Have you ever had an idea burst into your head and you simply had to try it out right away? I’ve been aware of the trend for alcohol ink backgrounds and effects for some time and love the effect. While I was in quarantine I even got hubby to buy some 99% alcohol, but it went unused. I’d seen Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers used to create the effect on vellum and I thought I’d give it a try. I just hadn’t got around to it.

Yesterday as I washed my hands in the bathroom I looked at the white PET plastic soap pump. When I bought it in Dollarama I liked the lavender scent although I wasn’t keen on the bottle design. However when I realised later that the design was printed on a separate sleeve I did the only thing I could do, I cut it off. So since then it’s been a plain white bottle, functional but not very exciting. That was until yesterday when I had an idea, and before I knew it my soap pump looked very different.

STAMPIN’ BLENDS

I began by first washing and drying the outside of the bottle to ensure there was no soap residue. Then I went looking for some Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.

I’ve no idea why, but with the entire range in front of me I settled on Misty Moonlight, Pumpkin Pie and Cherry Cobbler. Then I took the dark one of each and simply used the brush tip to scribble over the surface of the bottle.

Next I poured a little of the 99% isopropyl alcohol into a small glass tealight holder. This is a favourite container for water etc. when I’m crafting as it’s almost impossible to knock over. Then I picked up an empty Water Painter, dipped it into the alcohol and simply ‘painted’ over the Pumpkin Pie areas.

I repeated this process until all the Pumpkin Pie was done, then started work on the Cherry Cobbler, followed by the Misty Moonlight. Once all the coloured areas had been ‘painted’ the colours had started to move and create that signature alcohol ink effect. It was a bit even though, so I dipped the Water Painter into the alcohol and touched the tip of the brush onto various areas. This small dot of alcohol made the colour around it move again, adding to the overall effect. In just a few short minutes my bottle already looked very different.

A LITTLE SPRITZ

I could have stopped there but wanted to try out one more way of moving the colour. So I took a Stampin’ Spritzer and filled it with some of the isopropyl alcohol. Then I spritzed the alcohol onto the bottle so I had lots of teeny tiny drops working on the colour.

Once this last application of alcohol had dried I decided I was happy with the result. The bottle was now ready to returned to my bathroom.

From start to finish this whole process took no more than ten minutes. I was amazed by how easy it was to create the effect and how quickly it dried. Now the pattern is permanent so long as I don’t add any more alcohol. If I get bored with the design I’ll wipe it over with alcohol and do it all again in different colours. I can’t wait to create more specially for autumn and Christmas. What do you think?

I’d love you to give this a try. If you do, post a photo of your finished project over on my Papercraft With Me Facebook page.

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