Alcohol Inks UG..

[Gramof8]

After spending an arm and a leg on Tim Holtz Alcohol inks, I am not liking them very much. I wanted to ink a glass block and can not get the ink even. the pads do not fit my dabber and leave marks. I used the solution to lighten them and still did not turn out well.

I want to color the blocks them etch the color out . I have done several blocks with lights and they just do not show up well. I am using the one bulb light and it is plenty bright. I have even tried to use the colored bulbs, red and blue and still do not think it shows up well.

Any help or suggestions with use of ink would be well accepted and appreciated!!

Thanks Gram

[Phyllis]

I have not tried the alcohol inks on glass but did try them on clear plastic and they were light on that too but I was placing them on light colored card stock so they were OK like that. I can see how they would not show up very well on glass.

[Retta]

I would think the inks would be more clear. I know that the donna Dewberry paints are also more translucent, unless white is in the paint. I'm not sure if the distress stains would be darker as they are suppose to be?

[Gramof8]

I do not know Retta, but what I do know is i am very disappointed in them. I even did an ornament and it did not turn out nice at all. I may not know how to use them properly. I am going to visit his website and look for more tutorials. Gram

[kate3]

Gram, Tim has a lot of video's on You Tube. You could try there.

[Gramof8]

Thanks kate. I have watched a few but haven't found any to answer my question. I did see a site where the gal put the inks inside her jars mixed with the solution and it seemed to work a little. I may try it on something today. I just want my glass block designs to show up better. They do look neat in the day , but at night with the light they lose something. Any ideas folks?

[kathybessey]

Gram, I have been using the alcohol inks on glass blocks for a little while. I have not been able to "paint" the alcohol inks on in a smooth even look but what I do is use a couple of different colors and use the dabber to "swirl" them together. I just keep adding and dabbing until I get a nice "texture" that I like. I also use the single bulb in my blocks and they light up the block pretty nicely after the inks have dried.

Here are a couple of pictures of some blocks I have done with this method.

buggy nightlight.jpg

20110731163801.jpg

sweetdreams block.jpg

[Gigi]

Kathy-

Those are beautiful. I love the Sweet Dreams block!

[Retta]

Kathy - forgot to tell you - those look great!

[Gramof8]

Kathy. Looks like you have the inks mastered. They look great!! I will try to do another one. Looks like you stay in the same color family when using different inks. I just want them to show a nice color and the vinyl work. Right now they look great in the day , but the light does not illuminate them enough at night, you can not make out the graphic and what it says! Thank you for the pictures, they always help!

[corwins]

I have tried the alcohol inks and I don't like them. I think it is just me not using them correctly but I have seen some gorgeous things using them. Just not for me.

[Suzan]

I felt the same way about pens and pencils till I finally started learning how to use them LOL. Still don't know how I feel about it all. Just another learning adventure.

[Phyllis]

My problem with alcohol inks and a lot of other things is that I just dabble in it but not enough to become knowledgeable enough to help anyone. I really need to become an expert at something, LOL.

[kathybessey]

I am far from an expert but can show others what has worked for me --- or better yet what hasn't LOL.

Gram I forgot to ask you what you put inside your blocks besides the light. That may have an impact as well. I have tried several different things and found that one thing works the best for me. Now the hard part, I am out of it right now and have no clue what it is called LOL so I will try to explain it. It comes in a small bag and when you pull some out it reminds me of Easter grass -- so much in a tiny package LOL. It comes in various colors but I like the sparkly white the best. It reminds me of a cross between tinsel and angel hair - not as thick as tinsel and not as thin as angel hair,. Does that make sense? LOL Anyway, it is iridescent so it helps to reflect the light in the block (man that was bad, trying to describe this stuff!)

[kim]

WOW, Kathy, those look great. I haven't gotten my inks look that good. I guess I will have to try them some more.

[Gigi]

I am far from an expert but can show others what has worked for me --- or better yet what hasn't LOL.

Gram I forgot to ask you what you put inside your blocks besides the light. That may have an impact as well. I have tried several different things and found that one thing works the best for me. Now the hard part, I am out of it right now and have no clue what it is called LOL so I will try to explain it. It comes in a small bag and when you pull some out it reminds me of Easter grass -- so much in a tiny package LOL. It comes in various colors but I like the sparkly white the best. It reminds me of a cross between tinsel and angel hair - not as thick as tinsel and not as thin as angel hair,. Does that make sense? LOL Anyway, it is iridescent so it helps to reflect the light in the block (man that was bad, trying to describe this stuff!)

Kathy - are you talking about the Angelina fibers or the gossamer fibers (they have a lot of different names depending on the company)? The same fibers that you can fuse together with heat?? Your description matches what I have but am not sure that is what you mean!!

[Angel135612]

Gigi, I was thinking the same thing. By the description it sounds alot like Angelina fibers... and they would look great like that. May have to try it myself.

[Gigi]

I would never have thought to use them that way - but then again apparently I never think to use them as they are still in the original packaging and I won't say how long that has been! One more thing to USE - what a concept!!

[Angel135612]

I agree... I won't tell you how many colors I have and never used yet....need to get them out and start using them.

[Gigi]

Sounds like we are in the same boat! Guess it's time for us to get those darned things out and create something!!