Category: Alcohol Inks - Crystal Komara

Rainbow Thank You

6/20/2022

Hello friends! Today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing this rainbow of floral happiness! What is it about rainbow colors that always just seem so vibrant and cheerful!? I mean, how can you not look at this card and smile?

I have used the beautiful Spring Bouquet Slimline digital stamp set to create this card. I also pulled an alcohol ink background from my "stash." There is a lot going on with bold colors in this card, so I mimicked the color of the flower to coordinate with the background color for a more cohesive effect.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Yupo paper, I "blew" Ranger Adirondack alcohol ink in the colors Raspberry, Valencia, Lemonade, Lime and Amethyst. While this alcohol ink background was drying, I printed out the flowers from the Spring Bouquet Slimline digital stamp set onto the Neenah white cardstock. I colored the flowers in rainbow colors using Copic markers. I trimmed the edges of the slimline digital stamp so it would fit an A2 sized card. I adhered the flowers directly to the center of the card (once the alcohol ink dried) and then added the sentiment strip. I printed the "thank you" onto Neenah White cardstock and also colored the sentiment in rainbow colors. I adhered the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for even more sparkle!

I just LOOOOOOve how this card came out! I hope that it adds a little brightness and color to your day too!
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

XO, Crystal

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Truly Inspired Mood Board

4/13/2022

Hello readers! Today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing another card that was inspired by this month's beautiful mood board. In case you missed it, on the first of every single month, we share a mood board that is designed to inspire YOU to create. Mood boards (also commonly called “inspiration” boards) are a combination of colors, images, textures and patterns that can offer guidance or direction. If you feel like you don’t know where to begin a project, try looking at a mood board and let the creative juices flow.

Here is the April mood board:

Here is the card I created using the Spring Rose digital stamp set from Joy Clair Designs:

Ironically, when I created this alcohol ink background, I didn't initially love the ink colors. When I work with alcohol inks, I typically create a whole bunch of backgrounds at one time (maybe 40-60 pieces) and I save them. Then I can pull from these pieces to create "quick cards." Well, this piece was one that I almost threw away because I just "wasn't feeling it." After coloring the flowers, I searched through the bin of pre-made alcohol ink pieces and wouldn't you know, the one I didn't like was nearly a perfect fit! It's funny how that works out sometimes.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. The alcohol ink background was created on a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Yupo paper using purple and pink alcohol inks. I printed out the two flowers from the Spring Rose digital stamp set onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I colored the flowers with Copic markers and then fussy cut each flower out. I adhered the two flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I printed the sentiment from the You Are Loved digital stamp set. I used an oval punch to punch out the sentiment before adhering it to the card. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.

This month’s mood board is inspired by the fresh, fun and bright colors of spring! For some of us, March does mean the start of spring, while for other geographic locales, they’re not quite there yet! Either way, let these colors start to put a little spring in your crafty step! We would love to see YOU create using this mood board as inspiration too!

Feel free to use similar colors in whatever brand of cardstock you have readily available. We’d love for you to use your Joy Clair Designs stamps if you have them! And if you don’t have any yet CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING TODAY!

Be sure to tag us on social media using the following hashtags so we can see your cards or other papercraft projects:
#joyclairdesignsmoodboard
#joyclairmoodboard

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can follow me on my website, Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

XO, Crystal

Birthday Peony

3/7/2022

Hello readers! Today I am sharing another way to use the Adornment Peony dies from Birch Press Design. Last week on Valentine's Day, I shared this very traditional card and today I chose to create a very different look using alcohol inks as the focal point behind the outline dies.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using Layer Plate B of the Flora Layering set, I die cut this layer from white cardstock and adhered it to the base of the card.

For the alcohol ink peony: On a 4" x 6" piece of Yupo Paper, I added drops of raspberry and sherbet alcohol inks and blew the ink around. Then I added drops of lime and citrus alcohol ink. Once this dried, I used the base shadow layer of the Adornment Peony dies to die cut the base out. On white cardstock, I die cut the top layer of the Adornment Peony (notice the white shadow outline around the flowers). I adhered this thin outline die using a fine tip liquid glue.

I adhered the peonies to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly I stamped the sentiment "happy birthday" in pink ink on white cardstock. This sentiment is from the Contempo Greetings stamp set. I die cut the sentiment using the coordinating Contempo Greetings dies. I adhered the sentiment to the lower left corner also using 3M foam adhesive for added height.

