Mountains and Pearls…

Mountains and Pearls…

Hi there!
Thanks for stopping by.
Saturday’s blog a new technique,
so I decided to get out 
a cool stamp and some Perfect pearl Mica Powders,
and have a play…
The set above, 7 colours, is the set I used here.
Do you know that in this weekend’s sale, that set is reduced from £17.99 to £14.39 for the whole set? 
With another 10% off for club members! 
Tis true!! I just checked!!
So anyway, using a Black Archival ink pad,
stamp the Mountain Range stamp 
This stamp is perfect for setting the scene – literally.

Cover up the inky image with the wax paper again.

Turn to the other side, and score the line art with a craft scalpel.
Is a lot easier than you think.
Now it’s time to paint the picture with the Perfect Pearls.
Remove the first piece of wax paper, the water.

Mix some white and blue and simply start adding powder 
to the adhesive sheet which is exposed.

Keep uncovering each area, one at a time, 
and add powder as you go.
White pure behind the snow-capped mountains…

Green blends for the hills in the background.
I did a Youtube using this technique, I’m sure. 
If I find it, I’ll add it at the bottom of this blog for you, 
for easy reference.

Right.
Keep moving up, painting the areas.

Get your scalpel out and add a few hills of your own !
Gently buff the whole piece, 
and let’s have a look where we are now.

Starting to really come together.
You can see now what I meant when I said 
the Mountain Range stamp is brilliant
as a starting place for larger Landscape work.

Next peel away the rest of the wax paper,

and add a blend of sky and sea north and south.

So the whole A6 piece is completely covered with Perfect Pearls.
Took 10 minutes. No longer.

 Before we add a protective sheet of A6 acetate, 
let’s stamp the Great Outdoors into place on the sticky.
Black Archival ink again.
Really happy with this now!

Lay the wax paper back down over the sticky picture, 
leaving a little gap at one end. 
This little gap will be very sticky.
Slide and line up the A6 acetate sheet into position, 
so that it sticks to the exposed adhesive strip there.
Then carefully lift the acetate and remove the wax paper, rolling down the acetate as you work.
This is a good way to avoid getting air bubbles!

There we are!
Acetate film protects artwork.

The great thing is that this artwork is actually translucent.
See here? You can see through it.
Trim the edges back with a Paper trimmer.

I like my Fiskars one:

So here’s the thing: which colour shall we put in the background? 
That will totally change the artwork!
White…

Light blue…

Cobalt blue…

Dark blue…

Dark blue, but with white card underneath the artwork…
or black with white underneath the art…

Choices choices choices.
Please tell us below which you like best.
And then see if you can guess which one I like best!!!
I love the way the light hits the mountains.
And tomorrow morning, when it’s light,
I’m going to see what it looks like on a window. 

Here’s the YouTube I mentioned.
Enjoy!

But now I have had enough.
I spent the whole day recording YouTube videos with Jim.
Just about had enough for one day!!
But the good news is:
YouTube Tuesday’s back!!!
much love,

39 thoughts on “Mountains and Pearls…

  1. I love this, it reminds me of my 'other' homeland ~ Iceland ~ the way the low mountains are back dropped by the real big mountains, the colours too ~ the milky blues, the icy blues, glaciers, snow, lakes, and waterfalls. I'm not going to pick a favourite because I like the way each of the backgrounds changes the mood in the same way the incredible light of Iceland changes the mood as it shifts and shimmers in the crystal clear, northern skies. ~~~Deb

  2. i love this technique. i'm torn between the last 2 options but leaning more towards the black with the white background as the blue enhances the background too much, hugs xx

  3. Hi Barbara…. You're so good at this technique!! I end up cutting through the whole lot!!!
    I like it on the blue but with white under the artwork! Xxxx

  4. Love this technique, at least you doing it. Got the mica powders but not had the courage to have a go yet. I prefer the cobalt blue,, they all look good . I thought the cobalt gives it more depth. I do like the white behind the artwork on blue too. Think you may pick that too. Glad to hear utube Tuesday's are returning. Have a good weekend. Hope Dave is picking up now too.xx

