How to Make a Galaxy Card with Ink Sprays

A few weeks ago I was at Target, perusing my favorite aisle – the stationery section. It’s a great place to find inspiration for my own creations while not paying the expensive price tag.

While looking, I found a beautiful galaxy card. It was full of blacks, golds, stars, and silhouettes of trees.

As soon as I got home, I started creating my own galaxy using Dylusions ink sprays. And the great part, the exact placement of where the ink is sprayed doesn’t really matter because it ends up blending together. Just be sure to cover the work area because this project gets a bit messy. Also, consider wearing gloves – my skin is a bit stained and my nails have white acrylic specks all over the place.

This card is extremely easy to make, check it out below.

Supplies

Dylusions Ink Sprays (Brighter) (Bolder)
Watercolor Paper
Water Spritzer
Alcohol Spritzer
White Acrylic Paint (similar)
Toothbrush
Paper Towels
Tree Stamps
Embossing Tutorial
Black Distress Ink
Ink Blending Tool

Step One

This card uses lots of liquids. It’s best to use heavy watercolor paper to complete this project. To start, I randomly sprayed London Blue ink spray to the paper, followed by Funky Fuchsia, and Crushed Grape.

Step Two

Next with a water spritzer, I sprayed water right on top – not too much water but enough to easily blend all the colors together with a brush.

Step Three

Now spritz the mix with rubbing alcohol. I’m using 91% alcohol but any percentage will do. The rubbing alcohol acts as a resist, and will repel the blend, making lighter colors wherever the alcohol lands. Let the rubbing alcohol sit for about 20-30 seconds, then use a crumpled paper towel to “mop up” all of the liquid. Because the mix ended up too purple-y for me, I sprayed a light coat of London Blue followed by Fresh Lime. I gently blotted the watercolor paper one last time.

Step Four

To enhance the look of the galaxy, I added specks of stars. I took a dime sized amount of basic white acrylic paint, added a tiny drop of water and mixed it with a toothbrush. Then I took the toothbrush, ruffled the bristles on top of the paper and let the white paint drop and fall as it wanted. Allow the paper to air dry completely or use a heat gun to expedite the process.

Step Five

Now that the paper is fully dry, use black Distress Ink and a blending tool to darken the edges of the galaxy.

Step Six

It’s time to add the trees. I considered just stamping the trees with black ink, but I wanted to give the card some texture. So I embossed them instead. For more on embossing, take my class over on Skillshare and receive two months of classes for free!