I hope you have enjoyed today's card! Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Jeep Hair Don't Care

8/5/2021

Fun fact about me, the ONLY vehicle I have ever longed for since I was 14 years old was a Jeep. But, NOOoooooo, not just any ol' Jeep, a custom painted Tiffany Blue Jeep Wrangler Sahara Edition. Well, practical me recognizes that it's one of the least safe vehicles on the road, so for now, my childhood dreams will have to suffice with paper and ink! Today's fun Jeep themed cards utilize the Good Vibes stamp set from Joy Clair Designs. The A2 sized card with that pretty robin's egg blue Jeep I designed with myself in mind. The slimline card was designed for fellow artist and resident Cape Cod mermaid, Jenn Shurkus, who tools around all summer in a lime green Jeep!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of black cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. On a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock, I die cut a 3" circle in the middle of the card. I placed a piece of an alcohol ink background behind the circular hole. In Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I stamped the sentiment "Jeep hair don't care" in the lower right corner. I stamped the Jeep and beach ball in Memento Black Tuxedo ink and colored them with Copic markers. I fussy cut the Jeep image and beach ball. I adhered the Jeep to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the two surfboards in both pink and yellow ink. I fussy cut those and adhered them along with the beach ball to the backseat of the Jeep.

Card details:

This slimline card measures 8 1/2' x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. I created the base from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Slimline Marquee Die from Whimsy Stamps, I cut the frame from white cardstock. Behind the three windows of the frame I placed pieces of alcohol ink backgrounds that I had previously created and store in a "pieces" pile. I stamped the Jeep and small beach ball from the Life is Good stamp set in Tuxedo Memento Black ink and colored them using Copic markers. I fussy the images and adhered the Jeep to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the two surfboards, one in pink ink and the other in yellow ink and added them to the backseat of the Jeep. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "life is good" in Tuxedo Memento Black ink on a thin strip of white cardstock. I notched the right end and added the sentiment to the card.

Thanks for sharing one of my childhood dreams with me! Have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Good Vibes

8/3/2021

Hello readers! I have been very remiss with my holiday themed cards this year. I didn't make one single card for Easter, Father's Day, Mother's Day and the 4th of July! But YAY, here's to being consistent at least! There's still a good month of summer left, so not all is a loss with today's good vibes themed card.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Yupo paper, I created the alcohol ink background with Magenta and Flamingo alcohol inks. Once the alcohol inks dried, I mounted the Yupo paper to a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of black cardstock. I die cut the words "Good Vibes" using the Simon Says Stamps shadow die. I die cut the larger shadow layer from magenta cardstock and the thinner top layer using black cardstock. I mounted the sentiment to the lower right corner of the card using 3M foam adhesive.

The sunglasses are from the Good Vibes stamp set by Joy Clair Designs. I stamped the palm trees (also from the same stamp set) in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on the lenses of the sunglasses and then fussy cut the sunglasses out. I adhered the sunglasses to the card. Lastly, using a white Uniball gel pen, I added highlights to the words "good vibes" for added dimension.

I hope you like today's fun and summery card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Other alcohol ink cards you might enjoy:

You're A Gem

7/6/2021

Hello crafty readers! Welcome back to the start of a new week after a hopefully fun and exciting 4th of July holiday weekend! Today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing two cards using the You're a Gem clear stamp set. When I received this stamp set from Martha (thank you so much for the extra bonus in my DT package!) I knew immediately that I envisioned cards made with alcohol inks to really play on that multifaceted dimension and variation in colors you would typically find on a gemstone. I ended up trying a few different things before achieving this final result that I was happy with.

Card details:

Both of these A2 sized cards were made using the same products, just in different color combinations. Both cards use 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth as the card base and Yupo paper to create the alcohol ink backgrounds on. Please continue reading for step-by-step instructions on each card.

For this first card, I created the alcohol ink background by "ink blowing" Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Sailboat Blue, Denim and Silver Mixative. Once this background dried, I matted it with a piece of silver foil cardstock and adhered both to the card base. I die cut a diamond from royal blue cardstock and heat embossed the sentiment "You're a real gem" in white embossing powder. I stamped several of the gems and geodes in Versamark ink on vellum cardstock. I heat embossed the images with white embossing powder and fussy cut each image out. I adhered the cut images to the card using vellum adhesive.

For this second card, I created the alcohol ink background by "ink blowing" Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Butterscotch, Meadow and Gold Mixative. Once this background dried, I matted it with a piece of gold foil cardstock and adhered both to the card base. I die cut a diamond from coffee brown cardstock and heat embossed the sentiment "you are a rare find" in white embossing powder. I stamped several of the gems and geodes in Versamark ink on vellum cardstock. I heat embossed the images with white embossing powder and fussy cut each image out. I adhered the cut images to the card using vellum adhesive.

I hope you have enjoyed these unique cards - and a break from sharing lots of floral ones!

XO, Crystal

Positively Peach

6/16/2021

Hello, today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing a monochromatic peach card featuring the beautiful Spring Rose digital stamp set and an alcohol ink background. I LOVE working with alcohol inks because they offer such depth and texture to the backgrounds, despite the occasional mess and unpredictable end result you get each time!

