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.
Ali I had so much fun"just droppin'" with you at the ranger booth!! Meeting you was a dream come true! Hope you had a wonderful time!
Heather (Jenn's Friend)
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Dear Ali,
Many many thanks for this post. Since I saw your album after your T.Springer's class I've been asking to everybody I know in Spain how to do this perfect alcohol ink dots, also in a workshop in 1Worldscrap (javea). And finally now I've got the answer.
Thanks again for share and best regards from Catalonia.
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I haven't tried alcohol inks yet. I have been seeing a lot of them lately. I think I will have to get some to play around with.
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So bummed I missed you at CHA. I heard after the fact that you were at the Ranger booth. Love this look...can't wait to try it.
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love the inks any way, but this gives me a whole new technique to use. Thanks for sahring.
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i have a clear mini album that is just waiting for me to do something to it! i will definitely be trying your technique. thanks for sharing.
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"Just do what you do." I love that Tim made that comment to you. You have a lot of talent and I love looking and learning on this blog. I'm glad you went and had fun, got to experience something new. And because of all that I want to try it, something simple. So just keep on doing what you do! Thanks
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Way Cool Ali! I love that look with the Simon album! Been missing your flickr pictures! :)
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LOVE to play with those alcohol inks and your examples are way cool! I love that it is always different when you use those things!
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Ali
These look fantastic - and perfect for me who has recently bought some alcohol inks and hasn't got any blending stuff - so will try your idea of just dropping them on the acrylic. Looks fab and simple - even better!
Thankyou
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Such a great technique. It is so simple but so effective. The results are stunning!
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Very cool! Thanks so much for sharing the how on this. I can't wait to try.
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Can't wait to get my hands on Karen Russell's divided page protectors. I'm taking her on-line photography class and it is fabulous! If anyone gets the chance to take her class...they should (it's amazing)!
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This is awesome, love what you did with yours.
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Working on a summer re-cap mini album and did the dots on the acrylic pages with some swirl stamps. Very fun and I love the not-so-perfect look. I never would have thought to do that! Thanks.
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Today my favorite thing about memory making is looking back at my grandson's growth and cherishing the expressions that I see expressed in my face my daughter's and his that are exactly the same
Tomorrow will bring something new
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Hello:
My favorite thing is mini albums. I love how individual you can do it, and how special it makes the person I do it for feel. Have a reat day! Nice work--thank you for sharing.
Lisa
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Wow, it sounds like there are big rumbles of change originating from the Northwest. Could it be from Portland, OR? Ali, I am so excited to hear you are getting involved in making new things for us to learn and create with our own tweaks and curves. The ebb and flow of life is a great way to describe my life. It's like a roller coaster, I would rather ride one with all of the safety gear than not! The safety gear is being open for the unexpected upside downs and curves that life throws at us. Currently not working, my everyday life seems quite boring and Ali, you do inspire me to see the positive. It has helped me tremendously. My kids are grown and away so it's difficult to conjure up a daily routine book, but at the same time I am learning quickly how fast our lives are-lasting only a moment. I can journal my relationships and how each has inspired me as well as changed me for my children and my grandchilden. These journals are my legacy to what has happened to the generations in which I'm familiar and how we can challenge and teach the upcoming generations. We all have so much of our incredible essense to share. My point is so why not in a scrapbook journal! A history teacher if you will all about me and where my place is on our family tree. Ali, I give thanks for you each and everyday for all of your kind words and inspiration. And, since I'm direction challenged, thanks for your pictoral and detailed instructions. I'm grateful for YOU!
Fondly,
marilyn
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