Alcohol Ink and Laminating Film Pumpkin Suncatchers


Last spring I had the novel idea of inking laminator pouches. They turned out great and I made star suncatchers and shamrock suncatchers. So now that the holiday crafting season has begun, I decided to revisit inking laminator pouches.


I found a pumpkin template online and printed it out on some cardstock and got my alcohol inks, crafting mat, a can of air, and some laminating pouches out. I also set up my laminator and turned it on to warm up.


The 3M laminating pouches are two pieces of film attached at a seam on one of the short sides of the film. It can be opened like a book. The inside has a bit of a texture to keep the items you're laminating from sliding around. This textured surface keeps the ink from spreading a ton, but otherwise, it's like putting ink on any other plastic surface. I got out all of my shades of orange and a couple of shades of yellow ink and started dripping it on the film.


I added more and more ink and occasionally spread it around with the canned air. It doesn't spread much because of the texture, but it helps to dry the layers of ink out a bit as you apply them.


I kept inking until the sheet was mostly full of oranges and yellows. The pouch flapped shut a few times in the process (especially while using the canned air), so I got ink all over the other side (of the inside) of the pouch. It didn't seem to make much of a difference after laminating it, though.


I set that sheet aside and opened up another one (always a good idea to do two so you can pick the one that turned out the best :)). This time I managed to get less on the other side of the laminating pouch.


I left them both to dry for about 15 minutes and then ran them through the laminating machine. It's so satisfying to see the blotchy frosty plastic turn crystal clear and colorful. I ran it through the machine twice just to make sure there were no bubbles.


My two sheets of orange ink turned out awesome! I picked the one that I thought had the most distinct shapes/bubbles of color to make my pumpkin suncatchers.


I grabbed a black sharpie and a scissors and started tracing my pumpkins.


I filled my sheet with traced pumpkins and then carefully cut them out.


I decided to leave my black outline on the suncatcher, but you could also use a paper towel and a little rubbing alcohol to remove your sharpie lines after you've cut your pumpkins out. I used a hole punch to punch a circle into the stem of each pumpkin so I could hang it up.


I hung my pumpkins up on some little hooked suction cups. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. Inking laminating film is a ton of fun, and I look forward to finding more uses for this inked plastic!

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