Flamed Alcohol Ink Vases


I picked up these square vases from Dollar Tree knowing they'd be fun to ink since their mostly flat sides would mean I could lay them down to ink. So after testing out the T-rex warm and cool tone sets, I decided to try using their inks with fire--and these vases would be just the ticket. Flaming alcohol ink is a ton of fun, but I've never set this brand on fire...so onto yet another experiment!


I set up my area to be fire safe. I put a silicon mat on my table, followed by a couple of cork trivets, then a baking sheet covered in foil (mostly to keep it from getting all inky). Then you'll need a long necked lighter and some rubbing alcohol (mine's in the little bottle).


I started by getting a base of ink in a few different colors. I selected a shade of green, blue, aqua from the T-rex sets.


Then I added a bit of rubbing alcohol and moved all the inks and rubbing alcohol away from the baking sheet and lit the ink (and rubbing alcohol) on fire. The ink spreads and mixes while it's on fire. It will flame a lot more if you add rubbing alcohol and less if you don't. Be careful to make sure that the flame has completely burnt out (it's sometimes hard to see) before adding more ink or alcohol.


After the first set of colors it was a bit blah and needed more contrast, so I added a lighter green and some pink-y purple and set it on fire again.


The ink was fairly sticky, so I set my baking sheet aside to dry while I worked on some other projects. Usually alcohol ink dries quickly, and since the fire burns off most of the excess alcohol, flamed ink usually doesn't stay wet for too long.


After about 15 minutes, I came back and worked on another side of the vase. I added the colors and rubbing alcohol, lit it on fire, and then added more color until I liked how it looked.


As I was preparing to ink another side, I noticed we were having some significant dripping. The ink was running off and pooling. So I had to let it dry some more, and wiped away the excess ink between sides.


By the time I got to the last side, the vases were very dark. Between the high saturation (bold strong colors) of the T-Rex inks and the flaming, the ink was getting nearly black in places. I tried to use rubbing alcohol to thin out those areas and flame them again as best as I could. Once I was done inking, I tipped the vases up and left them to dry on a craft mat for a couple of days.


When I came back to them to take some pictures, they were still quite dark until held up to some light. With a bright light behind them, they were very vibrant in colors. The T-rex inks get a bit thick and dark when flaming. I'm sure with some practice, I could get better results (less ink, more thinning, etc...), but for now, these may be a bit of a failed experiment.


For a better idea of what they look like when there isn't a light source behind them. They are still pretty, but it's hard to see all of the lovely colors. What do you think? Should I try to redo these or just find a permanent light source for them?

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