Alcohol Ink Coasters - Under The Influence

Project list:

-4x4 glass tiles  (DIY store in the tile section)

-alcohol inks (craft store)

-Rust-Oleum Triple Thick spray glaze (DIY store, outdoor sprays)

-rubbing alcohol

-fingernail polish remover

-ribbon, or twine

-metal leaf

-backing pads for surface protection

-Cardboard box for a spraying booth

-gloves

-paper towels

 -protective eyewear

 How many people pin away on Pinterest and then forget to actually remember to do the projects they had intended.  Well, no exception here usually, but there are a few flickers of light!  The flickering light will be highlighted, both good and bad on this blog in a segment called "Pinterest, I did that!"

The first Pinterest, I Did That! will be coasters.  These coasters have a few improvements.  In fact, I will have to do at least two different posts about coasters....But, first, Alcohol ink coasters. 

I had to do a bit of shopping and improving before I got to my final project.  I started with the Pinterest pin with white tiles and bright colours. They are relaxing to do, you get lost in time as the colours intermingle.  The problem with these tiles are they are not glazed on the edges.  I didn't like the messiness of the edge. I can see using these as tiles in a tray , or something that the edges are hidden.  I also have some other ideas to fix these, I smell a future blog, or is that just the fumes?

   Pinerest

  I went back to the DIY store and found some 4x4 glass tiles.  Niiiice!  The edge is glazed and pretty, so the ink doesn't soak in, thus it doesn't become a permanent feature.

Put on your googles at anytime you feel it is necessary.

 I have a blast with these Alcohol inks!  They come in sets like earth tones, blues and greens, or reds and orange.  There plenty more options with the colours.  

I'm not sure what other brands there are out there.  This is the only one I have run across.

 

Ok, Let us get started.  Choose your palette.  Place your tiles on a solid surface that you don't mind getting messy with paint, I use an old baking sheet.  Put on some gloves.  Rub tiles with alcohol to get a flowing base for the paints going. 

Start dropping the ink onto the tiles and watch as the colours grow into organic shapes. It makes it even more oplulent to add mixatives to the palette.  I added both gold and silver to mine here.

For this example, I picked the tile up on a diagonal and let the wet ink run, as you can see in the last picture.  just the good old drops look nice, as well. U can add more drops to the running ink, repeat the diagonal pick up, repeat drops....Keep going until you get the desired effect.  Don't worry if it runs onto the edges, we can take care of that later.

                                                   Let your ink dry.


Here is an example of just drops left to dry and not running the ink sideways:

Now you will find that some of the ink gets soaked into the back of the tile.  I just add to it to create the final back.  Here I dropped more ink and while it was still wet I rubbed the colours together with a gloved finger. Mind the front of the tile by making sure it is completely dry and try not to drag it, as the colour can flake off before it is sealed. 

                                        Let everything dry completely.


Now you will need fingernail polish remover and paper towels.  This will clean the edge of stray ink.  Mind that you don't get the remover on the front and back surfaces.

 

The tiles look great at this point, but you can add a bit more bling to them by adding metal leaf flecks.  Set up your spraying box, outdoors where it is well ventilated.  Tear off the leaf and rub into your hand to break it up.  apply where you would like it on the tile.  Lightly spray your glaze from quite a distance to adhere the leaf.  If you spray too close it will move the leaf.  After you adhere your leaf and everything is how you want it, it is time to put a good coating of glaze all over the tile.

Some notes about the glazing process:

-I have used other brands of glaze that didn't work as well as the one pictured. 

-After a smooth coating of the glaze, you can go over the tile again with a spattering of spray to create a different texture and look.  Hold the can at a longer distance and use short bursts.

Dry completely!

Apply surface protecting pads.  These come in many different forms, here is what I used:

 Here is another  colour scheme I did.  

When I give these as gifts, I like to bundle them like pictured.  I mixed colour schemes here for a sort of sand and sea look.  

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A side note:

I tried using Sharpies for the paint.  There is a Pinterest pin saying it is a way to save money on the inks.  I tried it for the glass tiles and it was a disaster!  I wait for the inks to go on sale and/or use coupons to reduce the price, for nicer glass tile coasters.  I will be testing the Sharpie idea further however, reporting back any relevant findings.

Pinterest

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