PERFECT PEARLS & POLISHED STONE IN ONE CARD

Hello again! Today I've got a card that animal lovers everywhere would love! I designed it using traditional masculine colors, but I know some women, teens & children who would love to get this from me, so I thought I'd share it with you today.

I've combined two techniques in this card - Perfect Pearls & Polished Stone. I'll mostly be discussing how to apply Perfect Pearls with VersaMark here today, so if you aren't familiar with Polished Stone Technique, please refer to my post from February 18th, 2016.

To create these polished stone pieces, I used  5 dye inks - brown, yellow, orange liberally, and just a dash of gray & a deep red - and gold metallic ink, on a 4 /14" x 5 1/2" piece of white glossy CS.
After it dried, I cut 4 pieces from it: 1/8" x 5 1/2" for the bottom strip; 1" x 5 1/2" for the elephant strip; and 1 3/4" x 2 1/2" for the phrase, and stamped the phrase & image with black dye ink, and set them to the side to let the ink dry for a few minutes. I particularly like the way the black ink dried on these elephants - makes them look a little wrinkled, the way elephants are supposed to look!

Next, I folded a 1/2 sheet of 80# black cardstock in half to create the A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") card base.
To create the background, I lightly tapped the entire front of this with an X-Static bag (to reduce static) and randomly stamped the fern image with a Versamark pad. I gently applied the gold Perfect Pearls with a brush (provided in the kit) over the stamped areas, and then "flicked" the back of the the card with my finger a few times to shake off the excess pigment powder. The Perfect Pearls pigment powder adhere to the VersaMark, but not the rest of the card front, producing a shiny & stunning effect!

Finally, I attached the polished stone pieces to the cardfront. I'll be using this as a note card, or perhaps a college graduation card this spring, so left the inside blank for now. But when I do use this card, I'll be writing the note with a gold metallic gel pen, and if I do put a verse inside, it'll be stamped with a gold metallic pad Or maybe embossed with gold embossing powder??? The possibilities are numerous...

Tips & Notes:

*Always use a SOFT brush to apply Perfect Pearls - the softer, the better!
*Ranger recommends using Perfect Medium (a clear ink) to apply Perfect Peals, stating the resins in Perfect Pearls with bind with it, resulting in a permanent image - no need to use a sealant. Personally, I have never had a problem with Perfect Pearls & VersaMark. If you are concerned, you can create a 50/50 water/rubbing alcohol spritz & spray your work with it - the water will bind the resins.

*There are so many more uses for Perfect Pearls pigments - you can add it acrylic & watercolor paints, combine it with embossing powder, and create a spritz by adding a tiny amount to a water/rubbing alcohol solution, just to name a few. Truly a versatile product!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity! Smiles, Laura