Alcohol Backgrounds

The frigid cold air continues here in Ontario but it should be back to more normal temperatures tomorrow – which means it will still very cold but right around -7C (19F) but with the wind chill it plummets to -14C (6F) but that’s still better than what we have had for the last four days. It will be good to get out of the house tomorrow – we need groceries and I want to go to the library. We haven’t had any sparrows at our bird feeders since it turned cold either. We’ve had a couple of Northern Cardinals and Mourning Doves but nothing else….well, except for the hawk that sits on the one bird feeder once in awhile. I know the birds take off when he comes but they are right back right after he leaves but not right now. My theory is that they are all huddled in a bush to stay warm but that’s just my theory.

Yesterday I decided to take the day off from quilting and I put on a couple more layers of sweaters and headed on down to the lower studio to make some cards. The basement has a couple of heat ducts but not much heat comes out so it’s pretty chilly down there. I felt like making something completely different so I did. I played around making some alcohol ink backgrounds and then using them in cards. Here’s one of them.

Once the background was to my liking I stamped some clocks and clocks bits over it. Some are Tim Holtz clocks, some from Hot Off the Press. The large sentiment is also from a Tim Holtz stamp set and I embossed it in black, tore the edges and inked them. The little tag was computer generated and then die cut with a Cuttlebug die. It’s attached to the ribbon with some embroidery floss that is tied in a bow – but a very manly bow! Then it was glued to a white card base.

Making the alcohol backgrounds on glossy paper is addicting. I think I cut 2 sheets of glossy paper into smaller sizes and made several different backgrounds. You’re never sure how they are going to turn out. Once I get the colours I like, I then spritz, rather than spray, on alcohol to get those tiny blooms you see. But next time I made some I’ll wear a face mask. The basement is not well ventilated and by the time I was done I thought my lungs were full of alcohol mist. Yuck. Not good for the body at all. I’m a slow learner some days but I eventually figure things out.

That’s all for a cold Thursday,

Cheers

Violet