If you've got a drawer full of dried-out markers and a bottle of rubbing alcohol, you have everything you need to make your own alcohol inks at home — and you can have usable ink in your hands within fifteen minutes. This tutorial covers the full process, from cracking open old markers and extracting the pigment, to applying the inks on photo paper and plain paper using the smooshing technique, plus a flip-through of the tags, flowers, and die-cut shapes I made with the results.
What we cover
How to make DIY alcohol inks from dried-out markers and methylated spirits — including which markers work best, how to extract the inner ink cartridges, and how to mix your own secondary colors. Then how to actually use those inks: the smooshing technique on photo paper and plain paper, dabbing, dripping, and a look at what the finished papers can become (tags, flowers, die-cut shapes, embossed pieces).
What you'll learn
How to extract pigment from old markers to make alcohol ink, including:
- Pulling out the nib and inner ink cartridge by hand or with pliers
- Pressing the cap end carefully when the cartridge is stubborn (without pointing it at yourself — these can shoot out)
- Breaking the casing open as a last resort when nothing else works
- Dropping everything — the cartridge, the plastic housing, all of it — straight into the jar without needing to disassemble further
Why dried-out markers still make excellent ink — even markers that feel completely empty have pigment left in the spongy inner piece. You'll see me press a "dry" marker onto paper with almost nothing showing, then watch that same marker release deep color the moment it hits the methylated spirits.
How to mix and store your inks, including:
- How little you actually need — three markers can produce a good, usable ink
- Why darker pigments like black go further (fewer markers needed for a potent solution)
- How to keep topping up the same jar with more methylated spirits and getting consistent color each time
- How to make secondary colors by mixing two jars together, or by combining primary-color inks directly on your work surface — so you don't have to make every color separately
The smooshing technique on photo paper — applying ink to a plastic surface, pressing the paper down onto it, and lifting. This is the technique I kept coming back to. You'll see why the drip-directly-onto-the-card approach rarely gives the same result.
How alcohol ink behaves on different surfaces, including:
- Photo paper — fast-drying, vivid, slightly different texture than regular paper
- Plain paper — the ink bleeds and blends more slowly, and the back of the sheet often picks up a gorgeous color run that's worth keeping
- Buttons, plastic beads, and acetate — results I tested so you don't have to (the acetate was a fail; the beads are worth experimenting with)
How to build color across a piece without overworking it — adding black first for defined edges, layering a second color on top, picking up leftover ink from the plastic surface to fill white spots. Alcohol evaporates fast, so you'll learn to make decisions quickly and stop before you muddy the piece.
What to make with the finished papers, including:
- Tags and name plate shapes, die-cut on a die-cut machine
- Paper flowers — the photo paper ones are slightly sturdier than regular paper and have a different finish
- Small punched shapes run through an embossing folder
- Tiny punched hearts that end up looking like little enamel dots — raised, shiny, surprisingly charming
A practical color theory shortcut for mixing — I am genuinely hopeless with color, so I keep a color wheel nearby. You only need to make red, yellow, and blue inks; from there you can mix green, orange, and purple directly on your surface or in a spare jar. I cover how this works in practice, including what to do when (like me) you don't have red and are quietly pretending pink is the same thing.
Tips & gotchas
Only use dried-out markers — not new ones. This project is specifically about getting the last life out of markers that are already headed for the bin. Using new markers is wasteful and genuinely unnecessary.
You don't need many. Three markers can produce a good ink. For dark pigments like black, even fewer — Sharpies especially hold a remarkable amount of pigment even when they feel completely spent.
Be careful when pressing to extract the inner piece. If you press the cap end to push the cartridge out, don't point it toward yourself. They can shoot out fast. Learned that one the obvious way.
Ventilation is not optional. Methylated spirits and rubbing alcohol are volatile and flammable. Work outside or with doors and windows open. Keep sessions short — I've given myself headaches working too long in a closed space, and the straw-blowing technique (where you put your face close to blow ink across the paper) is one I stopped using for exactly this reason. If you try it, be cautious.
Keep a rag nearby. Inks spill. They come off smooth surfaces easily — a little alcohol on a rag handles most marks — but getting it on clothes is a different story. Gloves help.
This is not a project for kids to sit in on. Show them the results afterward. The flammable, volatile liquid part is a solo activity.
Alcohol evaporates very quickly — work fast. Once ink is on the surface, you have seconds before it starts to set. Make your color choices before you start pressing, not during.
If a marker casing won't open, just break it. Sometimes that's the only way in. The plastic pieces can still go to recycling afterward.
Mix primary colors rather than making every shade separately. Red, yellow, and blue cover most of what you'll want. Secondary colors can be mixed on your work surface or in a spare jar — you don't need a separate jar of orange if you have yellow and red already going.
The smaller you cut them, the better even the imperfect ones look. The ones I thought were failures at full size turned out to be my favorite flowers once I cut them down. That's probably the best argument for just making a lot of them and worrying about what they become later.
