Alcohol Ink – Laura's Craft Closet

Every cardmaker both loves and dreads the holidays. Creating cards for our loved ones is our passion, but suddenly we need…how many cards?? How do we know so many people??

Elaborate cards that use advanced techniques and tiny details are so fun to create, but when you have 30, 40, 50+ cards to mail out, you need a card that can be made in a shorter amount of time.

This card is quick, and can easily be made into multiples. See the steps below on how to create this quick holiday card and for bonus tips on how to easily make multiples when you are short on time!

Supplies:

Alcohol inks — You can DIY your own with this tutorial, or have the bottles shipped to your door!
Red Cardstock, 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
Holiday-themed patterned paper
Glossy Paper
Ornament dies
Gold ribbon
Dimentional adhesives

Steps:

Create your red and green paper. TIP: When making multiple cards, create multiple sheets of glossy red and green with your alcohol inks. This is the bottleneck for time on this card, so if making multiples, create a bunch of sheets!
- Drip a few drops of green alcohol ink onto glossy paper, then a few drops of red around the rest of the paper.
- Tilt the paper slightly until the white is covered in festive colors, but try not to mix the two colors too much.
- For a more detailed tutorial, click to check out this post using alcohol ink, and the original DIY alcohol ink post.
- LET THIS DRY!!
Meanwhile, fold your red cardstock in half to form your cardbase. TIP: You can get 2 cardbases from one 8 1/2″ x 11″ cardstock but cutting it in half the short way.
Cut your favorite holiday-themed DSP to 4″ x 5 1/4″. Adhere to your cardbase.
Die cut a few ornaments from your alcohol inked paper.
- Arrange on your cardfront.
- Glue strips of ribbon onto the patterned paper to their location.
- Adhere the ornaments using dimensionals.

close-up christmas card with alcohol ink ornaments

With this card, I’m playing along with the following challenges:

How many cards do you make for the holidays? I’d love to hear the number you strive for each year, so leave a comment below! Are you already done or just getting started? Don’t worry, you have time!

I’ll be posting lots of cards right here on the blog; many quick and easy, some a bit more elaborate, but all with step-by-step instructions and tips for how to make it easy! To see more creations, be sure to follow Laura’s Craft Closet on Instagram, too!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and are feeling crafty for the holidays! Happy Crafting!!

Update: I was chosen by Crafting By Designs as the winner with this card for the “Get ready for Christmas, November edition” winner! Woot!!

Thankful Fall Colorful Maple Leaves Cards

paper, tutorial

Thanksgiving and Fall Cards made using Homemade Alcohol Ink

November 18, 2018November 27, 2018 Laura's Craft Closet

Last week, I created some homemade alcohol inks and shared the tutorial with you crafties! Take a peek at that post and check out how to make your own alcohol inks here!

The colors are gorgeous, and I wanted to use these inks immediately! They looked so pretty in the bottles, but I needed some cards to celebrate Fall. This ink could be used to make some gorgeous leaves!

Make full sheets of your patterned paper

The cards with the mason jar and falling leaves is easy to create! Check out the steps below:

Supplies:

Important supply–> Alcohol Inks – DIY or the Brand Name, or the slightly larger pack of the other Brand

Steps:

Create your alcohol inked paper!! Choose 3 colors. (I chose red, yellow, and green)
- Place a sheet of glossy paper in an old baking pan (or something that’ll keep your workspace clean).
- Spritz a few sprays of hairspray to cover the glossy paper.
- Drop a few drops of one color on the paper, then repeat with the other colors. Tilt your paper to move the colors around, but don’t let them mix too much.
- Optional: Spray a few spritzes of hairspray over the colors to add a little depth.
- LET DRY!
Meanwhile, fold your Old Olive 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ cardbase in half.
Cut your Brown cardstock to 5 1/4″ x 4″.
- Emboss it with the falling petals or woodlands embossing folder.
- Adhere it to your cardbase.
On a scrap of white cardstock, stamp a short jar in black, and die-cut it out. Adhere it towards the top angled down.
Cut a banner from old olive, stamp your sentiment with versamark and heat emboss using gold powder. Adhere towards the top of the card.
Die cut the leaves using your big shot machine, and adhere towards the base of the card.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Fall colors are just so gorgeous and comforting. I can’t wait to create some more fun projects with these inks!!

I’m playing along with the following challenges:

Did you decide you want to also try playing with alcohol inks? I wrote a quick and easy tutorial using things you likely have at home, even if you aren’t a crafter. Click below and get your ink on!

Happy Crafting!

DIY, paper, tutorial

DIY Alcohol Ink! Make it yourself on the cheap and clean out that box of old markers!

November 15, 2018November 14, 2018 Laura's Craft Closet

Alcohol Ink can give gorgeous results. SO MANY beautiful possibilities!

And I wanted to try it. I wanted to try it on multiple mediums…including paper! I love to try new things, especially when they can be incorporated into my art!!

But the price of quality alcohol inks kept me from rushing out to get a bunch of colors (ok, kept me from putting a few sets in my amazon cart, ha ha).

So I did what I always do: I made it myself!

It was so easy to do, helped me clear out my old dried out markers, and created some beautiful paper that I then used for a few Fall/Thanksgiving cards. I want to share my steps with you:

Supplies:

Rubbing Alcohol
Travel bottles (2oz)
Scissors
Needle-nose pliers
Old Markers
- I used dried-out crayola and sharpies, but others will work, too
- I used 2-3 markers of each color for each ounce of rubbing alcohol
Gloves (unless you enjoy stained hands!)
Newspaper or paper towels

Steps:

Pour rubbing alcohol into the travel bottles until half-full. You want to leave room for the markers and the shaking.
Organize your markers by color. Use scissors to pull off the top and bottom of the old markers. These came off easier than I thought they would, but can still be a bit messy! Use pliers to pull out the felt part on the inside of the marker that is soaked in ink. I left some of them inside their plastic sheaths, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Do this one color at a time (and wipe off your tools between colors!).
Drop the marker pieces into the travel bottle with rubbing alcohol. I used 2-3 markers of each color into each bottle. Close the top of the bottle.
Swirl and shake the markers in the alcohol. You should see the ink becoming more and more pigmented.
Repeat with other colors.
Let these sit at least overnight. Carefully remove the felt marker pieces from the bottles. Now your alcohol ink is ready to use!!

I’ll post my creations and tutorials using these beautiful inks in the coming days and weeks. I’m so excited about this!!

I hope you found this tutorial useful! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at laurascraftcloset@gmail.com. It was easier and took far less time than I had anticipated. Making these inks myself allowed me to get creative with my projects while learning the best techniques without worrying about “wasting” the inks. I can’t wait to share these with you, crafties! These inks go a long way, but when I run out, I’ll feel more confident considering the fancy colors from the name brands…unless I make my own again!

Happy Crafting!

Tag: Alcohol Ink

Quick Christmas Card – No Stamping Required!?

Supplies:

Steps:

Thanksgiving and Fall Cards made using Homemade Alcohol Ink

Supplies:

Steps:

DIY Alcohol Ink! Make it yourself on the cheap and clean out that box of old markers!

Supplies:

Steps: