An Autumn "BLESSINGS" Banner...

Recently on Two Peas Stamping Board there was a question regarding the similarities and differences of Radiant Pearls and Perfect Pearls. Ann asked, "Are these similiar mediums or are they different Which do you prefer for finishing off an emblossed image and why?" Since I've been familiar with both products in my artwork, I described these similarities and differences.

These two are similar in their ability to add shimmer to an art project but they are two very different mediums.

Radiant Pearls are a shimmering embossable paint. Its similar in qualities to oil paints in blendability, yet produces a watercolored shimmered appearance. RP's are different in that they dry by absorption vs. evaporation, so they are perfect for paper with a matte finish.

Only with the assistance of the #1, #2, and #3 Primary Elements mediums can RP's be used on some items. Here's that broke down:

#1 - soft solution: Made for fabric, leather, and glass. Fabric use requires heat setting.

#2 - medium solution: Made for paper, walls and plastic. Try it on KrytalKraft, acrylic, paper clay, ect. {Note: I personally do not use the Primary solution if stipple brushing the RP's for backgrounds.

#3 - firm solution: Made for wood and polymer clay. You can bake the polymer clay with these solutions.

Watercolor paper works wonderfully well with RP, but should never be wet prior to the application, it just absorbs it well, although not a requirement for use.

Perfect Pearls are more of a mica-based watercolor. They dry by evaporation. So, they dry faster, making a project go faster.

I typically use RP's for backgrounds. It creates the most gorgeous Joseph's Coat and Polished stone techniques, in my opinion. Coating the entire background with clear embossing powder and heat setting assists with the drying time greatly. You can "paint" embossed images with RP's, keeping in mind it dries slowly, often up to 48-72 if not heat embossed. The paint will resist the areas of embossed edges, as well as most supplies used previously within your artwork. It also works wonderfully for some resist techniques. As for preference in use with an embossed imaged, I'd have to say the Perfect Pearls will provide the shimmer effect faster, but will lack the shimmer quality that the RP's would produce. So, basically, it's all a matter of personal preference in what you desire the finished outcome to be. HTH's

So, I tried to put together a short tutorial, showing both of the products and how I've used them in the creation of my Autumn Blessings Banner. The picture below shows the Radiant Pearls in their jars, and the artwork that I created several days ago and left to air dry.

{it's so very hard to capture the shimmer these actual produce but if you're familar at all with Twinklin' H2O's --- you can imagine that fine sparkly goodness --- its so very similar!}

This photograph which has been digitally altered, shows more of the true colors and the vibrancy of those colors.

I simply uncapped the jars, using a small stipple brush picked up just a dab {trust me all you need is a small amount!} and stipple brushed it onto matte cardstock. Here's the first color application:

and the sheet after a few colors were blended. Radiant Pearls dry by absorption vs. evaporation, so if left alone for 24-72 the results will be similar to the above photographs but for this tutorial I heat embossed using clear embossing powder.