A Fail, a Pleasant Surprise, and a Save!

Hello Everyone!

Summer is winding down fast!  I can't believe we are already in September.  Summer was short, but sweet!  Today I'm sharing a little journey I took with some new products.  It was a bit of a learning curve for me.

The supplies I used:

• Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks:  Citrus, Pistachio, Aquamarine, Indigo and a shade of purple that had no name!
• Alcohol Ink Blending Solution
• A piece of Ranger Alcohol Ink Card Stock
• Blending tool with felt pad
• Ranger Alcohol Lift Ink
• MISTI stamping positioner
• Paper Towels
• A2 size white cradles
• A piece of Gina K Designs Fresh Asparagus card stock cut to 4 x 5.25
• A piece of blank white card stock
• Miss You die
• Dark Blue Pearls
• Simon Says Stamps Ornate Background stamp
• Glue

I started out by layering my inks in the color order you see in the picture.  I squirted it on and swiped across it with the blending tool so that at first it ended up looking like this:

I kept working at it; dabbing on ink and blending it, adding a bit of blending solution until I was happy with the gradation of color.

Then I put my panel into my MISTI and stamped my panel with the Ornate Background stamp inked with the Alcohol Lift Ink.  I did this several times.  I took out this panel and put in the blank white panel and stamped that with the lifted ink.  I blotted off the Alcohol Lift Ink on my inked panel with a paper towel and then rubbed it to reveal the design 😊...or not...😦

I realized that the design was so intricate that by rubbing the panel I rubbed off most of my layers of ink.  😢  On the other hand, the white panel that I stamped the lifted ink on came out fabulous!

I really loved how this came out!  All the detail of the stamp is there!  So, while occasionally glaring at the ruined panel I went ahead and made this white panel into a card by mounting it on Gina K Designs Fresh Asparagus card stock, adding my die cut Miss You plus an extra strip, and embellishing with a few dark blue pearls.  I really wanted the ink work of this panel to be the focal point of the card.

Which brings me back to the alcohol ink panel.  I could not throw it away.  But, what could I do with it.  I was sure there was still residue of the lift ink on it, but I had to try something....so I started layering my inks again.....and...

I felt it was a save!  I still have not used this panel yet, but I will!  I realized I still needed some experimenting with the Alcohol Lift Ink process...but not on this panel and not with that stamp!  I think it definitely works better with more simple images...I may try some solid images...but that will be another story!

I was very happy with the card that I did create and the variation in color I was able to get.  I was also pleased that all was not lost!  

I would love to hear about your adventures with this product!  Let me know how it worked for you!

Happy paper crafting and remember....it's only paper!

Betsy