Dropping Ink Demo + Cool Divided Page Protectors
A few months back Tim Holtz emailed and asked me if I would be interested in doing some demos in the Ranger booth at CHA Summer. My first thought was, "what in the heck would I do?" I've never really done a demo at a big show before and I don't really think of myself as a technique person.
I emailed him and asked if he had some vision or idea of what he wanted to see me doing at the demo table. He emailed back and told me he wanted me to "just do what I do."
Um, yea. What do I do? I tell stories. I take pictures. I like mini books. I like acrylic. I like basic geometric shapes. I like geometric patterns. I like color.
So I grabbed my current basket of minibooks and looked through them to see if I could pull something out that would be acceptable and the least bit interesting to the people at the show. I came across this project I did in Tena Springer's class at Inspired last April:
"That could work," I told myself. I could do alcohol ink drops. I love ink drops. They are simple + easy and they are different from the blending that Tim usually showcases when demoing the alcohol inks. I am all about keeping it simple so why not do a simple demo. Basically I decided to do an anti-blending alcohol ink demo on acrylic.
I acquired some sheets of Hambly 12x12 clear overlays that were cut to both 6x6 and 2x3 and spent my time in the booth dropping ink to create patterns on acrylic. There is really no technique here besides knowing that blending isn't the only option in working with the inks. To create the look above and below, simply tilt the bottle and let a drop come out (you barely have to squeeze the bottle at all).You know you are on the "right" side if the ink drop expands and grows (if it stays in one little lump then you are on the "wrong" side and can wipe off the drop with a baby wipe).
A couple of my favorite colors of alcohol ink include lettuce, rust, and caramel.
In addition to the single dots I also did some layering of dots - dropping a second color on top of the first to create the cool concentric circles. Really, I was just having fun messing around.
One of the things I also got to play with while I was demoing were the alcohol ink mixatives (these were totally new to me and the silver was definitely my favorite along with the gold). I loved how concentrated they could be in one drop out of the bottle (you do need to squeeze a bit harder on these because of their thicker consistency and they take longer to dry). You can also use these mixatives a la Tim and blend them all together with the other alcohol inks for that cool marbled look. For me though, it was all about the dots and concentrated color.
Another thing I had fun experimenting with was creating patterns on the ink blending foam and stamping them on to the acrylic using the ink blending tool
(the wood handled tool shown above and in the first photo of this post). I added ink directly to the foam in small dots on one piece and then a larger outlined circle on the other. This acts just like a stamp. So many possibilities for cool geometric shapes.
I also took along a couple albums with me from Clear Scraps. They have a new system out called "Clearly" My Album and it includes all the letters of the alphabet in a bunch of different sizes to make your own word albums. This one here says "Simon" and I dropped alcohol ink patterns on each page.
I really had fun playing around at the demo table after I got over being super nervous on the first day. It was nice to be there just to play and experiment and to communicate that to the people who stopped by to watch and chat and ask what in the heck I was doing there.
Thanks for asking Tim :).
And
one more thing I am super excited about from the show is this new line
of divided page protectors from Karen Russell's Narratives line from Creative Imaginations. I am a big fan of incorporating divided page protectors into my albums already - these will be great additions. These will be available later this year.
It was so nice to meet you at CHA. I am sorry I missed this demo, it looks like a very cool technique, I shall have to try it out here at home.
Hope you have a great week!
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Looks like a great new technique - what fun this will be to try out !!! Would loved to have been there ~ we missed this show....So wonderful that Tim asked you to demo - totally different techniques with alcohol inks - thanks for sharing !!!
Carole
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i would have totally enjoyed watching you play and get messy and just kinda going with the flow...how fun!!
can't wait to see your new book - when will it be out again?
: )
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Does she sell the divided scrapbook pages online? I followed both links and did a search and still struggled, but it may be right in front of my nose. Linkage?
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Hey Maggie - they are not available yet - coming later this year.
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I will have to try this!
Thanks for sharing!
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cool!
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Oh I love this techinque, its just what I like doing and it feels like play, what creating should be about, not been nervous. I cant believe that you would be nervous thou.
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You were a pro out there Ali...love what you did with the album.
see you at CPR in August!
-Michelle Klomp
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This is so cool! I'm definitely going to have to try this, I love how it looks! TFS!
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My favourite thing to do is to play with inks! So I'll have to try this one out. You know - I bought about 30 pages of acrylic to play with about a year ago, and I still haven't touched them - how disgraceful!
Your post prompted me to email Tim because I thought he might be able to recommend a sealer to use with his distress inks, because I'm having some battles with them seeping up through my coloured pencil drawings. AND, he replied immediately - how cool is that :)
So: thanks for reminding me to email Tim, and for letting me know yet another way to play with these awesome inks. I wonder how alcohol ink drips will work over thickly coloured Prismacolors? If it would spread out the same way? Hmmm... I'll have to try it out and let you know how it goes. I hope it works!!
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How cool is that? I don't have any of these inks yet, but they are looking more appealing by the minute! Thanks for sharing these great ideas.
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alcohol inks in the mini misters, followed by a few spritzes of the blending solution on white glossy stock...
adirondack re-inkers mixed with water in the mini-misters on hand-torn pieces of arches..blotted with crumpled paper towel or spotted with more water...much more earthy, deep, rich- toned results
i REALLY like seeing you move out of your comfort zone and 'let go' every so often...the results are wonderful!
nice work chica!
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Wow, Ali, what a fun technique. I am looking forward to trying this. I've had a few Hambly overlays lying around while I figure out just what to do to them, now I have plans!
BTW - The effect of the ink drops kind of reminds me of the slides I had to look at in bio classes, especially the green and brown ones. I wonder if I'll have random dreams about photosynthesis now...
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I just love what you have done with the inks and I just love playing with them too. I really like to just watch and see what the ink does when it its the page. Again thanks for sharing.
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I am so excited about the Karen Russell page protectors too! They look so great!
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Fun! Thanks so much for experimenting for our benefit! :-)
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I just bought my first acrylic album and was looking for a good way to 'spice' up the covers. Thanks Ali for always being here with the great ideas!
Sue
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I LOVE the...
"ALI DOTS"!
wendy
ps...it was fun to finally meet you!
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whoa...............
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Brilliant! I love alcohol inks, but always looking for new ways to use them.
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really cool ali. just unpacking my scrapbook supplies and looking forward to getting messy soon. Might just try this. cheers.
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It was great to chat with you at the demo, Ali. Thanks for the signed sample too! It is on display at my LSS! Can't wait for your class in CT in October. Take care!
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heeeheee i saw your demo at the Ranger booth! cool technique ! thanks for sharing.
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I have just got to say, I just love your unpretentious attitude!!! I love that you keep everything simple with out excuse, and don't pretend to be or know something that you aren't or don't. I love that about you! Thank you for keeping it real!
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