Alcohol Ink Marbling | How to Have Fun with Alcohol Inks!

Hello there, Michelle Short here with Terrific Tags with Michelle.

Today, I have a tag and card to share with you using a fun technique – alcohol ink marbling!

This technique is perfect for backgrounds but also works well for die-cutting too. It also works with loads of different colors of alcohol inks, so you can really experiment and have fun with it!

Alcohol Ink Marbling

For the technique, you will need a container of water. I am creating A2-sized panels today, so I ensured that my container was big enough to fit them in. I filled it about an inch high with cold water.

I then dropped in alcohol inks. I am using blues and pinks today, as I wanted to make sure that whatever colors I used would blend nicely. But feel free to experiment and see what works well for you!

I added drops of Ultramarine, Azurite, Rubellite, and Razzleberry Alcohol Inks. I then mixed the colors in the water using a pipette (anything will work!).

I then took a panel of Classic Crest 110lb Solar White Cardstock and placed it into the water – underneath the surface. The alcohol inks stick to the cardstock, and you get some really fun looks! The alcohol ink also forms the look of texture, kind of like granite. So cool!

Make sure to watch the video below to see the different looks I got!

TOP TIP: The front and back of the panels get inky, so make sure to look on both sides to see which is your favorite!

Creating the Tag

I left the panel to dry and then die cut it using one of the middle-sized tags from the Terrific Tags Die Set.

I also die cut a tag from Classic Crest 110lb Solar White Cardstock and adhered it onto the back of the alcohol-inked one using Glue Tape. This is so that I have somewhere to write a personal message.

I took images from the Wispy Joy Stamp Set and stamped them onto Vellum Translucent Paper using Embossing Ink. I applied Pure White Crisp Embossing Powder and heat set. They were then die cut using the Wispy Joy Dies.

I adhered them to the tag with small dabs of liquid glue, making sure to hide the glue behind the embossed lines.

I stamped a sentiment from Sentiment Strips 3 Stamp Set onto white cardstock using Obsidian Pigment Ink. It was cut into a strip and added to the tag with Instant Dimension Foam Tape.

To finish off, I added twine through the top of the tag and tied it in a bow.

I love that you can still see the alcohol ink-marbled background through the vellum!

Creating the Card

Although I thought the tag was nice as a standalone tag, I also thought it would look nice on a card.

I took a panel of black cardstock and ran it through my die-cutting machine inside the Window Slats 3D Embossing Folder. This gives a really lovely simple background to any card and is super dimensional too!

The panel was adhered to a black A2 card base with Glue Tape, and then the tag was simply adhered on top using Instant Dimension Foam Tape.

I think the black card base really makes the alcohol ink marbling pop!

I hope this has inspired you to try alcohol ink marbling. You can watch the full process video below or on YouTube.

Thanks so much for stopping by, have a wonderful day!

Supplies

Ultramarine Alcohol Ink [ ALTN ] Azurite Alcohol Ink [ ALTN ] Rubellite Alcohol Ink [ ALTN ] Razzleberry Alcohol Ink [ ALTN ] Wispy Joy Stamp Set [ ALTN ] Wispy Joy Die Set [ ALTN ] Wispy Joy Stamp & Die Bundle [ ALTN ] Window Slats 3D Embossing Folder [ ALTN ] Sentiment Strips 3 Stamp Set [ ALTN ] Terrific Tags Die Set [ ALTN ] Embossing Ink [ ALTN ] Pure White Crisp Embossing Powder [ ALTN ] Obsidian Pigment Ink [ ALTN ] Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock… [ ALTN ] Vellum Translucent Paper (25 sheets/set) [ ALTN ] My Sweet Petunia MISTI – Mini [ ALTN ] Glue Tape & 3 Refills Set – Altenew [ ALTN ] Instant Dimension Foam Tape [ ALTN ] Crafter's Essential Micro-Tip Tweezers [ ALTN ]