to win!

Here are all of our fabulous sponsors.

MHKDesigns

Prize: Any three products of your choice!

All Dressed Up

Prize: 2 Images

Prize: $10 to use in store

Prize $10 Gift Certificate to use in store

 You should've arrived here from Judy's blog

and your next stop is Cohenna's blog

Here's your hop order in case you get lost along the way

 House of Cards Challenge Blog

Mynn | | Judy | Christi | Cohenna | Donna

 Em | Heather | Jane | Karen | Katarina | Maria 

Merethe | Michele |Nancy |  Paula | Rocky | Rosi 

Shawna | Shirley | Sue N. | Susan 

I am entering my Mermaid card in the following challenges:

Die Cuttin; Divas - #319, Anything Goes

The Cat's Pajamas - #336, Sun, Sea & Sand

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Come & Get it Challenge - Nautical

Mod Squad Challenge - Background Stash

Best of luck to you all!

And a HUGE thank you to my teamies, Judy and Mynn!!

Hugs, Christi

Through the Craft Room Door with Digital Delights

I thought Glitzy Gladys, from Digital Delights by Louby Loo,  was just so cute and springlike I had to use her for my pick for this week's challenge at Through the Craft Room Door.  Not only does TTCRD have a weekly Anything Goes Challenge, but they also publish a magazine every 2 months.  The magazine is full of tips, techniques, beautiful images and more.  If you aren't familiar with it I urge you to take a look either at the sneek peak on my sidebar or on the TTCRD home page.  Here is my card for this week:

If you are interested in how I made this card be sure to subscribe to the magazine!  I think this card would be so cute for a little girl, don't you?? I wish the computer showed a bit more of the detail, I actually used 2 different colored yellow Copics for her hair, but you can't really tell.  I'm learning how to use them, sort of ~ LOL.  And she is quite sparkly in person.  I love Wink of Stella pens!!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Don't forget to enter your creation at TTCRD! Fondly, Christi

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:
Cards in Envy - Just Purple
The Paper Girls - #100, The Paper Girls
Glitter 'n Sparkle - #180, Anything Goes
QKR Stampede - Add a Sentiment
Sparkles Monthly Challenge - (March) #78, Make it Girlie

Just Inklined at Through the Craft Room Door

Better late than never, right?? 

When I had to choose an image to use for Through the Craft Room Door's challenge from Just Inklined I struggled because I am so new at coloring I did't feel I could do any of the images justice.  I chose the hyacinths because my mom was a serious gardener (I personally can't grow a weed) and we always had an amazingly colorful backyard.  I loved the beautiful purple hyacinths and I plan on giving her this card. So, here is my attempt at this beautiful flower:

Honestly, it didn't come out as well as I wanted it to, but, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I only have about 20 Copic markers, so I try to fill in with water color pencils, gel pens or anything else I can think of.  I am not as nervous as I used to be working with the Copics, but I still have SOOOO much to learn.  I think if I had made the image bigger and used it as a wall hanging I would of been able to color it better - who knows, maybe that will be Mom's birthday gift!

Now it's your turn to enter your creation in the Anything Goes TTCRD challenge. You never know, you just might win! Thanks so much for stopping by! Christi

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:
DigiChooseday - Easter/Flowers
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - #29, Anything Goes
Dragonfly Dreams (M) - Use a Die Cut
Digitally Sweet - (M) - Spring is in the Air

Through the Craft Room Door with Morgan's Art World

Hello everyone and welcome to another challenge at Through the Craft Room Door.  You do know that every week there is a challenge and the theme is ALWAYS "Anything Goes?" Everyone should be entering since you don't even have to make a special card or project!  

http://www.artstampsstore.com/ 

This week the Design Team got to choose from absolutely beautiful images from Morgan's Art World - if I was better at coloring I would have been in heaven - I have a love for fairies and there are some amazing fae and other mythical creatures - do take a look! Since I am not an experienced colorer, I chose to work with "Valentine 12" , a beautiful and elegant rose:

I think I did ok - I am losing my fear of working with digi's and I am starting to look forward to coloring them - but don't tell anyone.

