How to Make Colored Ink

Homemade ink adds a personal touch to your notes and stationery.

Making your own colored ink gives you the opportunity to turn your letters and sentimental writings into personalized items. Homemade ink, regardless of the use, is simple to make and requires only a couple of ingredients. Whether you're mixing pen ink, permanent tattoo ink or a painting ink for your unfinished porcelain knickknacks, knowing how to make colored ink from scratch enables you to create bold and bright colors.

Things You'll Need

• 1 oz. rubbing alcohol
• 1 oz. mica mineral flakes
• Mortar and pestle
• 2-oz. bottle with lid
• Small funnel or spoon
• Newspaper or paper plate

Instructions

1. Pour an ounce of rubbing alcohol into a 2-oz. bottle, which can be glass, plastic or even chrome. Let the alcohol sit in the open bottle while you grind the mica flakes.

2. Crush up to 1 oz. of mica minerals with a mortar and pestle, grinding the mica into a fine powder. Mica minerals are available online from cosmetic crafting suppliers. Black, blue, purple, green and tones of every other color of the rainbow exist in mica mineral flakes.Choose any color you want to make a bright and bold ink. Experiment with mixing different colors to create your own signature blends.

3. Add the ground mica to the rubbing alcohol in the bottle using a funnel or by carefully spooning it in. Do this over newspaper or a paper plate to catch any fallen mica powder.

4. Cap the bottle and shake it vigorously for about two minutes. Make sure that every bit of powdered mica mineral dissolves in the rubbing alcohol. The end result is a homemade ink that can be applied with a paintbrush or dip pen, or you can fill empty pen tubes with ink for homemade stationery crafts.

Tips & Warnings

• Use glittered mica mineral, which has flecks of shimmery mica in it. This type of mica creates glittery ink for a glitzy note or greeting card.

• Wear old clothing and gloves when making this ink as it will stain everything. It is highly permanent.

References

• Encyclopedia: Mica Mineral