Two for the Price of One -- Alcohol Lift-Ink!

Oh I have been waiting to try this all summer!!   I am so excited to experiment with Tim Holtz's Alcohol Lift-Ink.  If you are interested in playing with this ink yourself, check on out Tim's Alcohol Lift Ink and Yupo YouTube video.  Such a great resource for making backgrounds, understanding properties of the alcohol lift-ink, and how it reacts with different paper.  While experimenting with these new products,  I used some Avery Removable ID Labels and my take on Jennifer McGuire's Framed Stamping technique to create a stamped collage (Check out Jennifer's blogpost and video here to see how you can make amazing one-layer cards!) .  I created a couple of cards for some friends who just returned from their first cruise.  Ooooooo!  So much crafty fun!

I used Tim's Stamp Platform to make both stamped versions of the card.  Wow!  It really makes duplicate stamping a breeze.   The alcohol ink background version is on Yupo Cardstock.  I really like this paper better than just the regular Yupo paper.  I found that regular paper rolled up or bowed up on me at times.  The Distress Ink and Distress Marker colored background is on watercolor paper.

So ... in my first attempt at a stamped collage with alcohol lift-ink, I really thought the alcohol ink background was a little too light.  So, for this version, I went for a darker one.  Some of my alcohol ink was a little too thick in places.  For example, when I lifted the cruise ship off in the bottom right-hand corner, I had some alcohol ink remnants where the ink sort of puddled.  I actually like it.  As Tim says ... embrace your imperfections.  It really gave the ship hull more of a grungy look.  Cool.  

I didn't do a step by step on this version.  I just keep forgetting when I get caught up in creating something new.  Anyway, you can see my first efforts at a stamped collage below and see the lighter version of the alcohol ink background.  You can also see the mask that I made with the Avery Removable ID Label. I also included a picture of my finished collage.

At the same time that I lifted the alcohol ink off of the alcohol ink background, I stamped it on the watercolor paper.  After I finished the stamping, I used Distress Ink and Distress Markers to color the background images (making them sort of fade away).  Tim's Time Traveler was colored with Distress Markers and a waterbrush.  The cabin class stateroom and cruise ship stamped images were colored with Distress Markers and outlined with a Ground Espresso Distress Marker to really bring those images to the foreground.

I embellished both cards with some of Tim's Ideaology stickers and tape.  I think they turned out pretty well.  I can't wait to keep playing with these products.  Seriously, they seem to just unleash your creativity. 

I think these cards are a perfect way to celebrate Stamptember!  I am entering them in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge -- Stamp It On.  Hope you are stamping your way through the month as well :).

Mary Elizabeth