CTMH Alcohol Inks

So...I'm a big fan of Tim Holtz's creative genius, even though I don't do a lot with his stuff.  Mostly because that grungy, vintage, shabby-chic look is much harder (and more expensive) to replicate than it looks.  However, once in a while I'll see something and think, "Hmm...maybe I could CTMH'ize that."  Well, I went hunting around Pinterest and found a video on making alcohol based inks from rubbing alcohol and Rit dyes.  Not wishing to invest in more stuff, I decided to see if I could do a close enough approximation using CTMH reinkers.

Here's what I came up with for Color My Heart:

I filled three different spray pens to the third hash mark from the bottom with 91% rubbing alcohol.  (I couldn't get that high percentage at a regular grocery store, but Walgreens had it on the shelf.)  I then dropped five drops of reinkers in Creme Brulee, Goldrush, and Sunset.  Without much thought to the process, I just started spraying, swiping off excess with a clean rag, and flicking plain rubbing alcohol onto glossy cardstock.

The tree (A Tree) was stamped in Cocoa pigment ink then embossed with clear powder.  If you weren't already aware, this is one of the big pluses to pigment ink...create your own shade of embossing.  I colored the butterflies with Creme Brulee, the birds with Goldrush, and the flowers with Sunset markers.  I then sponged a little Creme Brulee over the tree top.  I touched up the tiny dots and drew some lines on the tree trunk with a white gel pen.

My first effort at this challenge was to do a scrapbook page, but after I got it mostly done, I realized that the stickers from the Stella workshop (retired) were perfect, so I threw them all over the place.  Since they come in an array of other colors, it pretty much nixed it as my DT entry for the week, but I wanted to share it with you anyway.

Hubby and I were stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs for 2 1/2 years.  Since my "thing" is scrapbooking, I decided to get some professional shots of us at an iconic Springs attraction, Garden of the Gods.  I ended up getting a steal of a deal on the photographer because a good friend and her sister were starting up their side business.  So these amazing photos were FREE!!  The one on the far left is one of my all-time favorite photos, and that includes my wedding pictures!

Off to a Rattle Snake Derby.  Yep...you heard me right.  You'll have to come back next week to see pictures of that.

Until next time,

Becca