2016 #22 Alcohol Inks and Pens {Challenge}

 2016 Topic 22: Alcohol Inks and Pens

Wendy Videlock

Well hello everyone, Darcy here, time for a brand new topic. Alcohol inks and pens are what we will be playing with over the next two weeks. A firm favourite with the colourists among you, and for those that like to coordinate colouring and embellishments. 

There isn't a great deal of history to alcohol inks. Solvents were first added to solid based dyes for use in commercial printers, these were needed to enable signs and banners to be printed on vinyl. The way this works is that the solvent softens the vinyl and creates the best adhesion for the colour pigments. This is essential as most of these signs are used outdoors. 

These solvent/dye combinations produced stunningly bright colours and before long they were in favour with graphic designers and illustrators; milder solvents were employed and the resulting inks were bottled and put into pens. 

For those not familiar with these inks the main difference between them and other inks is the 'carrier solution'. The ink in aqueous inks and markers is mixed with water, they are known as water-based. Alcohol ink uses a chemical carrier, a solvent. Over the years the types of solvent have changed, with modern inks using alcohol as the carrier solution.

Lou Jordan

Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 21: Typography,Fonts and Quotes Challenge...

There were some really great entries, proving that the humble word can be utilised in so many ways. You created fabulous backgrounds and picked out your favourite words as focal points. it is amazing to see how different each piece looks, just by changing fonts and colours . 

The winner of Typography,Fonts and Quotes is: Julie  from Picture of Faith

Email Darcy to claim your prize. Darcydotneedles@gmail.com

Alcohol inks and markers are labelled as non toxic, however this does not mean that care should not be taken. All these products contain a solvent which is always flammable. If you are sensitive to chemicals you should also take care, ensure that there is adequate ventilation. Never add alcohol inks into a spray as the small particles that become airborne could be an irritant if inhaled. 

There are some fantastic benefits to using alcohol inks; they are waterproof, they can be blended beautifully, and they can be used on many surfaces that just will not accept aqueous ink. 

Alcohol inks can be applied by pouncing with a felt applicator or by dripping direct from the bottle. Colours can be layered and blended and some stunning combinations can be achieved. The Enchanted Gallery has some great information, including the following combination chart.

As a very basic tool, alcohol inks can create some simply stunning backgrounds.Although there are many brands on the market you do not need to buy specific brands. This one uses sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol as a blending solution.

As alcohol inks are solvent based you must use a solvent to blend them as water just will not work. There are branded blending solutions and also blending pens, but regular rubbing alcohol/Isopropanol works just fine.

Sharpie Blog

It seems the whole world is crazy for colouring books at the moment, alcohol markers are a great way to colour and blend, however be aware that most markers will bleed through the paper to the other side. 

Doodle Invasion

This is not a problem if you are cutting out stamped images to colour in as you won't see the reverse. However you do need to make sure that you stamp with the correct ink. When using alcohol ink markers make sure that you stamp with an ink that will not react, the best I have found is Memento in Tuxedo Black. If you want a lighter almost edge-less image then try the Memento Desert Sand. 

This video shows some other ink pads that are compatible too. 

When working on paper and card make sure to use one with a super smooth surface, this will reduce the 'feathering' or bleeding of the ink outside of your drawn or stamped lines. 

Laura Bassen

With alcohol inks you are not restricted to just paper or card, there are many other substrates to work on; these include glass, plastic, metal, acetate, ceramic, yupo. You can also work on fabric though these pieces may not be permanent. 

This piece is embossed metal decorated with alcohol inks. 

Lizzy Wurmann

Here a metal washer is coloured with alcohol inks, this is a great way to make embellishments. 

Michelle Neddo

This piece of metal was embossed, coloured with ink and then topped with a crackle paste. 

Tammy Tutterow

Another gorgeous substrate to use is glass, here Sarah Jane colours some glass pebbles, these could be used as embellishments or made into jewellery. 

Or take old bottles and give them new life as Melanie has done with these three beauties. 

A new addition to many a person's craft stash is Yupo paper, this is a very smooth paper, the with a synthetic coating.  As such it takes alcohol inks very well. 

Here Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith has been experimenting with alcohol inks on Yupo using stencils. 

How about this wonderful seahorse, also done on Yupo paper. 

Alcohol inks do not need to be used alone, they can be a part of your mixed media projects. Here Louise Christian has used inks as her background and added dimension with micron pens and acrylic paints. 

You can also create texture and patterning directly into the ink. Take a look at the great texture achieved here just by adding rubbing alcohol to fabric and pressing it into a coloured area. 

Jennifer Dove 

How about these funky sharpie tie dye shoes, if you fancy having a go or letting your children play then this could be a really fun project. SoCraftastic shows you how in this VIDEO

If you need help with your blending  when colouring in then Kimberly has a great video here, she shows how she uses different shades of the same colour to achieve a gorgeous blended floral layout. She also has a lots more great colouring videos on her channel.

Here are some more interesting objects coloured with alcohol links.

A beautiful Christmas ornament. 

Lullabelle

An old spoon is transformed into something very special. 

Donna

Even the humble drinks can has possibilities, here it has been transformed into flowers for this wall art. 

Gail

It is possible to move alcohol inks around with compressed air, this card has some great layers that are built up using this method. 

Shari

Finally HERE is a free e-book all about alcohol inks, it contains some amazing projects. 

Wow! so many fab ideas, go right now and dig out your alcohol inks. i bet you have some hidden away, and not used them in ages. Have a drippy blendy session and make some backgrounds, or grab your pens and do some colouring in. 

Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! 

I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks!

Darcy

Topic 22: Alcohol Inks and Pens PaperArtsy Blog Challenge

We'd love you to share your ideas and link up your creative response to our current blog topic. Take a minute to read the challenge guidelines below.

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Alcohol Inks and Pens link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 27th November, winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

1. The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic.

Your entry should contain:

- a mention of which post inspired you and why, and 

- a link in your blog post to that original post on the PA blog.

The whole concept of this challenge is 'play along with us'. You are encouraged to put your own twist on ideas you see on our blog, do your own thing - whatever grabs you!

2. The link you put on our linky page must lead directly to the specific post on your blog where you have explored the technique/ idea mentioned in point 1 above. Don't link to the home page of your blog.

3. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate.

4. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though!

6. You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! 

NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday 27th November   (London Time)

7. The winner of the random draw will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50.

8. Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. 

9. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. 

email: darcydotneedles@gmail.com

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!