Tutorial by Linda Fields
Welcome to another Minute Monday! Create faux glass and marble with just one pen!
Minute Monday Materials
- Altenew Alcohol Ink Pens (See alternatives)
- Tim Holtz Yupo Paper
- Sakura Micron Drawing Pen
- Altenew Wavy Blooms Stamp
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Tim Holtz Archival Ink Pad – Black
- Tim Holtz Spray Bottle
- Tim Holtz Applicator & Felts
- Low or Cool Heat Hair Dryer or Manual Hand Blower (optional)
Faux Marble
Creating a faux marble effect starts with laying down color on any non-porous substrate like Yupo paper, spraying it with rubbing alcohol then using the Tim Holtz Felt Applicator to pounce in the mottled marble look. I like to start at the edges and corners. It’s a great way to push the color across the page and if you aren’t happy, you can always trim off parts you don’t like or erase them with more alcohol.
I find it fun and useful to have your favorite song playing in the background so you can pounce to the beat! That’s right, keep hitting your paper! Add more color and alcohol as you go, drying between layers (when necessary) to create deeper tones. Remember, alcohol thins and lightens the ink. Use any alcohol pen brand – Altenew or Copic are excellent. Or you might want to use bottled alcohol inks like you’ll find with the Tim Holtz line but this tutorial focuses on the pens so you can see they aren’t for traditional coloring anymore!
Use one or many colors but I recommend no more than three to start. It’s really up to you. I created the green marble using one green and one turquoise Altenew pen. Darker colors have a tendency to have more colors pop up as you lighten and spread them across your substrate. After you’re done putting your color(s) down, go back with a fine tip Micron pen to draw thin lines, expanding and accentuating the lines the colors have started. Congrats! You just created marble!
Faux Glass
To create the faux glass flowers, I first used Tim Holtz Archival Ink to stamp Wavy Blooms by Altenew. I used the same two pens as I did for the marble backdrop. This was a layering process starting with the lightest color, overlapped several layers, increasing the color for shadows. I added the darkest color last, using the brush. nib to layer depth and a wonderful, brushed glassine texture. The last step is to use the Micron pen to outline your stamp and add additional lines inside the petals.
Final Touch
Normally I have a final touch but the creative process isn’t done with me yet for this piece. I have yet to turn it into a sentimental card but what’s most important is to have fun. It’s remarkable just how versatile and amazing alcohol ink can be so enjoy the process!
