The Mad Scientist, Part II
I just couldn't stop....wondering how Wendy's metallic embossing pastes would look over some more of my favorite coloring media. And of course the wondering led to the experimenting, which led to a whole lot of colorful sample pages.
Row 1: Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels, applied dry.
Row 2: Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels, applied wet.
Row 3: Ranger Distress Markers.
Row 4: Ranger Distress Ink (applied with ink pad direct to the paper).
Row 5: Ranger Distress Stains.
Stencil: Michelle Ward for Stencil Girl.
Then I decided to use Ranger's Color Wash sprays again, but this time stick to some deeper, darker colors. I didn't expect to be wowed by the results, but I was.
Stencil: Circle Explosion, The Crafter's Workshop
I had a few misters full of homemade sprays. These were made with Distress Reinkers and Perfect Pearls. Don't ask me which colors, because I didn't label them and made them ages ago.
Stencil: Stencil Girl (one of the the March stencils from the Stencil Girl monthly club)
Before hanging up my lab coat I decided to see how the pastes would react when applied over paint. And I do have an awful lot of paint. I narrowed my sampling down to the ones I tend to use the most.
Rows 1 and 2: Ranger Distress Paints
Row 3: Ranger Claudine Hellmuth Acrylics
Rows 4 and 5: Golden Fluid Acrylics
Row 6: Your garden variety store brand acrylic, the kind you find under the Dick Blick, Utrecht, or Cheap Joe's brand, to name a few.
Stencils: I have no clue. They are very pretty border stencils, but the manufacturer is not printed on them and the original packaging is long gone.
I thought I was finished, but went back and filled a page with Derwent's Inktense Color Blocks. These are highly pigmented inks in stick form, and when water is added they produce intense yet translucent colors. And when they dry, the color is permanent.
Stencil: Daisy Cluster, The Crafter's Workshop
I just had to try the pastes over alcohol inks. First I coated the page in my journal with Ranger's glossy glue n seal to create the nonporous surface the inks work best on. Then I applied a variety of inks the usual way, pouncing them on with the felt covered tool.
Stencil: Diamonds by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer for The Crafter's Workshop
Have I come to any conclusions? Well, in my opinion, these metallic pastes look great over everything I've applied them to. My personal preference is the gold....most of the time. I just think the underlying color comes through a little better with it than the silver. Also, a lighter coat of paste (usually) reveals more color than a thicker coat. I've noticed exceptions to all these observations, so bottom line: just go for it, have fun playing, and honestly, I doubt you'll be disappointed in any of your results.
