Alcohol Ink Skies over the Neighbourhood
Posted: September 8, 2026 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Dies, grafix, neighbourhood border, Penny Black, simple strips, Taylored Expressions, Uncategorized | Tags: Alcohol Ink, grafix craft plastic, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, pinata alcohol ink, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Taylored Expressions 1 Comment
Today’s cards are similar to the recent tiny towns cards but feature the larger Neighbourhood Border die which only cuts along the top leaving the option of changing the amount of snowy foreground on cards.
I used a range of techniques for the skies including tilting a few different alcohol ink colours on a panel to create soft blends as shown above left. I also added repeated spritzes of isopropyl alcohol over an inked panel to create the bubbly sky shown below left. A few of the panels have metallic alcohol inks included for some silver or gold shimmer.
The card above right features elements from a Cricut cutting file I bought and cut apart to get the apartment building, church, cottage and tree. The alcohol panels were all done on yupo or Grafix white craft plastic and the card bases and die-cuts are from Neenah solar white cardstock.
I used a mix of Penny Black and Taylored Expression sentiments and once more stamped a few of them with Alcohol lift ink to lift the words right out of the sky! As I share this post the alcohol inks are back on the shelf and the gel plate is on the work desk. I am keen to show the gel prints soon but have a couple more collections of alcohol ink Christmas cards to feature. I honestly can’t believe how many I did, but it was so enjoyable I just kept creating panels outside on the pleasant summer days.
Big Alcohol Ink Trees
Posted: September 1, 2026 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Concord & 9th, grafix, Kristina Werner Joyful and Merry dies, Kristina Werner Joyful and Merry stamp set, simple strips, Stampin Up, Taylored Expressions, Tim Holtz | Tags: Alcohol Ink, Concord & 9th, grafix craft plastic, Stampin Up, Taylored Expressions, Tim Holtz 2 Comments
Time for another bunch of alcohol ink Christmas cards featuring one of the tree dies from the lovely Creative Expressions Festive Collection – Winter Pines set. The set has 6 different trees some tall, some short, some wide some skinny. The one featured here is a great size and shape so I used it over and over. The cards above feature Kristina Werner’s Joyful and Merry Stamps and Dies.
You can see the tree on the left was made with the Ranger alcohol ink silver sparkle cardstock. The tree on the right was made with a stencil on alcohol inks, hence the pattern. All the sentiments are from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips – Christmas stamp cut with the coordinating die.
I used an embossed background behind every tree, often the retired evergreen folder from Stampin Up. I also used the snowflakes/speckles one from Tim Holtz.
Of all the tree cards I made (and there were many) the one above on the left is my favourite. I like the mix of soft blues with a bit of dark blue and green and some splatter circles. I wish I remembered which alcohol inks I used but I don’t. It doesn’t matter too much. You can see I used dark blues and greens as well as light and some pinks, purples and silvers too.
Alcohol Ink Baubles
Posted: August 24, 2026 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, baubles, Christmas filigree, Concord & 9th, Echidna Studios, Kristina Werner Joyful and Merry dies, Kristina Werner Joyful and Merry stamp set, Penny Black, simple strips, Spellbinders, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Alcohol Ink, grafix craft plastic, Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Spellbinders, Taylored Expressions, Yupo Paper 2 Comments
The alcohol ink cards continue but there is a new element featured in the shimmery baubles above. I created alcohol ink patterns on Ranger alcohol ink silver sparkle cardstock. Whatever colours you blend over the cardstock automatically shimmer and shine. On the cricut I cut the finials using the “Christmas Filigree Digital Stamp and Cutfiles” from Echidna Studios. Both decorations are on panels embossed with the Spellbinders “forevergreen” folder and feature Kristina Werner’s Joyful and Merry sentiment dies and stamps.
I also made simple round baubles using Penny Black dies and patterned panels. Basically any pretty alcohol ink panel is fair game for creating some baubles. As is my pattern they are also stuck on embossed panels, tied with silver cord and sentimented with Taylored Expressions “Simple Strips Christmas sentiments”.
I don’t actually own any of this sparkly cardstock; a friend let me use some of hers, but I can highly recommend it if you want a very simple way to make your alcohol patterns look fabulous.