If you'd like to see more of my card, as well as my talented teammates, just go to Through the Craft Room Door - we'd love it if you'd let us know you were there! And, you'll find the linky for the "Anything Goes" Challenge, so why not link up? Thank you so much for stopping by ~ Fondly, Christi

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:
Cards in Envy - (ends 3/6) Tickled Pink
Suzy Bee's Blooming Challenge - #118, Anything Goes w/ a Twist of Mothering Sunday
Brown Sugar - #186, Anything Goes
Graph it - Spring Greens
Simply Create Too - #103,  Use Pink or Red

Butterflies at Through the Craft Room Door with Little Claire's

** Sorry for posting this late - had a monster of a migraine earlier!

A big hello to everyone this fine Tuesday!! This week the Design Team at Through the Craft Room Door got to play with images from Little Claire.

http://www.mylcdesigns.co.uk

Here is a sneak peek of my card - you can just see the sparkles on the butterflies

I chose the Butterfly Cage and I knew exactly how I was going to use the image.  To see how I made my card, including the supply list, just hop on over to Through the Craft Room Door Challenge Page.  And don't forget to enter the "Anything Goes" (always anything goes!) challenge! Thanks ~ Christi

PS: Please join my blog candy! The more who enter, the more goodies (and I have a TON of goodies!)


I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:
Left of Centre - #116, Things with Wings
Glitter 'N Sparkle - #174 Fireworks/Sparkle (I used Sparkles)
Cards and More - #151, Anything Goes
Avenue 613 - #162, Anything Goes
A Bit More Time to Craft - #13, Anything Goes

Dr. Digi at Through the Craft Room Door

This week the Design Team here at Through the Craft Room Door was able to play with some Dr. Digi's House of Stamps digi stamps.  

http://www.doctor-digi.com/

Since I have 5 cats (The Fabulous Feline Five) it was a natural that I would choose "Climbing Kitties" as my stamp. I actually have a HUGE cat tree in my living room and every one of my cats plays on it - even the 17 year old.  

I can go on and on about my cats like parents do about their kids - in fact, I think I'm worse!  Anyway, here is the card I made for inspiration:

Here is Sylvester helping me take pictures of the card.  He was SUCH a pain in the great help! Here is a clearer picture:

To get all the details on my card, and to enter your own "Anything Goes" card at Through the Craft Room Door, just click HERE.

Now I know you are dying to read all about my FFF, so I have actually put a page up on my blog - just go here: My Cats - The Fabulous Feline Five - be sure to grab a cup of tea or whatever - it's not a short page ;)

Thanks SO much for stopping by my blog today! Fondly, Christi

I would like to enter "Have a Purrfect Day" in the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew - #105, Anything Goes
City Crafter #296, For the Love of Pets
Creative Ladybird's Creations - #11, Anything Goes
AudSentiments #147- Anything Goes
The Cats Pajamas - #306, Anything Goes
SUYP - #2, Furrything Goes
613 Avenue - #160, Anything Goes
That Craft Place - (M) Anything Goes
Simply Papercraft - (M) #21, Anything Goes

Marvelous Metals at Twofers ~ Challenge #12

Hello crafters! Welcome to my post featuring the new challenge at Twofers, challenge #12, Metal, chosen by Zoe. This time I took the theme literal and made an embellishment out of metal! Here is my project, which could be hung on a wall, stood on an easel or framed:

What I Used to Make my Project:
White Card
Fredrix 4" x 6" Canvas Panel, painted prior
Tin (I used a soda can)
Copics: G17, V09, RV04, R29
Tria Marker in V564 (pantone purple)
Spellbinders Inspire Die Plum Blossom, IN-046
DieNamics MFT Pierced Oval Stax, MFT-521
Sentiment from Hero Arts, C2768 Moments (disc.)
Thin Gold Decorative Paper
Embossing Fluid
Embossing Powder in Gold

The first step in making this project is getting the tin can ready.  I rinsed the

The die taped to the tin, & the tin taped to the metal
adapter.  You'll have to tape the tin down because it
will keep rolling up on you.

can out thoroughly, set it out to dry overnight and then cut the can with tin snips (wearing gloves AND goggles!), removing the top and bottom.  That leaves you with a nice piece of tin to work with.  I have cut tin with dies before and the only thing that is different is you have to use a metal plate adapter when you are using low profile dies.  I have found that the "regular" dies from Tim Holtz will cut the tin without a plate but the low profile dies seem to need that extra push.  I bought mine at a stamp convention from Tesslar Stamps/Scrapbook USA, but I imagine you can get them from other sources as well.  

