Alcohol Etching Technique

Well, I was playing around this morning thinking of a card for SCS's CC186 color combination challenge, and came up with a new technique (to me anyway). I've not seen this done before, so I'm going to call this "alcohol etching". It's extremely simple to do, and couple of practice sessions will make you a pro. Oh, before I forget, those with sensitive noses may want to have a fan blowing because of the use of ethyl rubbing alcohol that is used for this technique.

What you will need:
Solid stamp
Staz-On black or brown solvent ink
acetate (transparency)
double-sided removeable tape (optional)
ethyl rubbing alcohol (just pour a small amount into the lid)
smallest make-up sponge you can find (I actually ended up using SU's chalk sponge applicator, and now this sponge applicator is dedicated for this technique because it does get stained with Staz-On)

OK - ready to start? Here we go....


1) Using the repositionable double-sided tape, adhere your transparency sheet onto your scratch paper. Stamp your solid stamp image in Staz-On ink onto your transparency. Don't worry about any areas with ink that doesn't transfer. Give it a few seconds to dry. Here I used the coneflower from Inspired By Nature.


2) Dip your tiny tipped sponge applicator into the alcohol and begin rubbing areas of ink that you want to remove. You know, maybe even one of those flat toothpicks would work for this... gotta try it out - I say this because I ended up trimming the very tip of the sponge off the applicator and used the plastic tongue that was inside to scrape the alcohol-moistened areas on some parts of the coneflower.... so I used the spongey part to remove ink from larger areas and the plastic to scrape and create lines as seen above. Oh, did you notice that little grey shading directly under my fingers? That's from the little bit of alcohol dissolving/removing Staz-On from that area of the image .


3) When you've finished removing the ink that you want, simply rub the entire area with your finger to "erase" all the grey shadings (although, you may want to keep it as shadows seem really popular right now). I tried napkin too, but it seemed to me that the area cleaned up easier with my finger. Maybe that little bit of oil on your fingertips does the trick? Anyhow, once you're done cleaning up the area on the transparency, wash your hands so you don't transfer black smudges onto your cardstock or paper while you finish up your project...


And, there you have it - your alcohol etched image!

For the rest of the card details, the background was created by using a post-it and sponging my sunrise and ocean onto Whisper White. I stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner and added the finished transparency. Brads were inserted and this was layered a couple times before adhering to the cardbase. Don't forget to work in some creative time today - I hope you give this technique a whirl....

Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Whisper White
Inks: Baja Breeze, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, black, Staz-On black, and a very small touch of Pacific Point for the horizon
Accessories: acetate (transparency), double-sided tape, ethyl alcohol, tiny SU chalk sponge applicator, sponge daubers, silver brads, long post-it for horizon, 1/16 hole punch for the brads
Technique: Sponging and Alcohol Etching

Teaser Alert!! The finished card at the beginning of the post was the first coneflower that I did. The picture directly above is the second one done putting together a 3-D item for you to see tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you come back and check out my take on something used for sweets tomorrow morning.... hint hint. ;)

Simple Gratitude

Hello again and happy Friday to you! How about a down and dirty, quick and simple card today? This gratitude card was put together for a swap with my upline and sidelines recently. The main flower panel was stamped with the flower sprig stamp from Embrace Life in Basic Black ink on Rose Red cardstock. The flowers were bleached out using the liquid from a bleach pen and painted on with a small paintbrush. White grosgrain ribbon was knotted around the main panel, then it was mounted on Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock. This was adhered to my Rose Red cardbase. I punched 4 white circles from my 1/8 hole punch to make faux brads and glued them into the corners. The gratitude sentiment from Define Your Life was stamped in the lower right corner in Basic Black ink. I softened the edges by sponging on some Craft White ink on the cardbase.

I hope that you have a great day and a most enjoyable weekend! Come back soon...

Scallop Flowers

I made this card a while ago playing with ideas for Stampin' Up's scallop circle punch. I love the technique of creating petaled flowers with the punched scallop pieces and wanted to share this technique specifically with you today. I'm sure some of you have seen this before, so it's a quick reminder about how easy and fast it is to put on cards or scrapbook pages to add a quick POP to a project. For those that are new to this one, just simply snip toward a center point of each scallop punch-out using straight scissors and stop about 1/4 inch away from the center. I used a 1/2 inch circle punched from Really Rust cardstock for the flower center, added a half-back pearl and dotted around it with a white gel pen. I dotted the Really Rust main rectangular panel with the white gel pen and mounted this on More Mustard and Whisper White cardstock. This was adhered to my More Mustard cardbase that was already stamped with the Aida Cloth background in Really Rust ink and sponged on the edges of the cardbase. I lightly sponged Really Rust ink on the tips of the flower petals and used a glue dot to place the three flowers on the card. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in the lower right corner.
On a side note, I love all the sets that I've purchased from SU over the years, and usually keep them. But if I keep them, I have to use them, and I did so with this card.... So - this card used a couple retired SU sets - Aida Cloth background and Favorite Greetings, but these can be substituted with current sets like Canvas background and Sincere Salutations to achieve a similar look. I hope you get a chance for some creative time today - thanks for stopping by! Till next time...