Tiny Towns under Alcohol Ink Skies
Posted: August 19, 2026 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Dies, grafix, Penny Black, Sizzix, Spellbinders, Taylored Expressions, Tiny Tree | Tags: Alcohol Ink, grafix craft plastic, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, sizzix embossing folder, Spellbinders, Taylored Expressions 3 Comments
I do like the look of little houses and buildings against a bold or colourful sky. I’ve done the same thing numerous times with watercolour panels. The little town featured in these cards is the Penny Black ‘tiny town‘ die. Once again I have completed my cards with embossed panels and PB or Taylored Expressions sentiments.
One thing you might notice is that some of the sentiments are stamped on the alcohol ink sky not on a strip of cardstock. After several alcohol ink sessions resulting in a stack of useful panels I remembered my alcohol lift ink. Lift ink does exactly as the name suggests, it lifts alcohol ink off the surface (in this case yupo or grafix craft plastic). Once lifted the ink needs to be wiped off the stamp and a few more applications made in exactly the same spot. It is also necessary to blot the stamped area with a tissue or cloth to remove any ink which has been diluted by the stamp pad. I was very happy with the results and you will see just how happy in a bunch of future cards.
Once again I have created different alcohol ink patterns by tilting the panel to move the ink, blowing the ink with a hand pump or spritzing the ink with isopropyl alcohol to create the spotty or starry look.
I used several different embossing folders to add snow, more little houses or the spellbinders “ski lodge” folder to the background. The little houses embossing folder is from Vaessen Creative and was found at the new craft supply store in Ottawa.
Thank you for the encouraging comments left on the recent alcohol ink blog posts. I am glad to be providing some inspiration to get your own inks out. If you haven’t seen the previous alcohol ink posts look here and here.
And stay tuned there are more little houses, trees, baubles and Bethlehem skies to come. Have a great day!
Caravan Christmas
Posted: December 26, 2025 Filed under: Taylored Expressions | Tags: Taylored Expressions 2 Comments
This year I ended up making way more cards using paper napkins than I first expected and to my surprise received one yesterday from a friend who had taken a similar path. Great minds and all that…
I would happily give credit to the artist responsible for today’s cute scene but the packaging from the German company IHR product does not included the designer’s name. Despite what you might think I didn’t buy these napkins when I was in Australia earlier this year, I bought them in a little town in Quebec. I was so surprised to see them in Wakefield, in summer, very far from places that might celebrate Christmas on the beach in a caravan with a surfboard handy!
I sent one of these cards to my dad, of course because his experience with caravans goes way back to the one his father built. My brother and sister-in-law also received one because they are keen caravan travelers. The other two I gave to Canadians because they have heard me talk about the contrast of Australian and Canadian Christmas traditions.
The meaning of Christmas however does not change according to the seasons. I am grateful to have always celebrated the birth of my savior at Christmas. What a gift God has given us.
2 for 1 cards
Posted: November 24, 2025 Filed under: Penny Black, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Taylored Expressions 6 Comments
Here are some of the ‘2 for 1’ cards a group from our church made on Saturday. I had a couple of friends help with prep and running the event and it was a fun creative time. Of course there were snacks, laughter and plenty of conversation.
The ‘2 for 1 technique’ in this case required the maker to cut an image or word out of patterned paper and turn the positive and the negative piece into two separate cards. To add some texture and pattern we had coloured and embossed backgrounds to choose from.
I have run this event before and there is always some creative free styling when participants see the supplies available. I get inspired watching everyone create. I wanted one photo of all the cards but my kitchen table was crowded with just half so I divided them into landscape and portrait orientation.
Thank you to the twenty three people who participated before and during the event. I hope the residents at the nursing home will enjoy the pretty cards and message.
Shimmery Foliage
Posted: October 14, 2025 Filed under: Airy, Dies, Finetec paints, Leaflets, Leaves, Penny Black, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, Penny Black creative dies, Taylored Expressions 2 Comments
Recently a friend and I got together and worked on wreath style wedding cards. Mine is featured further down in this post. After my friend left I used some of the die-cut foliage leftovers to make her a birthday card. You can see a few matte green leafy branches plus more cut from gold, bronze and reddish shimmer cardstock. I arranged it all either side of a stamped and embossed banner. This sort of a card takes a while to arrange in a balanced way so once I had it looking good I took a photo so I would be able to glue it all down again in the same way.
