All that gleams ...

... may not be gold, but it could be pearl ... or pearlescent paper.

 













You may not be able to appreciate the glowing beauty resulting from this simple technique, till you try it yourself -- no photo, scan or video can  capture it as well as seeing it in person.  The gleam of this painted paper shows thru the translucent alcohol inks, and the inks themselves form mottled patterns.  The combination of the two is a treat for the eyes!

Supplies:  watercolor paper or other sturdy, smooth paper; Ranger alcohol inks; Ranger alcohol ink applicator; brush or brayer; pearlescent paint; masking tape; stencils

First step:  Use a substrate of hot-press (smooth to touch) 140-lb. watercolor paper.  Lacking that, you could try using heavyweight cardstock.

Brush or brayer on a layer of white pearlescent acrylic paint. I used Golden's but other brands are available.  Make sure the whole surface is evenly coated; this may require 2 coats, with dry-time between.

Click on the above image to enlarge it.

The gleam is more visible in the photo below...

After this dries, hold, or secure with making tape, stencils onto the substrate.  Then add just a few drops of alcohol inks to the ink applicator and do several test-prints on scratch paper to take out any excess of alcohol ink.  It's far better to have too little alcohol ink on the applicator, than to have too much, since the runny nature of this ink makes it tricky to use with stencils.  Ink wants to run under the edges of the stencil-cuts to create blurry images.  Use a light touch when daubing the inks thru the stencil openings.


Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Heron.

Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Osprey Wings.

Above:  my brand new 9"X12" stencil Boxed Vines.

Below:  After the inks have been applied and the stencils have been lifted:

My first attempt at this resulted in "run-under" blurs like this:




 

 
But with a little practice, I learned the right amount of ink to use (very little)  -- and I learned two ways of dealing with run-unders.

(1.) They can be camouflaged:

Above:  I sprayed acrylic inks over the entire print to camouflage the run-under areas. 

Another example:

 

Above:  This print made from the stencil Osprey Wings had under-runs along the edges.

Above:  This is the same image after I sprayed it with acrylic inks.

Above:  the Pat Dews mouth atomizer and acrylic inks that I use with it to create sprays.  Another option would be to use Color Bloom Sprays or Ranger's Color Wash sprays.

 

(2.)  Run-unders can also be painted out:

Above:  my 6"X6" Gingko stencil was used to make this greeting card cover; I had two areas of run-under, which I later touched up with a small paintbrush dipped into the pearlescent paint.

 

More examples showing alcohol inks on pearlescent paper:

 

Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Ferns was used to create this greeting card cover.

Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Flowers Version 1 was used to create this greeting card cover.

 

 

Above:  My 9"X12" stencil Ivy Frame was used to create this greeting card cover.

All the above stencils, and many more, are available here at STENCILGIRL(TM)Products:

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1832.htm