Saturday 21 May 2011

Saturday Show & Hels... Alcohol Ink Drip Technique...

...aha, today is the very first Saturday Show & Hels... I know, I know... my play on words idea is getting worse lol. I learnt a plethora of techniques at Ranger U so I am going to be blogging a tutorial every so often to share all the goodness I learnt. Today I am focussing on using Alcohol Ink on metal, each step has a photo and I have taken the base technique and made it into a tag. Here's the finished tag...





The Ingredients:

Ranger Alcohol Ink - various colours
Ranger Metal tape stuck to cardstock
Sizzix Alterations Texture Fade
Blending Tool
Heat Gun
Black Archival Ink



STEP 1
Emboss your metal tape on card using a Texture Fade (or the like). Take the lids of several colours of Alcohol Ink in preparation. Gently drip the different colours onto your embossed metal card... try not to flood the area you are dripping the ink onto - if you drip too much, either dry with a heat gun or gently blow onto the ink. You will see the ink start to pool into the recessed parts of the design, you can add more ink/colours once the first drips have dried. I have found that bright colours work really well for this technique but there is nothing stopping you just using a couple of contrasting colours.




STEP 2
Pop a piece of felt onto your blending tool... using just the corners/edges of the tool, gently blend the colours together, this will give you a smoother finished look. Try not to pound the tool onto the colours as this will just mix them up and they could go muddy. You can now add extra little drips of ink onto the design, blow onto the new drips or use a heatgun to dry them so they don't start moving your base colours around too much.





STEP 3
This is entirely optional and depends on how you want the finished look to be... but I do like to add a little bit of black ink top just highlight the texture of the design. I have found the best applicator for the ink is my fingertip, you get a really good feel for the design and you will be less likely to overload the black. For this you will need to use an Archival ink pad because it is oil based. An inkpad like StaZon doesn't work with Alcohol Inks as it is solvent based and will just remove the ink on your metal. Once you are happy with your black ink, use a heat gun to dry the ink before sticking your design to you main project. (believe me, black smudges and fingerprints kind of ruin the over all look lol)



So... once you have done all of that you will have a lovely bright and textured piece that you can then add to a tag, card, ATC etc. I have turned mine into a tag, here's a very quick description how I made it: Drag Snowcap Dabber around the edges of the tag and dry. Use Black Soot Distress Ink to colour the tag. Over stamp the whole tag with a script stamp and Black Soot DI. Dry with heatgun. Use a damp paper towel/cloth to remove the ink from the white painted areas. Use Multi Medium to stick the embossed card to the tag. Tie jute/twine around the tag. Add embellishments - I die cut and embossed a metal flower and lightly inked it. Ta dah... there you go!


I hope you found this helpful and you understood my waffling. I would love your feedback... and if you try this technique, please do come and tell me... I would love to see what you make! Right... that's me for today... thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

28 comments:

Carrie said...

Ummmmmm, excuse me, but how blinking marvellous is this!!!!!!! I am not a fan of Alcohol Ink as they looked too bright for me but I am definitely going to be having a reth"ink" as this is just spectacular!!!
Thank you for showing me what can be done with these inks.....I see my bank balance dwindling as I type!
Hugs
Carrie

Lesley said...

Fabby "tut"!!!! I thinking you should maybe doing one EVERY saturday???? Please!

Joanne said...

Oh you treasure Hels, a whole lot of teaching us. Thank you for agreeing to share your new found knowledge. This tag is stupendous. I remember a metal tag in the 2009 12 tags but the metal was stuck over grunge letters. Just one thing puzzles me though (I know it must be ok 'cos you just learnt it from the master) Suze Weinberg said not to heat alcohol ink as it gives off toxic fumes. I'm a bit confused now. Been playing with inks this week so shall have a go asap whilst they are still cluttering my little space.
Hugs Joanne xx

Barb Cady said...

Oh Hels you are such a generous person to share what you have learnt with us. I have most of the ingrediants, so I will have a go when I have done the (cover your ears) housework! Love and thanks xx

Julia Dunnit said...