All the die-cutting was done with Penny Black foliage dies from a variety of sets. The curly twirly birthday sentiment is from the Taylored Expressions set, ‘In & Out Birthday’ embossed in gold powder
To make the wreath card I began by stamping a rough circle using gold watercolour paint on a jar lid. It was the lid of the lentil jar so yes, I had to wash it carefully before it was returned to the jar.
I arranged die-cut foliage around the gold circle not with perfect symmetry but I aimed for balance.
I cut the A, & and L on the cricut using the Linux Libertine Display G font. Both cards were made on cold pressed watercolour paper which has a nice creamy colour and soft texture.
From my House to Yours
Posted: January 29, 2025 Filed under: gel press, online class, Taylored Expressions | Tags: gel press, gel printing, online class, Taylored Expressions 3 Comments
I know it is a month since Christmas but I’ve been waiting to share these last few designs with you. Because of the Canadian postal strike this black & white card arrived in Australia just last week!
You might find these designs a bit familiar if you happen to own any of the china houses that KLM airlines once gave away on flights or if you have collected similar houses when travelling in the Netherlands. I got together with a friend to do some gel printing and we printed four of her little houses on the gel plate to create Dutch themed Christmas cards.
It took some trial and error to work out the best technique but it turned out that pressing the houses firmly into the paint covered gel plate worked well, as more texture appeared in the final print. If you are looking for an introductory gel printing class I have an online one called Gel Print Journey. Although it doesn’t include little Dutch houses it is full of ideas for what to print and how to get different effects. In honour of these cute cards I just created a discount code for Gel Print Journey which will give you 40% off until the end of February. Just use the code GELPRINT2025 at check out for the discounted price.
I drew the little wreaths and swags on afterwards with posca paint pens then added sentiments from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Christmas stamp. I am always looking out for new things to print. Leave me a comment if you’ve had some great gel printing discoveries.
Speckled Leaf Trails
Posted: May 30, 2024 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, gel press, Lavinia, leaf trails stencil, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Alcohol Ink, gel press, gel printing, Lavinia, Taylored Expressions 2 Comments
If this design looks familiar it’s because I posted a couple of similar cards a few weeks back. They featured the same pretty Lavinia stencil, ‘leaf trails’.
The difference between the cards is partly the colours but more significantly today’s cards feature splatter! You know how I feel about splatter. I always say if a project doesn’t seem quite finished, add some splatter.
The panels on these cards were made with alcohol inks on a gel plate. I dropped three or four alcohol inks on the plate along with some isopropyl alcohol to help the inks move and blend. I dropped the leaf trails stencil on top and let the inks dry. Once the ink on the plate was dry I splatted some isopropyl alcohol over the design, waited a minute and lifted the stencil. I used white acrylic paint to pull the print on heavy cardboard then added Taylored Expressions sentiments to complete the cards. This post includes an affiliate link from Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. And remember, if in doubt, add some splatter!
Blue & Green Leaf Trails
Posted: May 7, 2024 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, gel press, Lavinia, leaf trails stencil, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Alcohol Ink, gel press, gel printing, Lavinia, Taylored Expressions 5 Comments
There are many ways to use stencils on the gel plate, one being with alcohol inks rather than acrylic paint. When I use alcohol inks I do pull the print with acrylic paint but most of the colour you see is from the initial layer of alcohol inks.
You can lay the stencil down then add alcohol inks or do it the other way round, dropping the stencil onto the wet alcohol ink. Some gel-printers add a layer of hand sanitiser first but that isn’t what I did to make these prints. I’m not 100% sure but I believe I lay the stencil down on top of a layer of alcohol ink for these prints. I use some isopropyl alcohol to help the inks move further and facilitate some blends between colours. I also use an air blower to push the ink around and speed up the drying process.
The pretty twirly patterns are from the Lavinia ‘leaf trails’ stencil. Lavinia has lovely organic stencils which often feature in my gel prints. I can’t remember the exact alcohol inks I used but the technique works with all sorts of colour combos so pick your faves. No surprise to see blue in my mix. I have mentioned before that I often gel print on printer paper but these panels I pulled with thick cardstock so when it came to making cards I just cut some rectangles from the print and added them to white card bases along with sentiments from Taylored Expressions.
Heather Telford 