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by Julie Pialet (My Heart Stamps For You )
Add a new level of beauty to your projects
Radiant Pearls is a new medium, never before created! It can be compared to oil paints as far as blendability, yet it is water soluble. The colors blend beautifully together allowing you to create a palette of gorgeous colors out of some basic ones. Radiant Pearls has a texture all its own, and you will love the way it glides onto your paper when applied with a watercolor brush! Radiant Pearls is also translucent, allowing you to apply it over other mediums for a pearlescent shimmer.
Radiant Pearls NEVER dries on plastic! It seems almost unbelievable, but it is true. An old CD (those AOL ones that come in the mail all the time) makes a great palette but you can also use another non-porous plastic to put some dabs of color on and also to mix your colors. The paint will not dry out, and will be ready to use next time you decide to pick it up, really! Because they will not dry out, there is no waste, these little jars will last you forever! Radiant Pearls never needs stirring, and it stays perfectly suspended as long as it is on or in plastic. It needs to be able to absorb into the paper in order to dry, so if you are using a coated cardstock like glossy, you will need to emboss your piece.
Drying time is affected by the type of cardstock you use as well as how much you apply. Experiment with different papers & see what you like, there are many good ones. You can even apply Radiant Pearls to vellum, but each one will have a different drying time depending on the weight of the vellum & what it is coated with. Apply a thin coat of Radiant Pearls for best results on any paper. A little really goes a long way.
Although Radiant Pearls are water-soluble and you apply like a watercolor, do not apply water to the paints or dip your brush in water as you apply them. Use your favorite watercolor brush to apply them, an expensive brush is not needed, although I have found that a stiffer type brush seems to work better. You'll also want to have a good stipple brush for creating striking backgrounds. The one I recommend is a Whiska brush (see order form). A brayer is also a great tool for creating Radiant Pearls background paper. The Kewl Tool is also a must for backgrounds.
Radiant Pearls are embossible. You can also let them airdry. When you emboss over them (clear powder) you will get a glass enamel finish and the colors are closer to what you see in the jars. When you let them air dry, you get a satiny pearlescent sheen and the colors dry lighter than what you see in the jar. This is good to remember when choosing light colors, they will dry lighter than what you see. The Satin Pearls and Frosts have more pearls in them than the Luminescent Silks and reflect more light.
I recommend a fine line (detail) clear embossing powder when embossing over Radiant Pearls. It will melt quicker, reducing the chances that you will re-melt your original lines that you embossed. (If you painted in an embossed image) If you are letting the piece air dry, you need a bit of patience...the drying time is anywhere from 1-24 hours depending on the bond of the paper, as well as how much product you applied. It is very much worth the wait though! If you want to emboss over an image that is already dry, just apply a thin coat of a neutral (same color family) and then emboss it. Experiment with different types of paper to see which you like best. Hammermill makes one called Via that works great with Radiant Pearls; the more porous the paper, the faster the drying time will be. Vellums take a long time to air dry, but the embossed look is just gorgeous! (See order form for VIA by Hammermill)
Radiant Pearls are also Acid Free, so you can use it in your Memory albums! You can use it directly on the page, or if you prefer, purchase white die cuts and paint them with RP. Emboss or let air dry.
The Basics
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Start with your image embossed with black detail/fine line powder. (You can also use a good watercolor ink pad, but embossing really shows off Radiant Pearls better) Other colors of embossing powders may also be used to create different looks with Radiant Pearls, black is just a basic starting point and shows the best detail.
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Apply Radiant Pearls with a paintbrush. No need to mix with water, just apply right from the jar, or your palette if you are using one. I do not wash my brush between colors, I simply run it in little circles on an absorbent paper towel and then go to the next color. Don't worry about getting every bit of color out of your brush. If you are painting a flower and happen to swipe a little of the flower color into the leaves after you paint the flower, don't worry about it, just blend it in & it will look great! I often do this on purpose. Radiant Pearls is water soluble, so wash your brush afterward with water.
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Use very little and spread it as far as it will go before you dip your brush again, a thinner application is best. Radiant Pearls has a texture all its own, it just glides on to your paper! A little will really go a long way. If you can see blobs or brush strokes in your piece, you may have applied the paint too thick. You can always go back a bit later and apply another coat for a deeper shade, or even apply a lighter color to create "light" in a piece. (Radiant Pearls needs to be able to absorb into the paper to dry). If you get too much on, spread it to another area or wipe it off with the brush or your fingers, or dab it with a paper towel.
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Use the neutrals to mix and blend your own custom shades in those color families. For instance, Mountain Mist has a violet hue and can be mixed with reds, purples and blues. If you are painting a rose image with "Christmas Rose" and you wanted to add some light areas to the petals you would mix a dab of Mt. Mist with just a tiny bit of Christmas Rose for a lighter shade in the same family. You can mix right on your palette, always adding the darker color in tiny increments until you have the shade you want. Do not mix Radiant Pearls with water. If you want to tone down a dark shade, mix it with a Neutral or Oyster Shell.
