Alcohol Markers and Embossing Technique

Hiya, Crafters! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a good weekend. I have recently come to the dreaded conclusion that I've outgrown my storage in my craft room. Thankfully I still have the space for more storage. I decided to hunt down a DVD shelf for my stamps and a CD rack for my inks. It was fruitless; I couldn't find anything! Guess I have just dated myself. So I finally decided to condense my movies with my husbands. We'll be married for a year on Sunday so I suppose it's time to share. Now I have a DVD shelf. It looks like I can also store my inks on it, but I'm a bit concerned that they may fall behind it. We shall see. Over the weekend I watched a plethora of videos on alcohol markers as I've decided to dip my hand in them when I saw Joann's sells Spectrum Noir markers for $15. (Yes, more expensive than the websites, but the shipping and handling make it a non-issue.) I saw this video from StampTV and thought it was absolutely gorgeous! Then late last night I heard some news that I need to make some sympathy cards. The card and the technique I thought would be lovely for such a sad occasion. Now, I want to say immediately that I am no expert, in fact I would rather say that I am a novice with alcohol markers, but they are rather easy to use. I already want them all. If you already know what you're doing with alcohol markers, this isn't going to be anything new for you. If you have pointers, please leave a comment! Here's what I made.

Here's what you'll need to make this card:

• Cardstock cut to 4 1/4 x 11" scored at 5".
• Coordinating cardstock cut to 4 x 5 1/4" for bottom layer
• Coordinating cardstock cut to 3 7/8 x 5 1/8" for matting layer
• Matching cardstock to bottom layer cut to 2 3/8 x 5 1/8"
• White cardstock cut to 2 1/4 x 5" for focal image
• Trimmer
• Alcohol Markers
• Embossing powder
• Versamark
• Embossing gun
• Dryer Sheet (to remove static from cardstock)
• Stamping and die cutting tools needed to finish the card

Let's get started! wipe your dryer sheet over your cardstock that you'll be embossing on, This helps to remove static from the cardstock so that the powder doesn't stick in places you don't want it to. Then inking your stamp in versamark, stamp into the center. Inking it after each time you stamp, go off of the paper.  Once you have your images stamped, pour embossing powder over it and blow off any excess powder that doesn't fall off with a couple taps. I used a silver embossing powder for this card. You can use any opaque color you like. Then set the powder with your embossing gun.

I have to make multiple cards, but the coloring did take me some time, since I'm a novice, so I finished one card and I will go back to the other later. I began from the middle and did a little at a time to allow for maximum blending. Since I'm working with the starter packs, I do have some gaps in the colors. The colors I am using for the petals are DR5 and DR7. I colored the petal first in DR5.

Then along the base, or where I think the shadow would be, I lined it up with DR7.

I went back over it with DR5 again to blend and try to bring a little of the DR7 further into the petal.

Once I completed the flower, I went back to the curls of the petals and colored them with DR1 only.

It does look like I wasn't too successful in blending the shadows so much with the petals, but I was still happy with what I accomplished. I tried to take a picture to show how it shines.

Here it is all completed.

I'm certain that there would be better blending if I had the DR6 marker, but I don't. And the contrast is growing on me. 
The paper that I am using here is by Michael's Recollection brand, 65 lbs. It's better than the Darice brand, less bleeding with water based inks and markers. I also don't think it's truly 65 lbs. It's lighter than the Recollection brand. I only mention this because Darice is listed on the packaging of the markers. Alcohol markers are meant to saturate through the paper so it doesn't feather outwards. However, I did see a small bit of feathering under the embossing lines. So I did place some chipboard under my paper to protect my surface. 

Also something to keep in mind that the ink will stick to the embossing powder. Depending on what color you used, it may not show. It did with mine. So I picked up my blender pen. As I've found in my pass uses and through the videos, it's more of an eraser than for blending. I lightly ran it over the embossing lines that I accidentally touched. It will carry a little color over at first so be sure to dab it off on scrap paper before continuing on your project.

That's all I have for you today. I hope that this technique gave you some inspiration today. If you were on the fence about alcohol markers, I say go for it! I am no artist, but they are easy to use and Spectrum Noir won't break the bank. Especially if you use coupons. Also, if you're a master at alcohol markers and you stuck through to the end feel free to comments with any pointers you would like to share.

Thanks for popping by, Crafters! I'll see ya soon!