The die cut with one coat of green alcohol ink

Next you want to paint your 4" x 6" canvas panel.  Mine was already painted; I used acrylic paint, I think it was called Champagne Gold, but it was months ago. If you have to paint your panel, set it aside to dry and start coloring your tin die cut.

I wasn't sure that the Copics and Tria markers would work on the tin, but I was pleasantly surprised at how cool the

Close up of the flowers

colors blended together.  Be very careful holding the die cut, it is VERY sharp and while it appears harmless, it isn't.  I held mine down while coloring it, and I started with the branches, which I colored green.  I then colored the rest of the die, using pinks for the flower buds, pinks & purples for the flowers and red for the bird (I do love Cardinals!).

I found that the ink would sort of swirl together, giving the appearance of texture.  I let the ink dry a bit, but I did go over the die quite a few times to get the dept of color I wanted.  While I was coloring the die I moved on to getting the rest of the piece ready.

I cut the oval die cut out and the metallic gold paper. Then I embossed the sentiment using gold embossing powder.  While the stamp isn't manufactured any more, you can find it online.  I trimmed the sentiment, placed everything where I thought I wanted it to go and glued the gold background paper onto the panel, then the sentiment. 

Once I thought the tin die cut was colored enough, I glued it onto the oval and set it under the floor tiles I have on my desk.  The tin really didn't want to stay

Shiny!

straight, having been curled when it was a can, so I needed the weight of the tile to hold it flush with the paper and to ensure the whole die stuck.  I let it sit overnight.

The next day I attached the oval to the panel and I was done.  I love reusing items that would just be thrown out, and since we don't have bottle or can returns here in Colorado, I saved this can from the landfill.  Even if you do have can returns, it's worth the few cents to have a little crafty fun.  I'll be coloring with alcohol inks on tin more now that I saw how the inks reacted with each other.  I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and got some inspiration to join our Metal theme at Twofers.  You have TWO WEEKS to enter your project, just make sure you follow the rules, and you could win a $20 gift certificate to Alleystamps - yes, you can even pre-order all the new goodies coming out at CHA right now!!   

If you do have a moment, please stop by and marvel at the creations my wonderful teammates have made; you can visit Jane here and Zoe here.  Thanks so much for visiting and I'd love to hear what you think so please leave me a comment - Fondly ~ Christi 

I am entering my Marvelous Metals project in the following Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - #346 Not a Card
Addicted to Stamps - #176, Anything Goes
Scrappy Land - #33, Anything Goes (you carry Spellbinders)
Die Cuttin Diva's - #248, Tweet, Tweet Use a Bird
Stamping Sensations (M) - Anything Goes with a die(s)
Create And Inspire -#37, Anything Goes

Christmas Door Hanging at Through the Craft Room Door

This week at Through the Craft Room Door we are sponsored by the wonderful Anne Fenton. Her art can be found at Anne's Digital Art .

I chose the image Christmas Grapevine Wreath to make my wall hanging.

Here is a close up of the digi

If your curious on what I used to make my wall hanging please take a look at the TTCRD website. As always, the challenge is Anything Goes, so you can enter any of your creations! After you enter your piece of art, please take a look at my teammates' blog's - we all appreciate nice comments :) And be sure to check out the online magazine - it is chock full of inspiration and goodies that you won't see anywhere else - there is a small preview on the TTCRD website, at the top, under the title.

I plan on giving this to my Mom to hang on her apartment door - she lives in a high rise, so the piece won't get exposed to any inclement weather (in fact, as I write this, snow is once again on it's way to Denver, probably today! ~ edit: we got over 18" of snow and I couldn't get online ALL day!!) as it's really nothing but cardstock.

I hope your holiday preparations are going smoothly and I invite you to become a follower of mine and to help me reach my goal of 100 new followers in 2015. I only need a few more people and the clock is ticking! Fondly, Christi

I would like to enter my Christmas Door Hanging in the following challenges:
Paperminutes -#413, Winter Greetings
A Snowflakes Promise - #12, Winter/Christmas Theme
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - (month of December) Anything Goes Christmas
Unicorn Challenge - (M) #4, Winter Time
Use Your Stuff - #203, It's Christmas Time
The Paper Girls - #93, It's Christmas
Not Just Cards - (M) December
Come & Get It Challenge - (M) Anything Goes Christmas
Glitter 'n Sparkle - #167, Traditional or Non-Traditional Christmas Colors
That Craft Place - Christmas
Just Us Girls - #323, Sequins (there are little star sequins around the holly)

My first post as a member of the Through the Craft Room Door design team!

