Do try this...it's fab!

This is a technique that I was showing when I was at The Stamp Hut last saturday. If you have alcohol inks then give it a try as the effect is lovely...the photographs don't do it justice. You may have used white Cast Coated card in this way, but here I used the new Metallic Film from Personal Impressions (check out their website for your nearest stockist) which comes in packs of five A4 sheets. It's a versatile surface as it can be used on ink jet printers for a metallic sheen behind photographs, it can be stamped on with permanent ink and can also be heat embossed...images created in this way look great if they are highlighted with a white pen.

So, to create this lovely abstract effect, you will need a non-stick craft sheet, Ranger alcohol inks in three colours plus one of the Mixatives (I used gold here) and the Alcohol Blending Solution, plus, of course, a piece of the metallic film. I cut mine into a managable size - around 4" (or 10 cms) square(ish). You may wish to wear disposable gloves as it is rather messy, but that's part of the fun!

Okay, take one of the ink colours and squeeze a streak of it onto the craft sheet - around a 2" (or 5 cms) line will do. Now take the second colour and add a streak of that...you can either put this one beside the first, or be daring and go across the first one! Repeat with the final colour. Now take the Mixative and shake it well, with the lid on, before adding a few blobs of the ink in and around the colours streaks. Squirt a small amount of the Blending solution over the colours - the amount is up to you really, but remember that the more you add, the more you will dilute the ink colours and their viscosity.

Now take a piece of the metallic film and drop it, shiny side down, onto the inks. Press lightly (this is where it gets messy when all the ink squidges out!) and, keeping it flat to the craft sheet, twist it clockwise before lifting it up. At this point you will probably go "ooooh!" or "aaaaah" or something similar, but you may want to touch the film back to the surface to pick up some extra colour before it dries. The ink will dry very quickly but you will probably have some colour left on the craft sheet, so you can add another squirt of Blending solution and repeat with another piece of film. The colours will be lighter but just as effective. I have managed to colour three pieces of film using just one application of inks.

Once the film is dry you can use it as a background, for ATC's, stamping onto with an Archival ink pad, or even punching out shapes...butterflies or leaves spring to mind. Have a go anyway and let me know how you get on! Lindsay