Homemade Alcohol Inks

Topics Covered In This Video:

- Commercial alcohol inks such as the Adirondack line from Ranger, have been used with polymer clay for a long time.

- Here are links to a couple of examples of my previous PcT tutorials that use the Adirondack Inks...

- Some people find commercial alcohol inks to be expensive and want to learn to make their own.

- Homemade alcohol ink is very cheap when you look at the amount you can make with each box of dye.

- Homemade Alcohol Ink Recipe:

1 part Rit Dye (powdered or liquid. I used 1/2 teaspoon for my 1 part)
6 parts 99% Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol)
2 parts Water (for liquid dye only)

- Stir until mixed (the powdered dye will still have salts in the bottom and the liquid dye will still have some clumps of unmixed dye.)

- Use a clean unused coffee filter to filter out solids if desired.

- Use your homemade alcohol inks like you would use any other commercially made alcohol inks.

- Homemade alcohol inks aren't as concentrated as commercial brands.

- Colors are not as vibrant in/on polymer clay as they are on paper.

- Color is stable when baked in polymer clay.

- Although the homemade version is much cheaper by volume, it will cost you about the same on a per color basis if you only use small quantities.

- I prefer the commercial brands of alcohol inks such as Ranger's Adirondack Alcohol Ink, because... the colors are more concentrated and vibrant on polymer clay... there are more colors... making homemade inks yourself, is a messy job... and since the bottles last "forever," I don't mind if they are a little more expensive than the homemade version.

- The homemade alcohol ink may be a good choice for schools or guilds because the price is much cheaper by volume.

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[seaglassbarbara]

I use acrylic paint and rubbing alcohol. In my paint palette, I just squeeze a small dot of acrylic, then I use a dropper to drop alcohol into it. Or...I paint the surface with a light coat of acrylic, let it dry then give a thin coat of alcohol. So many ways...also food coloring mixed with alcohol has been really wonderful for me. Just thought I'd pass it on. Being on a fixed income, I cannot afford to buy those wonderful inks. So Ive had to make my own. :)

[kandkcollins]

Loved your video! I make my inks using alcohol and markers from the dollar store. I take the markets apart, take out the ink filters, drop them into the alcohol and let them soak for a couple of days and they work great!

[QuietBloom]

Haha I just saw this. Considering Tim’s inks are 90% pigment, I’m not surprised you weren’t happy with the results. I do powdered Rit dye, 99% alcohol to the same volume as the dye, and add a drop of dish soap to help emulsify the dye and the alcohol. I get incredibly vivid pigments this way.

[crystalklein]

Dont know if anyone has mentioned this tip but I actually have made alcohol ink with left over printer cartridge ink. it separates as it sits but you just shake it up and it mixes right back together. it is very nice and you can make it as vibrant or as " watered down" as you would like and I made mine in a spray bottle. I do use it on my clay and also, keep in mind that the printer colors are primary colors and you can make any color you like. I love your videos and tips :-)

[carmenalcayaga]

been looking your homemade Alcohol Inks video. I don´t have the particular brand you use for the "recipie", so I can´t be sure if this will work for your materials. 
I would like to suggest to mix the liquid dye with 2 parts of water  first, when the dye is already mix with the water, then you may add 6 parts of Isopropyl Alcohol; but instead of 99% alcohol; maybe you can use 70% or 75% alcohol. 
The liquid dye is not soluble in alcohol so they don´t mix. The dye is water soluble, then you can dilute it in water. Once the dye is in a water solution, if you add alcohol it becames soluble in alcohol because alcohol and water are easy to mix.  The difference between 99% and 70% Alcohol is the amount of water mixed with the alcohol. 99% alcohol means 99 part of alcohol+1part of water (and other stuffs). If you use 70% alcohol you will have more water and the dye will dilute quickly.
I apologize for my English. I hope this will work.

[Michelle]

The liquid dye didn't work because it's not water soluble. To turn it into a thinner dye ink you would have to use oil solvents like mineral spirits, or mineral oil (like baby oil), or even naphtha. It's just like oil paints won't mix with water and you need a oil solvent to clean the brushes because water doesn't mix with oil. Another example is nail polish it doesn't mix with water because it's not water soluble so you would need a nail polish/ lacquer thinner or acetone in order to make it soluble, thin, or just clean you brushes. I hope this was helpful. Thank you!