I was surprised to see an email from Through the Craft Room Door inviting ME to be on their Design Team - this was the first time I have ever been flat out asked with no previous knowledge and where I didn't apply.  After getting over the shock, I had to say yes.  Now, I need my readers and faithful followers to bear with me - this Design Team does things a bit differently than I am used to and while I am confident I will eventually get the hang of things, it may take a bit.

Every challenge at Through the Craft Room Door is Anything Goes and I hope you will link up a creation here for the chance to win some fabulous prizes.  In addition to the challenge, there is an online magazine that is awesome - there are tutorials, examples and all sorts of crafting goodness so please do consider checking it out!

This challenge we are sponsored by Deedee's Digi's, who supplied me with my very first digital images.  I used Open Window to create my card:

A close up of the digi and my coloring

I have never used a digital stamp before. I am definitely an inky, messy, stamps scattered everywhere kind of crafter, so this is brand new to me.  But, I am willing to learn and expand my abilities, learn to color (hopefully!) and create some smashing projects.  This first card was made by using one of Deedee's Digi's and you can get all the details by popping over to the TTCRD (cause, yeah, typing Through the Craft Room Door can get kinda long) blog.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you like my very first attempt at using digital stamps. I didn't find it as hard as I originally thought it would be and I hope my coloring skills improve! ~ Fondly, Christi

I would like to enter my Open Window card in the following challenges:
Come & Get It Challenge - Anything Goes w/a Sentiment
The Crazy Challenge - #211 Everything Goes
Simply Papercraft - #18, Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments - #145, Anything Goes w/a Sentiment
CRAFT Challenge - #339, Winter

Alcohol Ink Tips and Information 101 {UPDATED 10/07/18}

Please know that most of this is purely my opinion & I received no compensation, from anyone, for this article.  Also, if you find the information useful, or not, please leave me a comment so I can upgrade the page!!! Also, please let me know if there are any broken, or bad, links. 
*Last update 02/02/14 

Please note this article is NOT about alcohol ink markers.  It is about actual alcohol ink!

Since the popularity of this post {that I first wrote in 2008!} is still getting a lot of visitors, I thought it might be helpful to put a link to my Pinterest Alcohol Inks Board - that's where you'll find more information and more projects.  You can get there by clicking right here.  There have also been some changes to some manufactures and products - I've updated in the article. 
*added 02/27/18
 *and sort of updated again 10/07/18

ALCOHOL INK TIPS AND INFORMATION

I am not comparing or writing about alcohol ink markers (like Copic, ProMarker, Spectrum, etc.) this post is in reference to the actual alcohol ink.  Personally, I can’t see how/why the different brands of markers could really be that unique, but that’s just my opinion.  If you are interested in alcohol markers, there is a comparison chart here: PaperCrafter's Corner.

You can do an internet search and find millions of ways to use alcohol inks as well as lots of useful tips that accomplished artists’ have put together.  My goal here is to hopefully pass along some practical tips – the things I learned the hard way so you don’t have to.  My main concern is helping you not ruin your home or studio and finding alcohol inks that are cheap.  I am by no means an alcohol ink expert, but I do love to play with them & nothing makes me more ornery than wasting expensive stuff.

Protect your workspace heavily.  Whether you use multiple non-stick mats, silicone mats or my fav cardboard covered with wax paper (my genius invention – I’ve been doing the cardboard & wax paper thang way before the non-stick craft mats were introduced & I always have about 3 of them going so I can put stuff to paint, or to dry on one and be able to grab another. Use rigid cardboard, I usually use the cardboard that comes in packaging or something like a cereal box with both sides) make sure you have a lot of it.  Especially if you’re crafting area is the dining room table or other public space in your home.  Alcohol ink & finish (any kind of finish) don’t get along well at all – trust me on this.  So over protect.  Protect like you have a group of 20 two-year-olds coming to play alcohol ink finger paint on your antique mahogany heirloom table.  Because even though alcohol ink bottles have little spouts they can leak if they are accidentally knocked over. 

ALWAYS wear some sort of gloves that are waterproof.  It doesn’t matter if you think you are just going to dab a wee bit of alcohol ink on a tiny piece of paper; if you are not wearing gloves you will stain your hands, your cuticles, your fingernails (which may or may not be an issue) and waaay underneath your fingernails where nothing can reach, and I mean nothing.  And while the various kinds of blending & clean up solutions do work, they will not work well enough to make your hands look presentable for that wedding, business meeting or other event where you have to look good and not like you dipped your hands in a vat of bright pink paint.  And alcohol ink takes forever to wear off skin, besides the fact it can’t be that good for you.

