I learned about alcohol inks years ago... maybe five years ago or so at one of Jenn Shurkus's Creative Journey Art Retreats on the Cape. Her events are always amazing -- virtual or in person! -- but this one was particularly great, and I got way inspired by the alcohol inks we had used in class. I bought a ton of supplies, with intentions to get all inky with these cool new techniques and goodies.
Well, life kept on happening and those supplies have just been hanging out, waiting for their day in the sun, so to speak. When I received the You Mean the World to Me kit from Simon Says Stamp! and it included three alcohol inks and a piece of YUPO paper, well, I decided not to wait to dip (or maybe re-dip) my toe into this inky technique.
I used Alcohol Ink in Gumball and Laguna, and Alcohol Pearls Ink in Alchemy. I threw caution and control to the wind and dripped the inks on the YUPO, and then took a straw and tried to blow the colors around. I let them blend and dry. And I stared at the paper, trying to figure out if I liked it or not. It's messier than I usually craft. It's not precise. Could I have somehow done "better?" Without a doubt, yes. But the more I stared at it the more I came to accept it as messily acceptable, maybe even verging on pretty in spots. I liked it enough to not want to throw it in the trash.
So, I cut the piece of YUPO in two, fished out a couple of apropos sentiments from Tim Holtz Idea-ology's quote chips pack, and I called it a day. The expressions in the pack are seriously just amazing. Perfectly perfect.
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