Linda, I'm trying to go back in memory to who it was on the board that introduced this technique. It was a picture of a pear and the sharpie was used directly on the fabric, then alcohol was rubbed on to create a bleeding effect. I will research more, but she was very good at it and the results were so pretty. I'm not as confident so am using a q-tip dipped in the alcohol, then sharpie applied to q-tip. It's just more subtle that way. I'll let you know, but I remember looking it up on the board and finding info so maybe it's still there.