DON’T remove your gloves until you are sure you are finished with the alcohol ink, capped and stored the bottles (including the blending solution), any doo hicky you used to play with the ink (cotton squares, tools, etc) and have set aside whatever you were using the ink for.  If you are anything like me when you are working, you are usually in an artistic frenzy; you are grabbing inks, tools, paper, all sorts of stuff that you suddenly need for this project.  And perhaps you aren’t as diligent with capping things as you normally would be* (plus some alcohol inks tend to drip down the sides of the container in that little seam where you can’t see it).  My blending solution, mixatives, Krylon metal leaf pens and ink bottles are covered with the fore mentioned & that makes it SO easy to transfer ink to your skin when you think it’s dry – remember, the blending solution “wakes” the ink up, so that purple ink that is dry on your blue ink bottle may, in fact, just be waiting, quietly, for your index finger that got a teeny bit of solution on to touch it, then BAM you woke it up.

*which also reminds me to tell you to NEVER shake your Ranger Mixables without putting the cap on – I know, seems like a no brainer, but when I am in the middle of a crafting frenzy I often forget the most basic things (like eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom, etc.) and I made the HUGE mistake of grabbing my bottle of silver Mixatives and gave it a good shake and promptly ended up with pretty little silver blobs all over the place – ALL OVER the place – I am still finding things that have been blobbed & I did this quite a while ago.

Always have plenty of items to ink.  I have started to keep at least 3 full sheets of glossy card stock next to where I am working because alcohol ink goes a very, very long way.  Two drops can make backgrounds for several cards, tags, ink some metal, plastic, transparencies (remember those from school?), clay, etc.  Instead of hunting for stuff to ink while you are in the middle of your project do yourself a favor and have the stuff right there.  Not only are you being frugal (and what crafter doesn’t like to be frugal?) but you are creating what could be the start of your best piece yet.  And there is SO much you can ink with alcohol ink – the list goes on and on!  Personally, I haven’t played with it on photo paper but I have heard good results from those who have so there is another option since glossy card stock can be pricey and most of us have some photo paper around somewhere that came with our printers.  I have also heard that the For Sale signs at Dollar Stores can be used with the same results as YUPO.  I've never tried it, so I don't know. 

If you use the Tim Holtz blending handle and pads DON’T get blending solution on the black handle part – it makes the handle amazingly sticky and I had a hell of a time getting the handle off my glove, I can only imagine trying to get it and the resulting tar-like mark (‘cause I have NO idea what coats that handle but it looks and feels like tar) off your skin. I learned this after I doused the tool in blending solution trying to clean it off a bit.  Seemed like a good idea at the time.  I made my own applicators quite a while ago and just used regular craft felt, but I do confess, I like Tim’s tool and the pads the best.

The Basic Alcohol Ink Primer 
(or, why the HELL are these things so expensive?)

There are many different brands of alcohol ink – remember, alcohol ink pens need refills and those refills can be considerably cheaper than alcohol inks marketed specifically as an art tool.  Reminds me of wooden sticks, yanno the kind that ice cream comes on – well, you can pay $10 for 50 at a art store, $5 for 50 at a craft store or $3 for 1000 at a medical supply store (please don’t take my example seriously – I truly don’t know if you can get 1000 tongue depressors for $3).

A candle holder I made years ago using alcohol ink on the glass part & decorated with beads.  I used to be concerned about having flame near the alcohol ink until I read on Susan Brown's blog that the alcohol evaporates and therefore there is no risk of fire once the ink is thoughly dry.

I have several different brands of alcohol inks that I play with and I have had them for years, again, because alcohol ink goes a loooog way.  By far, the most popular alcohol inks are the ones by Ranger.  Some other brands are:

• Now Winsor & Newton Promarkers was Letraset  (TRIA markers were the first set of alcohol markers I ever had – and I still have them).  I have some refill inks in 40ml bottles {called Pantone}.  Winsor & Newton has acquired Letraset.  The ProMarkers are now called Winsor & Newton ProMarkers. It seems they are NOT refillable.  However, many companies are putting out "drawing ink" which is soluble dyes in a shellac solution. I don't know if that means they are alcohol ink or not; in fact, when I searched Winsor & Newton for alcohol inks I also got calligraphy ink, which is not permanent - so I suggest you read the ink contents prior to purchasing.  

