When was the last time you played with alcohol inks? I bet it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Alcohol inks come in dropper bottles, and you apply them to surfaces with a small foam sponge or pad. It’s important that you use a sealed surface in order to get good coverage and intermixing. These are one of Tim Holtz’s favorite supplies, and he’s used it on everything from transparencies to dominos to metal to glossy coated cardstock.

I started with mirror cardstock (a type of metallic coated cardstock with a high gloss) and three colors of alcohol ink on one sponge, and then dabbed the sponge across the background. When Ink stopped transferring, I add more drops to the sponge, and kept going. This is one of those backgrounds that are simply stunning in person, but don’t necessarily translate well in photos.

A patterned paper in coordinating colors, and then a stamp in a related theme finishes off the card nicely.

Thought for today: there are lots of ways to start a card. You can start with a sketch, and build it based on the pieces of the sketch. You can start with a favorite image, and work from there. You can have a theme or sentiment in mind, and choose supplies based on that. Or, you can start with technique, as I did here, and then make the rest of your design choices based on how your technique turned out.

There is no right or wrong way to create a card. There’s just done. I like done, how about you?

Don’t forget, if you want to get a card from me, make sure you’re on my email list!