Friday, March 1, 2013

Spectrum Noir Inks on Glass


I've been wanting to try this technique for a while now! You know how you get an idea and you keep thinking about it at time when you can't get into to it? ... Like when you're driving, or in the middle of the night when you're trying to go back to sleep...I suppose I could get up...mmmm...nah. :o)



I picked up this little glass vase from Hobby Lobby for only $0.77.  I cleaned it with alcohol first - inside and outside.   Next I stamped these lovely flowers from Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy EZMount Stamp Set - Flower Power on the outside of the glass with a permanent ink. Since the stamping area was on a curved surface, I did not mount them on an acrylic block.   I found if I held one side of the image in place, I could walk my fingers around the image to make contact on the glass. For any small areas I missed, I used a fine liner pen to draw in. I also kept a paper towel and ink cleaner handy for when I needed to start over. :o) Which, I did have to a couple times. I allowed the images to dry completely.

I dropped colors onto a plastic pallet - only the colors I was working with.  I used a paint brush to practice painting with them first on glass to see which combos I liked.  I cleaned the practice area with alcohol right away.   Once I had chosen my final colors, I painted on the inside of the glass - dabbing the color in so the colors would mix and blend.  By coloring on the inside, I didn't have to worry about coloring precisely to edge - I could go slightly over. Because the line is on the outside, it's on top of the color and looks crisp. For any areas where I did go outside the outer line, I used a small amount of alcohol on a cotton tip to clean up - making sure it was not too wet.



I like the rich color of the darker inks on glass. For the pedals I used: DR3 & DR7 and CT3 & OR1.  For the center of the flowers, I used LG3 & CT3.  I highly recommend that you just play and see how the colors work together until you like what you get. That's what I did. 

I planned to fill the vase with with pebbles so I wanted to protect the coloring on the inside. After it dried I painted clear finger nail polish over all my color.  There may be some art or craft sealant that's just for this type of sealing, but I didn't have any. I always have finger nail polish :o) A small amount of color came off. I just cleaned the brush on paper in between colors and before I dipped back in.


NOTES:
  • Be sure to work in a well ventilated area when working with alcohol and alcohol inks.  The smell can sometimes be strong.
  • You only need a small amount of ink to color a large area. 
  • Alcohol inks do dry relatively fast - so once you start you'll want to finish the area you are coloring. No running to put cloths in the dryer or washing dishes. The good news is it does not take long to create lovely, vivid glassware.
Crafter's Companion has had several new beautiful images. For more ideas, be sure to pop over to the Crafter's Companion Information Blog, as well as visit the Crafter's Companion DT members. Their latest designs are showing on the side of my blog. 

Thanks for visiting!

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!