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Darker shaded areas can be applied after light ones. You can work either way, but I find it easier to paint an image and then add contrast and shading by adding a darker color in the shaded areas of the image. Many designs make it very easy for you to see where it should be shaded, you don' t have to be an artist. And, Radiant Pearls really does the blending work for you...as it dries, colors next to each other continue to blend together, so your finished piece will actually look different when you pick it up an hour later! (if air dried) Radiant Pearls slow drying time is really a plus in allowing you to create some beautiful shading and contrast in your work. You have the time to work on it & not rush through it just because you might want to emboss it. Some people like to lay down the darker color (shading) first and then lay down the light and medium colors next, just touching each other for a deep contrast. That is fine too.you don't have to do the lighter color first & then shade with darker colors. If you find later that the colors have blended together too much, just add another coat of whatever is needed to bring out the shading & contrast you are looking for.
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If you are going to emboss, sprinkle with clear embossing powder and emboss. I recommend detail/fine line clear so that you won't re-melt those black lines. You can also experiment with different types of embossing powders such as Ultra Thick, or even some of the sparkly ones! Be creative and discover new looks with Radiant Pearls.
- Create a dazzling background to your painted piece by applying Radiant Pearls with a sponge, Whiska brush, stipple brush, brayer, Kewl tool, or your fingers! One of my favorite backgrounds to do is to stipple Sunset Glow or Sour Lemon (depending on the colors in my painted piece) just around the image. This will creat a backlit look to the image once the background is finished. Then I stipple on the 2nd color, right over the preceding color "almost' up to the image and in some areas leaving a bit of the sour lemon or sunset glow exposed. Then I do the same with the 3rd color, maybe even applying it in bigger dabs or with a different tool for some contrast. You can blend these colors in with the Whiska brush as little or as much as you like. You may want to do darker in the corners, lighter in the corners, etc. When this is dry, the Sour Lemon or Sunset Glow peek through the top colors and also create a "halo" of light around the image, really making it stand out! You can use the Kewl Tool to dab dots of color on for more texture. Tiger Eye is a nice one to use for this, it dries really frosty! Just put some Tiger Eye on the CD & swirl your Kewl Tool around in it and then dab it all over the background. You can create little dots or big dots. If you don't want dots, then you can swirl it all around once you apply the dots.just experiment! NOTE: In order to get a light coat of RP on the Whiska brush, dip only the very tip into the jar, & then dab the brush repeatedly on a clean CD to "work" the paint up into the bristles before applying it to the paper. When your work is dry, try taking it out into the sun to look at it.you will be in awe!
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Your leftover paint on the palette can also be used to create some nice background paper with a brayer, or you can just leave it on the palette, it will not dry out and will not need to be re-mixed. If you are using a CD, you can put it in a CD case to protect from dust if you won't be painting for awhile. If you want to clean off the CD, just dab the brayer around in the colors (don't roll it) and then dab it on the paper in different spots. (I use card size pieces of paper for this) Roll the brayer over the paper until it is spread as far as it will go. Then you can pick up more paint from the palette if needed. If you don't have enoughpaint left on the palette, you can just set that piece of background paper aside and add some more brayering the next time you paint! Eventually you will have a nice piece of background paper ready to use.
Branching Out (experiment & have fun!)
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Try painting Radiant Pearls over another medium that you like to use! Radiant Pearls is a translucent paint and whatever is under it will show through. You can use them over the top of colored pencils, watercolors, markers, etc...
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You can use colored embossing markers to add shading to areas of your image before you emboss.
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Apply Radiant Pearls directly to a texture or solid stamp with a paintbrush, or your fingers or brayer Radiant Pearls onto Plexiglas and use as a stamp pad. Use different tools to apply Radiant Pearls to backgrounds.
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Apply Radiant Pearls over an image colored in with watercolor pencils. It will act as the liquid to blend the colors!
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Paint some of the Neutrals on black cardstock to see how vibrant the undertones really are! You'll be amazed at how the colors show up on dark cardstock.
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Dip the tip of your brush in Pearl Ex and brush on top of where you painted with Radiant Pearls (while it is still wet) for some added shimmer where you want it. OR, mix a little Pearl Ex with Radiant Pearls on your palette and paint your image. (Radiant Pearls mixed with Pearl Ex will lighten dramatically if embossed.)
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You can also dip your brush tip right in the jar of prisma glitter to add little touches of glitter here and there. No glitter mess!
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Mix with Liquid Applique* and paint in the image and then heat. OR, apply Liquid Applique to image and heat set, then paint over that with Radiant Pearls.
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Use your fingers to blend and shade! I apply a dab of brown to my rose leaves and then take my finger and rub it outward to get a shaded leaf, it looks like I really took the time to shade it in and looks very natural with just a swipe of the finger.
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Experiment with mixing colors! Don't be afraid to mix, you can always use it on background paper if you don't like the color for something else. Try mixing a little bit of Eggplant with a little more of Mountain Mist. Add some Oyster Shell for added pearls and you can "almost' create Raspberry Kiss on your own! Experiment with other combinations, it's fun!
- Emboss in black on black cardstock. Paint in image with undiluted clorox bleach, and watch the color fade away. When dry you can paint inside the image with Radiant Pearls. This is absolutely gorgeous! Try designs like fall leaves embossed in Gold, or bleach out some parts of a design and not others.
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Emboss on glossy black cardstock. Take your exacto knife and make little etchings inside the image and then paint Radiant Pearls on it where you have etched the glossy off. It will soak into the etched areas.
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Add Crystal Laquer or 3-D Magic over the top of Radiant Pearls for a dimensional look.
Many RSmakers.org member including My Heart Stamps For You, carry Radiant Pearls and other accessories. Search the RSmakers.org Products database