You make it sound easy enough for me to have a go at this...with my 5 inks and not metal...aagh, I feel a shopping trip in the off. Really nice of you to share what you've learned.

Kaz Hall said...

*speaking in a quiet husky voice! Hangover from hell!! But this has so got my attention......Just loving this tutorial Hels......cannot wait to try it out.....you are proper clever!
bigs hugs

kazxx

Netrix said...

Gorgeous work, thanks a million for sharing with us. Colours are like jewels, I have the stuff to practice with so thanks for the inspiration x
Netrix_

Siobhan Brignull said...

absolutely marvelous, love it, cant wait to have a go, but have to go to town, son has worn through his fourth pair of school shoes, (I am not annoyed...at all). So will have a play with this tomoz, so looking forward to more of these, ur a star to do this for us, xx :)

Brenda Brown said...

Fabby, fab, fab Hels, just love alcohol inks and this looks like something I wanna play with soon.
Thanks for sharing - you are a star.
Have a great weekend.
luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

ellen vargo designs said...

Show & Hels... love it... and your tutorial is FAB! I love this (hopefully) new theme of Saturday sharing a Ranger U technique - that will take you through a whole year! At least! Hope you have a good time today. Talk soon. Love & Miss ya... Els xx

Helen said...

That is a great tag, and I look forward to the next Ranger technique!! I love AI's but don't use them enough... maybe now!

Candy C said...

Hels and Show! Love it!! :) Your alcohol ink tag and tutorial is wonderful! Way to go! <3 Candy

Kirsty.A said...

Thsi is lovely. i don't have any of these ingredients but understand your tutorial completely so I may well have a go in the future when I can afford a bit of stash shopping. i love the result

Cheryl Grigsby said...

Lovely tag, Hels! You're inspiring me to pull out a greater variety Of samples and play. I've been in Distress Stain world, since I've been home. Good job on the tutorial!

Zuzu's Blog said...

i love using alcohol inks this way ( i go through a lot of ink lol) it works well on gesso and texture pastes etc too with a helping hand from some blending solution.
your tag is stunningly beautiful. a veritable rainbow without it clashing. very nice work.

Marijane said...

Gleaming, glistening, gorgeousness!!! I love it when you use metal in your art, especially the flowers. Thanks for the step-by-step. I definitely will try this.

Barbara said...

. I love the colors and metal on this tag. thank you so much for the tutorial. Looking forward to the others

PsyPenguin said...

Great tutorial, it really is a stunning effect - you've definitely inspired me to have a go once I get round to buying some alcohol inks :0)

Gillian .... said...

Love Love Love the effect othe Alcohol inks on the embossed meatal, thanks for sharing this fa tutorial hun, look forward to trying it out. This tag is sooooo yummy:) xx

Sarah Anderson said...

gorgeous, gorgeous colour combos here Hels!
And lovin' your play on words!

StampDancer said...

Hels, This look delicious! I can't wait to play with the technique soon. I don't have the foil tape from ranger, but have other thin sheets of metal and some foil shipping tags to play with for now. THANK YOU! for sharing you knowledge - love it!
Stampin' Hugs!
Deb

Lori said...

This looks fabbilicious Hels, and thanks for sharing! I'll have to try that!

Fliss said...

Only just found this Hels and wow am I glad I did as it's absolutely stunning!
Thanks so much for a lovely clear tutorial and I'm now itching to have a go - no Ranger tape here so will have to improvise.
Fliss xx

jude said...

Gorgeous technique !Love your finished tag absolutely stunning hun!
Cant wait for more
hugs judex

Tracey said...

Yaaaaah, I've had a go, thank you Hels, I think this should be a regular spot, love your tag too. Mine's not too bad when I take my specs off, LOL.
xx

1CardCreator said...

Gorgeous tag Hels, thanks for sharing.

whyducks said...

thumbs up for Hels!

Linda M. Cain said...

Extremely COOL, Hels! Love it!

~Linda

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