Best Alcohol Markers for Card Making

I am often asked what are the best alcohol markers for card making… And it comes down to a couple of things you need to answer first.

#1 – How much time are you wanting to spend coloring?

#2 – What is your budget?

If you are like me, and you want to take some time with it, but don't want to spend hours and hours with it and if you don't want to spend thousands on them, then I highly recommend Stampin Blends from Stampin Up.

When they first came out, I was hesitant, as I had already been a copic user for many years and loved them. What I didn't love was the time commitment.  To color in the image on the card below would have taken me at least an hour.  When using the Stampin Blends, I was done in 10 minutes.

To color the image below with Copics, I would have used about 10-12 different markers (at $8 each), with Stampin Blends, 4 markers (at $4.50 each.)

So draw from that what you will, for me, I never touch my copics anymore.  I haven't parted with my copic just yet, as I am a partial craft hoarder 🙂

Obviously from all that above, best alcohol markers for card making are Stampin Blends.

The Project

Let's dive into the project.  It uses one of my favorite floral images as well has a great card layout, I will dive into all the details below.  Here it is:

The Supplies

Here is what we are using today.  You will see it's not a lot of supplies, as we want the coloring to be the focal point.  To order any of these supplies, all you need to do is click on a picture below.

The Dimensions

• Whisper White:  3-1/4″ x 3-1/4″; 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″
• Basic Black:  3-3/8″ x 3-3/8″; 1/2″ x 5-1/4″ (2) or 4″ x 5-1/4″ (just depends on if you want to save card stock or not)
• Daffodil Delight:  2″ x 5-1/4″
• Granny Apple Green:  2″ x 5-1/4″

The Stamping

There are only two things you need to stamp for this card.  First is your floral image on your Whisper White square.  You will want to use Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Whisper White card stock.  Stampin Blends are formulated to work best with these two products.

Next you will want to stamp your sentiment in the lower right hand corner of your Granny Apple Green card stock.

The Coloring of the Leaves

There are several ways to use Stampin Blends, and I have a lot of videos walking you through them here and here, but when it comes to coloring this project, it's simple, simple, simple.

Before we start coloring, you will want to sit and stare at your image.  Think about what is in the front of the image and what sets to the back.  I saw the small leaves as being in the front and the big leaves as being in the back.  The ones in the front will be lighter, as there aren't shadows.

Start with your lighter color marker.  For me, I started with the Granny Apple Green color.  Color in all over for your front leaves.  For your front images, you won't want to use much, if any, of your darker color.  I didn't use them at all on the front leaves.

When we go to do the larger leaves, again, we will start with the lighter color and color all over.  Then use your darker color where your shadows will be, behind your lighter flowers.

The Forgotten Step

Now it's time for the magic.  Many will stop with two steps above, but I beg you, KEEP GOING!  Grab your lighter marker and go back over your entire large leaves again, starting with where your darker color was used, and working your way to the lighter.  So for the lighter sections, you will be coloring it twice.  For the darker sections, you will be coloring it three times.

This will blend out the colors rather than having light next to dark with obvious lines.  (That's another technique all together!)

The Coloring of The Flowers

Then you will want to repeat the steps for the flowers. Just think about where your darker parts of the flower would be, most of the time it's the center of the flower.  For that reason, I did not blend out as much of the darker color on the flower, as it is more about a different color for the center of the flower rather than shadows.

Simple, my friends, just simple.  Can you see why I think these are the best alcohol markers for card making.

The Assembly

Now it's time to assemble your card!

1. Dry emboss your Daffodil Delight card stock with the Subtle Embossing Folder**.
2. Secure one of the small Basic Black strips behind the top of the Daffodil Delight card stock.
3. Secure the other small Basic Black strip behind the bottom of the Granny Apple Green card stock.
4. Your Daffodil Delight piece will secure on top of a small portion of your Granny Apple Green card stock, you want the total height of these pieces to be 4″ tall.
5. Wrap a strip of Whisper White ribbon around this card front and secure your ends behind your card stock layers.
6. Attach your colored flowers to your Basic Black square.  Use Dimensions at the top and bottom of these layers to attach as shown.
7. Tie a bow in the same ribbon using your 10 Second Bow Maker and attach it to your card.
8. Secure all of your layers onto your Whisper White card base.

** The Subtle Embossing Folder is one of the best folders ever.  It takes any of your card stock and makes it textured card stock.  It's amazing!

Wrap Up

This card took me about 20 minutes, from cutting to dry embossing, stamping to coloring.  It comes down to having the right tools for the job.  Having a great paper trimmer, a Big Shot, and a 10 Second Bow Maker.

Pin It For Later

While you are waiting for your supplies to arrive, here is a graphic just for your Pinterest I Teach Stamping with Meg Board.

“Meg, what a great idea!  I have thousands of images saved on Pinterest and can't find what I need when I need it.  I love your projects and I want to make them, but when it's time to stamp, I can't find them.  So I created an I Teach Stamping with Meg board and I only pin your projects to this board.  Now I can easily find them.  Thanks!” – Marilyn, Kansas City, MO

Here is your graphic:

See You Soon

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I hope you see why I think Stampin Blends are the best alcohol markers for card making.  They are simple to use and very affordable 🙂  Be sure to keep checking back for more stamping inspiration and tutorials.