Coloring A Digi With Alcohol Inks

This week starts the "Happy Birthday" challenge over at The Cheerful Stamp Pad and we designers were given our choice of some lovely digital stamp images from the sponsor, Clear Dollar Stamps.  For this week's submission, I selected the lovely "Tearrific" digi. 

I don't work that often with digis and when I do, I seem to alway use watercolor pencils.  So I wanted to change things up a bit and stretch myself creatively.  I had a coloring idea in my head and probably should have searched the web to see if any one else had done it...might have saved some time and effort!  There may be others out there who have done this technique but this is my version:

COLORING WITH ALCOHOL INKS

The first thing I did was take the digi elements I wanted to use and created the layout in Photoshop.  I added my own sentiment and sized it to fit a 7" x 5.5" card.  Next I printed the design on acetate using my ink jet printer.  To set the ink, I sprayed a fixative over the printing.  This will make a slight "pebbly" surface, but you won't notice it when you're done. 

I have a "swatch sheet" I've created for my alcohol inks.  I pulled that out to decide what colors I wanted to use.  (Make your own using glossy cardstock)

I turned the printed acetate over and using regular paint brushes I colored the back of the design with alcohol inks.  For this card I used Red Pepper, Meadow and Pearl Mixative.  If I went out of the lines, I just wet a Q-Tip with Alcohol Blending Solution and wipped it off.  When I was done, I cleaned the brushes using the blending solution.  I put a very heavy coat on the teapot and cup so just to be safe, I let it dry over night. 

Next I cut a piece of pink cardstock and trimmed both it and the acetate down to the size I wanted.  Using a thin border of tape adhesive, I attached the acetate to the cardstock.  I designed a frame using my SCAL software and cut it out of designer paper (MME--Pink Paisley) using the Cricut.  (The frame opening was smaller than the design acetate/cardstock layer).  I attached them together using tape and then added the stitching.

The rose element was stamped on glossy cardstock using a SU rubber stamp and Archival black ink.  I colored the image with the same AIs, fussy cut out and then attached with foam dots.  I added the strip of lace and string of pearls with Glossy Accents.

I love the rich glossy look of the design and the pearlized teapot and cup are very eye catching.  Now that I've gotten the technique down, I'm sure I'll be making more cards and projects this way!

This card is entered into the following Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp and Show--Anything Goes

Stamptacular Sunday--#151 Pearls and Lace

Craft Your Days Away--#38 Get Stitchy With It

Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays--Red, White & Pink

7 Kids College Fund--#40 Color Challenge: Red, Pink & White