[NolaGB]

I know that I'm watching this video several years later than filmed, but thought someone might watch it late as I am. I use alcohol inks, but cannot afford to purchase the Ranger brand, so I make my own. I use Sharpie markers, not dye, for the reasons you showed. There are videos demonstrating using markers. They are not my videos, but easily found on YouTube.

[ThePeachMartini]

I've been looking into making my own alcohol inks/sprays to use in paper crafts and this was the first video/tutorial I've seen that mentions using the fabric dyes such as Rit...which is really quite a brilliant idea! I think for use on paper, this would give me much better results than the other tutorials I've seen which just look like watered down paint...but I'm sure each variety serves it's purpose. So...all that to say...thank you for a different perspective and a great video explaining the process and applications of these. And interesting from a non-polymer clay artists perspective :)

[bunnidotcom]

I tried making the alcohol ink using professional Procion MX dyes. I think it would be worth your while to order the sample kit I mentioned in my previous comment and giving it a try. I used less than one quarter of a quarter teaspoon... an amount that is really hard to measure. I put the dry granules into about 1 1/2 ounces of alcohol. The mix was instantly a vibrant turquoise. There was a little residue in the bottom of the bottle (maybe the salt you mention... though I don't think it's actual salt). The color was a beautiful turquoise on paper. I did not have any white polymer clay to try it out on (and I don't do much polymer clay anymore so I probably won't be using it for that) but it was a good enough test to believe that anyone who does polymer (or wants alcohol ink for any other reason) might want to give this a try. I don't buy those samplers I mentioned anymore but I buy turquoise, fuchsia and yellow with which I can make any other colors. For less than the price of 6 bottles of the Adirondack alcohol ink you could be set to make - at a guess - gallons of alcohol ink of many many colors. 

[ABergieCreation]

Hi Cindy. I am new to polymer clay ink. I have loved watching your channel. I take your advice seriously. Shades of Clay has been my store of choice in Canada. We live in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I was wondering if you can mix in colic markers and even use the refill ink as you would the adirondack ink on raw polymer. It is an alcohol based ink so I thought maybe it would work. I own a pile of Copic ink and markers. I take your advice so serious that I only use Premo Clay and will try some soufflé. I have stocked up on rubbing alcohol and a bunch of other things you recommend. Thanks for your great videos. It is great that your whole family seems involved in your channel, that is wonderful. Good videography Doug! Take care. 

[fvjunkie]

So going to try using my vast Procion and Acid Dye lots from Dharma Trading. Hint on using dye powder. You can use Urea (Sheeps urine in ball form) to mix your powder into a liquid paste. The urea desolves removing powder for tie dye or fabric dying, so you don't have bursts of powder while dying. It should work for this technique as well. I would add a bit more dye, so you don't loose your intensity.

[holliehoward]

I had great luck making my own alcohol inks using food coloring allow continence of each color of food coloring to air dry then after add alcohol works great and got great intense color and its very cheep I can find four colors in a pack at the dollar store

[PolymerClayTutor]

Boiling water could work but it would have to be in a very tiny amount since we are trying to make a concentrated alcohol ink and not a fabric dye. It would be worth testing though. Thanks for the suggestion!

[carolallard]

plan on making my own but with markers and alcohol. found your use with polymer clay interesting...like the earrings.

[PolymerClayTutor]

Hi shersmelley, Food color might work for making alcohol ink, though you probably would need to use the more concentrated gels rather than the liquid you get at the grocery store, otherwise I think the color would be too weak. It wouldn't hurt to try it though if you have the supplies around your home. As far as amounts, always start with small amounts of each supply and add a little of whatever you think you need more of. Making up recipes is always trial and error. But that's the fun part!

[arbuckleoakshomestead]

Thank you for illustrating a possible problem with liquid RIT dye. I have seen the dye process used with hot water to dilute or blend the dye, so now I will use your adding alcohol after melted.

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[dustrhinosfan]

Cindy, you are wonderful. Are you still making videos on a regular basis?

[TheStrivingmuslim]

Yes I have been tempted to try and make my own alcohol inks for some time. But after watching your video, I am going to spare myself of the trouble and just buy beautiful colors from Adirondack Alcohol Ink.
- Thank you so much :)

[jendragonfly]

Wow Cindy this is awesome!  I am going to have to try to make primary colors, I do a lot of polymer clay stuff but I was thinking of doing mixed media canvas which is why I bought alcohol ink to begin with, at least I know this method of making my own. I will definately try this when I run out of the stuff I bought. Thanks again for all your help. 

[GramPam]

Very informative and cool! Thank you! I will buy the commercial brand. However, I am also curious to create my own! So both!!