Color Sticks Technique

Today I wanted to share with you a technique I call "Color Sticks". It's my own twist on the technique known as "bargello". Basically, bargello is slicing a piece of pattern paper or a stamped image into several pieces then layering these individual pieces in a stair-step fashion.

Color Sticks takes it a step further with the magic of Alcohol Inks! One of my absolute favorite color mediums, you will see what a striking effect the inks have on the finished cards :)

Supplies:

Adirondack Alcohol Inks - Ranger

Adirondack Alcohol Ink Blending Tool & Felts - Ranger

Non-Stick Craft Mat - Ranger

Glossy Cardstock - Ranger

Glue Stick

Cardstock

Trimmer

Instructions:

1. Trim several pieces of glossy cardstock in various widths. Why cut first? Well I do it this way so there is no waste. If you ink a solid section of glossy cardstock you may end up with excess for your particular project. This way, there is no waste! You ink only what is needed and don't end up with a pile of already inked cardstock you have to find a use for.

2. Apply alcohol inks to the strips of glossy cardstock. For this example I used Butterscotch, Lettuce and Stream.

3. On a plain piece of carstock, apply a generous amount of glue stick adhesive. I know I know, glue stick? Yes...I like to use a glue stick for this particular step rather than other adhesives because you will need to be sure that the entire length of each strip is secured to the backing cardstock. If the entire strip is not adhered to the backing paper it will cause problems when it comes time to cut.

4. Once you have applied the glue stick to the backing paper, start laying the individual strips down. You need to make sure that they are butted snugly next to each other leaving no spaces.

Once you have attached all of your strips to the backing paper you will be left with something that looks like this. It needs to be set aside to dry completely.

NOTE: I like to place a few books on top of the piece while it's drying to ensure there is no curling or warping of the finished piece.

5. Now you are ready to make your "Color Sticks"! Simply slice your creation in various widths ~ everything from very thin to wider pieces will work. You just want to make sure you have lots of sizes to choose from.

You will be left with a pile of Color Sticks like this! You may be asking ... now what?

Well, now it's time to put those Color Stick to use! They can be arranged in various patterns on your cards.

Maybe you want to use a couple of color sticks to frame a saying or stamped image. How about cutting a few color sticks up to make mini sticks! Here are just a few examples of various patterns to use the color sticks.....

Alternating layers in a stepped fashion.

Another stepped pattern going in one direction or the other.

Maybe you like a more random

pattern to work with....

or

Maybe you're more the linear type....

No matter what your preference, there are always fun ways to use the Color Sticks!

The following cards were all made using the colors sticks produced from the example. Some of the sticks were used whole while others were trimmed to smaller sizes.

Life

Supplies - Scroll stamp - Fiskars; Senitment - Stampers Anonymouus; Vellum, Ink Blending Tool - Ranger; Adirondack Dye Inks - Ranger; Lime Green Stickles - Ranger

Make A Wish

Supplies - flourish, flower & sentiment stamps - Fiskars; Girl - Stampers Anonymous; Adirondack Dye Inks - Ranger; Tag; Brad; Bazzill Bling Cardstock

Two Peas in a Pod

Supplies - Girls - Queens Dresser Drawers; Adirondack Dye Ink - Ranger; Cardstock - Club Scrap

Happy Birthday

Supplies: Cake - TAC; Sentiment - Unknown; Adrondack Dye Inks - Ranger; Stickles - Ranger Cardstock - Bazzill