• Jacquard Products puts out Piñata Color Alcohol Inks; I got the Exciter pack which has 8 colors and 1 bottle of clean up solution.  You can get these packs for about $20 which isn’t bad {I recently saw the entire pack on BLICK for $4!!}. I also found the individual bottles for about $8 each, which is bad, in my opinion.

• ShinHan is a brand I had never heard of until I was researching alcohol inks.  This company makes markers called Touch Twin (I have seen the name spelled like this ShinHan and like Shin Han). They do sell refills for their markers and they come in 20ml bottles.  The refill ink retails for about $5 a bottle and it seems that these are readily available in art supply stores as opposed to craft stores which may effect the price. One cool thing is they say they have 204 colors.

• Spectrum Noir offers little bottles with droppers as refill inks, their bottles are 30 ml (priced about $5.95 for a SET of refills to match the set of markers you want to refill) – these may be the best bet price wise. UPDATE: I couldn't find any information on the refills for Spectrum Noir.  I've contacted Crafters Companion and will let you know when I hear back. 

• Zig Kurecolor Marker refills come in 118 colors, in a 25cc bottle – you can buy sets of refill color, I even saw them on HSN’s website! (priced about
  
  $4.75 a bottle)

• Various Ink COPIC & Ciao refills are available also.  When I looked them up I found them on Joann.com where the price ranged from $8.99 to $5.99.  They refill all types of COPIC markers, anywhere from 7 to 15 times, depending on which marker you have. I couldn't find an actual amount of ink in the refills, but the bottles look fairly large.

Just to compare, Rangers Alcohol inks all come in 1.5 ml bottles – and since most of the other brands come in larger bottles and, of course, the larger the bottle the more ink you get, it is obviously cheaper to go with a bigger bottle.  Unfortunately, the biggest bottles, the TRIA ink, is no longer available.

There are TONS and TONS of tutorials on You Tube on how to make your own alcohol ink with everything from food coloring, liquid fabric RIT dye and Sharpie markers.  I am definitely going to try the Sharpie tutorial after I buy a pack, and I even liked the food coloring one, but, there was some concern about bugs (but unless you add sugar, or some sort of food for the bugs I would think this wouldn’t be an issue, especially since you are basically mixing the food coloring with rubbing alcohol & I don’t know of any bugs that like rubbing alcohol) BUT with my luck a mutant bug will live in my house and just loooove rubbing alcohol.

If you do get alcohol ink on your nonstick mat, regular old rubbing alcohol (with at least 70% ethyl alcohol) will get the ink off your mat.  I know, I used it.  I also saw a tutorial where they used the same rubbing alcohol as blending solution.  I did throw some on one of the alcohol ink background papers I made today and it did move the ink – I didn’t try it directly on my applicator. However, the ink didn't move as freely or as nicely as it does using the Ranger Alcohol Ink Blending Solution.

Do you have any alcohol ink wisdom you would like to share?  You can either use the contact me form (on the right hand side of this blog) or just leave a comment.  Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something, and if you didn’t, I hope you had fun.

I also wanted to share just a few things I have done using alcohol inks.  Hopefully this will inspire you to pull out those neglected alcohol inks and have a blast! 

Here are some backgrounds - made on glossy paper - that I made.

This is a Christmas Ornament I made for Christmas in July.
 You can see the tutorial HERE

Here are some applicators for the alcohol ink.  The small square and the one on the left side are home made & I use regular craft felt.

Thanks for reading my alcohol ink info article - try saying THAT 5 times fast - if there is anything you'd like to add, that you think would be helpful, or would like me to add PLEASE let me know! You can leave a comment or use the contact me form over there --------------------> 

One of my VERY favorite things I've made with Alcohol Inks.  I made this AGES ago and it's just Alcohol Inks on Acetate. 
I still play with my alcohol inks and I love them to bits.  Every time I am stumped on how to color something they come through for me ~ If you have found this article helpful, you may want to subscribe to my blog, or bookmark this page.  I do update it {not as much as I should} when I have the time.  As I said before, if you have information to add, or found something incorrect, PLEASE let me know! Thanks, Christi

PS: There are other projects on my blog that use alcohol inks - just do a search for alcohol inks, or look up the label, below everything and you will find them ~ hope you enjoy!