- Use very little. Put what you think you want on the brush, then use about half of that. They spread and blend wonderfully and it really takes very little. They will take quite a while to dry, which makes them so wonderful to use with embossing. Because of their slow-drying capability, they can be placed on a meat tray or an old CD to make a palette. They will not dry out even if uncovered for months.
- To emboss, when you are all done painting, just dump embossing powder on them (they’re still wet remember?) and heat as usual. It will change the colors slightly.
- They will air dry on regular cardstock. They will act differently on different kids of paper. Some are drop dead gorgeous on black, so-so on white. Very absorbent papers will suck them up – harder to spread, blend and they will dry faster. They look great on rice paper, but it really dries FAST. Have fun and experiment.
Detail Painting
- Start with an image embossed with black embossing ink/black detail embossing powder (colors are optional, but this combination gives the most detail.)
- Apply with paint brush (do not mix with water). Pour the colors out onto a palette. Decide what your color range will be. Lay down your lightest color first, it could even be white (snow queen) always mask the ‘light’ (the areas where the light will be).
- Next dip your brush into the darker color you would use to shade with, and paint where the stamp is etched for indicating shading.
- Mix a little dark color in the “neutral” color family you started with. You have now blended your own pastel shade. Use this new pastel in the lighter unetched areas of the stamped image. Viola, you have created light and dark shading, and you can blend as you like.
- The thinner the application, the better. Radiant Pearls have a texture all their own. Move the ‘pearls’ in the movement of the stamp image, such as the curl of a leaf.
Stippling
Stamp and emboss the image. Use a stipple brush to pick up a small amount of Radiant Pearls then prime your brush by moving the paint around on a palette made of an old CD or meat tray. Bounce the brush onto and around the image. Move from lightest color to darkest and be sure to blend between the colors for a feathered look.
Backgrounds
There are a lot of fun and lovely ways to create backgrounds using Radiant Pearls. The key to most of them is to paint your focal image and then seal it with clear embossing powder. Once the image is sealed you can create backgrounds without fear of damaging the focal image.
- Use any kind of tool to dip and create a texture with
- Create splatters of paint on your paper
- Use a fan brush to make giant swaths of color across your paper.
Direct-to-Rubber
Use your stipple brush to pick up some paint and then put it on your palette. Prime the brush by spreading the paint around with it. Bounce the loaded brush directly onto the stamp’s rubber surface. Do not use a thick layer. Add more colors as desired. When the stamp is painted completely with blends between the colors, stamp it onto the cardstock. You can get much softer images for the background, by stamping without re-painting the stamp. Just stamp it again and again for progressively lighter images.
Bleach Techniques
Stamp and emboss your image. Use the synthetic brush (I use a water brush http://www.dickblick.com/products/niji-waterbrush/) to paint in any areas you want light, with the bleach. After it is dry, paint the image again with Radiant Pearls. *It is important to use a synthetic brush as the bleach will dissolve the bristles on a natural bristle brush. Keep your brush sitting in water when not in use, to keep the bleach from destroying the bristles. Try diluting the bleach to different strengths with water for a darker or lighter effect on the paper. Use bolder colors of Radiant Pearls than you would normally select as they will need to stand up to the color of the paper.
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I embossed with black, then painted. I used a stipple brush to apply paints to the background.
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I got this book when I won a contest along with several jars of paint and a video. |
