I know I’m late with a Mother’s Day card, but timing isn’t everything..And this video is more about the technique than the card… I started with a cereal box, and cut it so I had the front and back of the box to use….I glued a piece of aluminum foil (shiny side face up) to the box. (I glued the aluminum foil to the inside of the cereal box panel, as I wasn’t sure if the aluminum would stay attached to the shiny finished side of the box.) Make sure you do a good job of gluing the edges and corners, as they will pull up with time.

I cut the cardboard/aluminum piece to 5 1/4″ tall by 4″ wide and put it in a Brutus Monroe embossing folder called Petal Lace (link: https://tinyurl.com/y7gsfrcn ) and ran it through my Vagabond electric die cutting machine. (link: https://tinyurl.com/y8j5fqmy ) I love the Vagabond and highly recommend it for people with hand/wrist strength issues. The card base I used was 8 1/2″ wide by 5 1/2″ tall scored on the 8 1/2″ length at 4 1/4″…making it an A2 sized card. I use Recollections Heavyweight card stock in white from Michaels link: https://tinyurl.com/wq2663j .. I found Ranger’s Alcohol Ink tool kit at Joanns (link: https://tinyurl.com/yb9y3guq) and wanted to give it a try. I received Ranger’s Pearlized Alcohol Inks #2 in a stamp of the month kit, and found them only at Hobby Lobby in the big chain stores..link: https://tinyurl.com/ycvgqucy. You’ll also need Ranger’s Alcohol Ink Blending Solution link: https://tinyurl.com/ybgo6jg4. This is great for re-wetting dry alcohol ink and helping you clean your palette. I also use a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol to clean my work surface and tools.

You can make a lot of the tools you can buy (traditional tools not brushes) by gluing a piece of velcro to a pill bottle with the lid glued or Duct Taped on…then cut circles out of cheap white felt that are the same size as the lid and attach them with the velcro. Traditionally, alcohol inks were used in making abstract art and that’s what this tool helps create.

I wanted to see if the paint brushes provided in the tool kit would allow me to make a design that I can control. And they do. I painted the Intrique (Ranger Pearl Alcohol ink set #2 mentioned above) color in the larger sections of the embossing folder, then Tranquil from the same kit, in the centers of the flowers and Sunshine Yellow Ranger Alcohol Ink link: https://tinyurl.com/yccoz8g6. I colored a thin satin ribbon by running it through the Intrique alcohol ink left on my palette. I added a small tag that was die cut and stamped with Happy Mother’s Day from a Hero Arts stamp set called Celebrate Everyday (link: https://tinyurl.com/y9z7fado). I wrapped the ribbon around the left side of the card and attached it to the back with foam tape I bought at the Dollar Tree. I put several rows of foam tape on the back so the card is raised. I painted around the edges of my card base with Tranquil pearl alcohol ink and then glued the aluminum piece to it.

For the envelope, I used the leftover alcohol ink on my palette with a peg stamp called Poppy Face Large link: https://tinyurl.com/y93erz8h and stamped it across the back of the envelope and one on the bottom right corner of the front.

The stamp I created on the back of the card is one made by Stampanda. It’s a square address stamp called Molly that I changed the address to the wording I wanted. I used a coupon I found online at Groupon to make it around $24.

For the other two cards, I used embossing folders from Darice. The thinner piece was run through the their Quatrefoil embossing folder link: https://tinyurl.com/y8vnza8u, then painted with two of the colors from the Ranger pearl set #2 mentioned above. I die cut the word Hi out of the left upper side of the card base and glued a piece of mat aluminum colored card stock under it and glued the same color cardstock as the card base cut to 4 1/8″ x 5 1/2″ to the inside left side of the card base to cover up the aluminum cardstock back.

The other card was also made using a Darice embossing folder, unfortunately, I don’t know the name of it. Sorry. I used the same Hero Arts stamp kit for the sentiment and a gold color ribbon wrapped three times around the card front. I used Ranger older alcohol inks in Currant, Watermelon, Sunshine Yellow and Sublime from the Pearl kit mentioned above. I made this card the same way as the first card.

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