Mosaic Patterned Alcohol Ink - Technique Explained

"Count Your Blessings"

This altered playing card is from my early experiments with alcohol inks (dec '06). It was edged with a gold krylon pen, embellished with a slide mount, printed image, blue swarovki crystals & transparency word/numbers. Even after I purchased the "proper" wooden applicator with velcro and changeable felt, I STILL prefer my early substitution for its added DIMENSION. These are the products I use:

Clearsnap's Colorbox "stylus starter set"

To get the beautiful MOSAIC patterns, attach one of the black moldable foam tips, heat carefully under a halogen light bulb, then press onto a

Clearsnap's "Molding Mat"

- or into any hard rubber stamp or "texture" - and there you have it!

Place 1-3 drops of two different colors, onto your molded foam and build up several layers onto a glossy surface to get the above effect! No two cards will ever be alike, that's the beauty of this medium!

HELPFUL TIP: When you order alcohol inks ($3.45 ea or $9.99 set of 3), be sure to purchase the Alcohol Blending Solution - dilutes and lightens these thick, rich colors ($4.99). The Gold/Silver Metallic Mixatives ($9.99 set of 2) are great but krylon pens work as well, tho' a little differently, so you can live without them. Here is one of many websites you can order from.

Be creative & come up with your very own technique... and have fun!

You're only here for a short visit.

Stop to smell the flowers along the way. - Walter Hagan



Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are. - Alfred Austin



Bloom where you're planted. - Mary Englebreit




I should like to enjoy this summer flower by flower, as if it were to be the last one for me. - Andre Gide



Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rose-Colored Glasses, That's Me!

You scored as Romanticist,Romanticism encourages society to look backwards to find our solutions. Your rationale is that things were much better a few hundred years ago so we should thus look back to those times and replace them in our modern society. You believe in a simple life and that the complexities of the modern world have turned it upside down.

What is Your World View?
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Vintage Family Treasures!

Throughout my family tree is the desire to create something beautiful with paint, paper, pens even pastels! Here are two beautiful drawings by my paternal grandfather, Joseph Willis Farquhar. Born in the 1890's, these are two of several pieces he sketched as a young man (barely 20 years old!) between 1905 and 1913,

Aren't they lovely?

In the picture below, he stands to the far right with his four sons (my dad's on the top step). In military uniforms, three were home on leave during WWII most likely for my parent's wedding ~ June 2, 1945.

"Music Gladdens the Heart" swap

Billie Holiday was one of the top female jazz vocalists of our time. I would love to share a little bit about her.

She was born "Eleanora Fagan Gough" in Philadelphia on April 7, 1915 and died on July 17, 1959 in NYC ~ 48 years ago one day after I posted this! She sang torch songs, blues, ballads, swing, standards that were dreamy and bittersweet! She was influenced by Louis Armstrong, Lester Young & Bessie Smith and performed songs by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Duke Ellington, to name a FEW!!

She was the first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues and changed the art of American pop vocals forever! She refused to compromise her artistry for either the song or the band. In an age of interchangeable crooners and band singers, her style was all her own, with her spirit shining through on every recording,

Billie moved to New York with her mother (an unwed teenager) helping her with domestic work, but soon began moonlighting as a prostitute for the additional income. According to the legend, her big singing break came during a laughable dancing audition at a speakeasy when she was prompted by her accompanist to ask her if SHE COULD SING! She was singing at clubs all over New York City as early as 1930-31 (at fifteen!) and first gained publicity in 1933, when record producer John Hammond - just 3 years older than Holiday herself - wrote her up in a column for Melody Maker and brought BENNY GOODMAN to one of her performances. She made her commercial debut with his group on November 27, 1933.

After a long, successful career and a protracted battle with a heroin addiction, she died tragically at the age of 44 collapsing in May 1959 of heart and liver disease. Still procuring heroin while on her deathbed, she was arrested for possession and died July 17, her system unable to fight both withdrawal and heart disease at the same time. Her cult of influence spread quickly after her death and gave her more fame than she enjoyed in life! The film Lady Sings The Blues, with Diana Ross illuminated her tragic life and introduced many future fans! By the digital age, virtually all of Holiday's recorded material had been reissued by Columbia, Decca and Verve.

This is just one of six cards that were made for a swap on one of my favorite Yahoo Groups, Paper Traders, and are in the air between CT and WY as I write. I have been a member for six months and this is my very first swap! It is what I call a "juried" group, meaning that you have to be approved by submitting a link to your work. There are several other groups that operate that way, as well. It really does makes "belonging" THAT much more special because we all enjoy being recognized for our efforts!

I appreciate YOU for taking the time to drop in, read THIS FAR and I hope you will return again!

One Fine Morning

As I am a huge fan of alcohol inks, this is just another of many posts where that particular technique has been used to create the background. In this case, I used a standard sized sheet of glossy white cardstock, working on one large area. (You can scroll down to my post on 6/8 for details on the "brayer" technique used).

Then, when finished, I simply cut it up into several ATC's (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") and typically add collage items such as ephemera, embellishments and found items (mostly paper) to create these highly ADDICTIVE Artist Trading Cards!

... and be sure to check back soon for a brief tutorial on my my "mosaic" alcohol technique!

Happy 231st Birthday, America!!

1. 2002-07-03 - Red, White, and Boom Fireworks 2.JPG, 2. Happy Canada Day and Happy 4th of July USA!!, 3. Fireworks!, 4. Fire in the sky, Seattle, 5. night show, 6. painting the sky purple, 7. 4th of July, 8. Bombastic, 9. ny06 150, 10. St. Louis Fireworks, 11. Homage, 12. The Rocket's Red Glare, 13. And the rocket's red glare, 14. Fireworks, 15. Fireworks

These are from flickr.com and are just a few of my favorite firework pics from all over the world! Aren't they just BEAUTIFUL?????

Can you find the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington? The St. Louis Arch? Roebel's Bridge in Cincinnatti, OH (same architect as The Brooklin Bridge)? The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.?