Paradise Found

On a hot July summer day...such as today...I can just imagine the mist coming off of the waves, while relaxing in a hammock at the beach, and sipping on a tall refreshing lemonade!  It's been incredibly hot this summer with little to no rain to speak of (at least in my neck of the woods), so I was inspired to create this tag (and card) for Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of 2012 -- for July.

This month's challenge was all about using alcohol inks in a unique way -- check out Tim's amazing tag for July and his step-by-step instructions HERE. 

A variety of alcohol inks were used.  For the sand: caramel & latte; for the grassy bits: lettuce; for the sun & sunspots: butterscotch, & gold mixative (on the tag); for the waves: cloudy blue, & stream (on the card).  The pants/sandals were colored with cranberry, using an Adirondack fillable pen.

The white seam binding ribbon for the tag was colored with vintage photo & broken china Distress Stains.  The colors initially go on quite intense but as they blend with water, and dry, the colors lighten up quite a bit.

The stamp set is Paradise (of course), by CTMH.  And I think this just might be the first time I've used it.  But I love it!

You can see another tag I made using this same technique ---> HERE.  It's one of my popular posts found on my sidebar...and is themed more towards winter.

Here's a TIP for cleaning up when using alcohol inks.  First of all, use a craft sheet to protect your work surface.  Nothing sticks to it, and it cleans up beautifully with....Hand Sanitizer!  The hand sanitizer not only helps clean your hands, but add a little squirt to a wet wipe or towel and simply wipe off your craft mat!  Love this stuff!! 

And that's not all -- do you have one of those table that are made out of that hard durable plastic?  If you do, and you like to use dye inks, sprays, and watercolors, you just might find that your table is holding on to some of that color.  Simply add several squirts of hand sanitizer directly to the table and use a damp rag, or wet wipe to move it around and wipe up the mess.  My table still looks like new!  I use this method when I'm teaching classes as well -- a quick & easy way to clean up a lot of mess.

Well, that's it for today! Thanks for taking the time to stop by. 
Stay Cool!  Lisa