Perfect Pearls W/Stencil

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Today, I have for you a super simple card created by using a stencil with Perfect Pearls inspired by the recent video from Jennifer McGuire. Perfect Pearls are shimmery pigment powders that when used dry stick to inks such as the ink they come with, Versamark Ink or other pigment inks. These powders can also be added to water, watercolors and other coloring mediums to add a pearlescent look to any project. For today's card I will be using these powders dry. I will use a stencil to create an ink blend using pigment ink along with Oxide Ink to adhere these powders. Because Oxide Inks have a pigment property to them, they work great with these powders. Perfect Pearl powders give more dramatic results using dark cardstock, however, today I wanted to demonstrate on a lighter cardstock to show the effect. I will be keeping my card simple, highlighting the technique. Let's get started!!

I will be doing all of my work today on my Tim Holtz Glass Media Mat.

To start, I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" panel out of Paper Bag Cardstock using my Tim Holtz Guillotine Paper Trimmer. Next, I take my Leaf Burst Stencil and place it over my panel, adhering it with Purple Tape. I then run the panel along with the stencil through my Big Shot Die Cut Machine. *Running the panel and stencil through a die cut machine isn't necessary, however, I like to do this as it helps to pop the image up a little on the cardstock. Using my Blender Brush, I blend White Pigment ink over the entire panel. *Even though oxide inks have a pigment property and shows up on colored cardstock, I want to add a layer of white ink to enhance the visibility of the ink on this color of cardstock. **I also keep this blender brush dedicated to my white pigment ink so it doesn't get mixed with other colors. ***I didn't get a picture of the panel completely blended, but I do blend the white pigment ink over the entire panel.

For my first color, I use my Blender Brush and blend Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Ink over the center of the design, and also blend every other bigger leaf. I then blend Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink around the previous color, blending the remaining every other leaf as well as the lower half of the next row of leafs up the stencil. 

My next color is Fired Brick Distress Oxide Ink, I blend it over the top half of the remaining leaves from the previous blend and blend the lower half of the remaining leaves. For my final color, I blend Ripe Persimmon Distress Oxide Ink over the remaining unblended leaves.

Now that my ink blending is finished, I carefully remove the stencil from my panel and place onto a piece of scrap paper. Using the Bronze Perfect Pearl Powder, I pounce the powder over the entire panel using the brush included in the kit, making sure to cover all of the inked areas. After all of the inked areas are covered with powder, I pick up the panel then take my brush and gently go over the entire panel to remove any loose powder. I then take a soft microfiber cloth and very gently blot/wipe off the panel. To help seal the powders, I take my Distress Sprayer filled with clean water and mist it into the air then swipe my panel through the air to catch the fine mist of water, I do this about three times. There are also sealants out on the market that could be used but I find the fine mist of water works fine. *The last picture shows the results of the ink blend with the pearl powders, without the reflection from the light.

Using Double Sided Tape, I adhere my panel onto a Charcoal Brown Cardstock card base. 

Next, I take a die from the Infinity Hearts Die Set and cut out of Charcoal Brown Cardstock, running them through my Big Shot. I then add a small amount of Adhesive Dot Runner to the back of the die cut and place it into my MISTI Stamp Positioner and prep with my Anti Static Powder Bag. Choosing a greeting from the Million Thanks Stamp Set, I stamp the die cut with Versamark Ink, add Gold Embossing Powder and heat set with my Heat Tool. I then take one of the smaller sentiments from the same stamp set and again stamp with Versamark Ink, add Gold Embossing Powder and heat set with my Heat Tool.

I add Foam Tape to the back of the die cut then mount it onto the card front and this completes my card.

I am pleased how today's card turned out. For my ink blending, I chose fall colors and was pleasantly surprised by the way the powders changed the shades of those colors! I went with the bronze colored powder to use on today's cards to tie in with fall shades. There are so many other pearl powder colors available and each one would give a different look! Another great way to use perfect pearls is to add a small amount and mix with water then use a paintbrush to pick it up and spatter over your card for a little added sparkle. It can also be added to a small bottle of water to mist over die cuts or card fronts to add some shimmer. My favorite is to spritz it over snowflake die cuts!!

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Happy Stamping and God bless!!

Jeannie