Card details:

For the base of this A2 sized card I use 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Yupo paper, I created the alcohol ink background by "ink blowing" Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks in Peach Bellini and Gold Mixative. When I say "ink blowing," I essentially dropped small amounts of the ink onto Yupo paper, added a bit of 80% isopropyl rubbing alcohol and used the Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Air Blower to move the ink around. Once the ink dried, I splattered the background with white acrylic paint. Once the acrylic paint dried I then adhered the background to the card.

I printed the Spring Rose digital stamp set onto 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to white cardstock for everything from die cutting and card bases to Copic coloring and distress oxides. I printed one of the roses at 60% and the other at 80%. I colored each rose with Copic markers and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I printed the sentiment on the same white cardstock and used an oval die to die cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the left of the card also using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, using a Uniball white gel pen, I made small white dots, in groups of threes, on the flowers to add a little more texture.

I hope you have enjoyed this card. Thank you for visiting and happy creating!

XO, Crystal

Waffle Flower "Konnichiwa"

5/25/2021

There are still a few days left to join the Waffle Flower "Travel Around the World" card challenge this week on the Waffle Flower challenge blog. You have until Thursday, May 27th at midnight, to create a travel themed card, using at least one Waffle Flower product and enter it to win a Waffle Flower gift certificate! Last week I shared this slimline mariachi card and today I have used the Konnichiwa stamp set to create another travel card. My brother and his family currently live on Okinawa and this stamp set has been one of their favorites when I send them cards.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Waffle Flower Hearts Panel die, I die cut the frame from white cardstock. I lined the back of the hearts frame with a pre-made alcohol ink background in a variety of pink inks. I lined the bottom of the hearts panel die with black cardstock, just to add some contrast. I stamped the images from the Konnichiwa stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah white cardstock and I die cut the images using the coordinating Konnichiwa dies. I colored the images with Copic markers and adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment on a thin strip of white cardstock, notched the left edge and adhered the sentiment to the lower right side of the card. Lastly, I added some clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.

Now It's Your Turn!
The Only Rule
Create a new project using at least one product from Waffle Flower for the challenge.
Enter
by11:59pm Arizona time on May 27th.
Three Platforms
You can enter the same project in one or all three places. You can enter multiple projects but please only enter a project once in each place.

Rewards:

Challenge Winner
Our challenge team will vote for 1 winner from all entries to receive a $25 gift certificate to our store.

They will consider the following factors:
Your interpretation of the challenge.
Your execution of the project.
Your use of Waffle Flower products
Be creative and have fun!

Lucky Winners
We will draw 1 lucky winner from all entries on EACH platform to receive a $15 gift certificate to our store! You can submit multiple projects or enter the same project at all 3 platforms:

Link Party HERE!
Facebook Garden Fan Group: Challenge: 5/21 - 5/27
Instagram Hashtag: #WFC2105W3

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

The Bold & The Beautiful

4/21/2021

Hello! Today I am returning to one of my favorite digital stamps from Graciellie Designs called "Change is Coming." This beautiful stamp set features these bold and beautiful large butterflies that pop even more when combined with vivid alcohol ink backgrounds.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Y upo paper, I created a background using Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks in Denim and Cloudy Blue. I printed the large butterfly onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored it with Copic Markers. I fussy cut the butterfly and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment on a thin strip of white cardstock in Blue Violet ink and adhered the sentiment to the card with 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the butterfly for added sparkle.

Here is the "Change is Coming" digital stamp set from Graciellie Designs that I used to create these two cards:

Here is the second card I created using the "Change is Coming" digital stamp set and another alcohol ink background featuring a different color combination:

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Y upo paper, I created a background using Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks in Lemonade, Watermelon and Orange Sunset. I die cut a large diamond from white cardstock using the Hero Arts Diamond Infinity dies. I printed the large butterfly onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored it with Copic Markers. I fussy cut the butterfly and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I die cut the word "beautiful" from Calypso Coral and white cardstock. I adhered the two layers of the sentiment together and then adhered both layers to the card with 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the butterfly for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed these two cards. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

You might also enjoy:

Rainbow Tux

1/15/2021

On Wednesday I shared my first card using this fun tuxedo stamp from Brutus Monroe. Today I am sharing another very unique way to use this same stamp set! Now, this card is a bit on the wild and colorful side, so it really needs to be mailed to a very wild and colorful kinda guy!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Yupo paper, I created a background using alcohol inks in a variety of rainbow colors in a diagonal pattern. I then added splatters of alcohol to create the white dots. Once this background dried, I then used a bowtie stencil overlay and smooshed Versamark ink through the stencil. I heat embossed the bowties using black embossing powder. Once this cooled, I adhered the Yupo paper directly to a black cardstock mat before adhering both pieces to the white card base. I stamped the tuxedo and sentiment in Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I fussy cut both the tuxedo and sentiment out and adhered each to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

I love that this card is so out of the box for me! In fact, I have a tiger stripe stencil and I think I just might need to create the same background with tiger stripes in lieu of bowties for an even wilder look!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

XO, Crystal