Blown Alcohol Ink Switch Plates


A Menard's opened up near our house, so we took a trip over during their opening week celebration to get a free coffee mug and buy a few things. At that trip, I picked up a bag of light switch plates. One of my early posts with alcohol ink was stamping switch plates, I figured it was long past time for a revisit.


This time, instead of stamping, I figured I'd used the blown ink technique. I had a can of air that was just about empty, some rubbing alcohol to thin the ink (in the glass jar with the pipette), some inks, and the switch plate. I got out my craft mats and got started.


For this first switch plate, I wanted to do a mix of one color. So I grabbed all of my non-turquoise blues and got to work. I applied the lightest color--Stonewashed--with some rubbing alcohol and blew it around the tile lightly with my canned air to get a base color.


Then I added Denim on top of Stonewashed (apparently there's a jean-colored theme here). I thinned it out just a bit with a couple drops of the rubbing alcohol and again, gently blew the ink around the switch plate to cover it in ink.


Then I added my last two blues, Sailboat and Indigo. The Indigo is really dark and has a tendency to take over, so I went really easy on it and thinned it out as I worked. The Sailboat is a bit on the aqua side, so I didn't want that to take over either, I layered back in some Denim and Stonewashed to mute the colors a bit. When I was done, I splashed some rubbing alcohol on the plate (not in photo above) to create some tiny bubbles of texture.


After I figured out how to get the ink to move around the tile instead of spray off (barely pull the trigger on the can and move it in circular motions--I'm sure it helped that the can was almost out of ink), the next plates went faster. I selected my colors and thinned them and mixed them around the plate with the air until I liked what it looked like. This switch plate was done with Yellow Sunshine, Orange Sunset, and Raspberry (which is pretty much hot pink).


In this next switch plate, I used Turquoise, Clover, and Purple Twilight. The Purple mixed with the aqua greens and turned blue in places. It was really a cool effect.


For the last one, I was a bit experimental. I wanted to use a lime green and a purple, but they have a tendency to mix together and go brown, so I used a the Turquoise as a sort of buffer and kept adding the Twilight Purple and Wild Plum after I had used the Limeade to make sure it stayed purple on the plate. It was a lot of fun and I felt like it had some neat color combinations when I was done.


After I was satisfied with the look of the switch plates, I let them dry overnight and then I sprayed a light coat of Kamar Varnish over them to set the ink. The Kamar Varnish doesn't react with the alcohol ink (in light coats), but I wanted a sturdier finish since it's something that's going to be regularly touched, so I let it dry a couple hours and then came back with a coat of spray acrylic sealer over top.


I think these turned out so colorful and fun! I can't wait to find places to put them in my house.

Note: Did you see the solid blue stamped one in the photos and think: "Wait, she didn't show how to do that one? Find it here: Stamped Switch Plates

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plastic Wrap Alcohol Ink on Small Ceramic Bowl

Image
A while back I picked up some small white bowls from Big Lots ( these look similar ) with a nice satin finish. I already inked one bowl using the flame method , but I still have a few bowls left, so I decided to give one the plastic wrap treatment. I got out my craft mat and some alcohol inks . Then I cleaned my bowl with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and removed the sale sticker from the bottom. I tore a piece of plastic wrap off the roll that was large enough to cover my bowl, and I set it down on my craft mat, being sure not to smooth it out. Then I dripped ink on the plastic wrap until I liked the combination of colors and the plastic was mostly full of color. Then I placed my bowl in the center of the plastic wrap and carefully applied the plastic wrap to the sides without smoothing it out too much (so it keeps the wrinkled pattern). Then I flipped it over to dry. I ended up using 7 colors on the bowl. I wanted something bright and fun so I we
Read more

Splatter Resist Alcohol Ink Tile

Image
I still have some ceramic tiles left from my last run to the hardware store, so when I remembered I had saved the contact paper heart from my Valentine's Day Glass Etching project, I knew exactly what I wanted to try. I grabbed some bright alcohol inks , canned air , a 6 inch ceramic tile , and my contact paper heart. I originally cut it out free hand by folding the contact paper, so it doesn't have to be perfect, but I'm sure if you have a cutting machine you could use that to make whatever shape you'd like in contact paper or vinyl. I peeled back the paper backing and applied the heart to the middle of the tile (as best as I could eyeball it). Then I rubbed down the edges of the contact paper. I squeezed out a drop of alcohol ink near the edge of the heart and used canned air to blow the drop out from the center of the tile. I usually hold the can with my right hand and a plastic lid with my left (I use the lid from the small plastic box I keep
Read more

Alcohol Ink Washer Necklaces

Image
I received a package of alcohol inks for Christmas and then bought a second set with a 50% off coupon at Michael's.  I've used them now to make coasters and to decorate some candle holders .  I was just getting my sea legs with these inks to begin with.  I applied the ink directly onto the surfaces and played around with rubbing alcohol as a blending solution.  But I thought it was high time that I used an applicator to use them the way they were intended.  Of course, the applicator is just a stamp with some velcro on it and it costs 6+ dollars....not to mention buying the pre-cut pieces of felt. So I figured I'd make my own.  I was very much in a use what you've got mentality, so I grabbed a scrap piece of wood and a couple of strips of velcro (hook and loop tape).  I used the hook side and lined two pieces up next to each other.  Luckily they were just the right width. I had the sew-on kind of velcro, so I spread some tacky glue thinly onto the surface
Read more