The Black Ice Technique

The Black Ice technique was invented some time ago and has been put to test by many crafters out there. It was new to me though, and I knew I had to make some cards with it the moment I discovered it. The technique itself is very simple, yet the results are stunning. I prepared a step-by-step guide to demonstrate how it is done and it should be easy for you to follow, should you decide to give it a go yourself.

To begin, you will need metallic cardstock. I put a few to the test here and they all performed beautifully. I even tried using a holographic cardstock and the result was amazing. You will also need a black StãzOn inkpad or a similar archival inkpad. StãzOn was the winner for me in this case. I tried the Archival Ink by Wendy Vecchi and it worked too, but required a quick heat setting prior to moving onto the next step.

As you probably know, StãzOn inks dry very fast and the inkpads require re-inking regularly. I purposefully didn’t reink my StãzOn for this technique, but if yours is quite juicy, then make sure you apply the ink on the mirror card using a very light hand. The idea is to create faint streaks on the card, dragging the inkpad over the metallic card in one direction from top to bottom. The next step would be to stamp an image or a selection of images over the top.

I chose to use mainly images that have more of a fill or silhouette images, but also tested florals to give you more ideas. The final step that brings everything together is to heat-emboss the entire panel using clear embossing powder. StãzOn is an Archival ink so you don’t need to worry about smudging anything or contaminating your embossing ink pad. Simply cover the entire panel in it and heat-emboss it. I like to do this step twice and even sprinkle extra powder randomly on top for extra texture. Here’s an idea for you… How about taking this step a bit further and emboss three times, then bend the embossed card in a few places to create a cracked black ice look?!

I combined my finished panels with a more colourful elements and card bases to keep the cheerful look, but you can go as moody and dark as you like. These would make a great ‘sympathy’ or ‘thinking of you’ cards! And if you like a touch of shine, but don’t like adding too many embellishments then this is definitely one for you. Have fun!