  5. Lovely artwork, I like the light blue but with white underneath the artwork but then I like the cobalt too but again would put white inbetween. I have the adhesive sheets and acetate so no excuses , thanks as always for the great inspiration x

  6. Beautiful I love the black white underneath / then the cobalt with the White underneath ,
    Wow your back on form doing you tube Tuesday so soon then you will be on the telly a week Sunday wow where has February gone too xxx

  7. Lovely Barbara. All the card colours look good, each transforms the image in its way. I like the dark blue card with white underneath the artwork best. I think you may prefer the darker colours too. How's Dave doing? Hugs to you both xx

  8. This is soooo cool! I have the adhesive sheets and have been thinkng about using them today! LOL My impatience would probably slice through the whole thing! might try it though. I'll meditate and plant some delicate thoughts in my head first. The Cobalt background is my favourite. Adds a little moodyness to the image. I think you may go for the white on dark blue background. Looking forward to Tuesdays now 🙂

  9. Hi Barbara
    I've seen this a couple of times and I'm still amazed at the end result, a clever use of mica powders and a lovely stamp. You made a fish card example a long while ago which was brilliant.Ilke the black and white choice.

  10. Golly you must be exhausted blogging after a whole day of filming and being a nurse! It's amazing how the different colour tones change the scene so much, but I think the white and dark blue do it for me. If we get the forecast snow overnight, I might wake up to snow covered mountains in the distance tomorrow, Susan x

  11. Hi Barb,
    I always love ve it when you do these with mica powders. I get really inspired to have a go myself and then when I try, I just make a mess! I must have tried about 10 times trying landscapes, the fancy birds etc and every time they just look absolutely c***! !! Don't know what I do wrong. Will give this a go but will have to change the stamp. I really like the cobalt blue with white under the artwork. Hope you manage to have a rest after doing all those videos and looking after Dave. Love Alison xxx

  12. Hi Barbara This is lovely and I love the way the different backgrounds change the mood of the piece. I think my favourite is the dark blue background but with the white underneath, the white makes it pop. What a busy day you've had, but thank you, we will look forward to Tuesday now. I hope you can have a lazy day tomorrow and Dave is feeling better soon. Love Diane xxx

  13. Hi Barb,

    Beautiful landscape, I love using mica powders on adhesive, though I have not done so in a while. These look beautiful how you have set them out together, great idea in cutting away a section at a time.

    I think I prefer the Dark Blue & White or the Black & White. The White really brings out the colours but the dark background brings out the image, makes it pop!

    Love & hugs

    Jacquie J xxx
    http://jewelscardcraft.blogspot.co.uk/

  14. Ooooo pretty! Love this technique. I would use the white underneath and mount it on the dark blue Clarity paper, I call it my miracle paper as it is less intense than black but still makes everything look good! Also looks great embossed or die cut and its such a great price. Can you tell I love it? XX

  15. I love the way you do these Perfect Pearls scenes Barbara and the finished result is spectacular!. I think the backing colour is down to the kind of mood you want to create. The light and cobalt bring out the blues and make a brighter scene and the darker tones make it more brooding and dramatic but putting the white behind and then the darker blue gives good contrast. x

  16. Hallo liebe Barbara,
    ich bin von der Gestaltungsmöglichkeit mit den Perfect Pearl Powder ganz beeindruckt. Auf Klebefolie damit zu arbeiten, hätte ich nie gedacht, das es funktioniert. Eine geniale Technik. Dein Projekt ist wieder perfekt und hat mich gelehrt was möglich ist mit Perfect Pearls. Vielen Dank für das tolle Video wo du wieder zeigst wie man Schatten gestaltet. Damit habe ich nämlich meistens Probleme. Ich bin begeistert von deiner Kreativität. Ich wünsche dir einen schönen Sonntag. Ganz liebe Grüße Silvi

  17. Hello Barb, love this technique, this piece is a beautiful and evocative piece of art. I think the dark blue with the white is the best and possibly the one you like. Hope you got a chance to rest after the filming, really looking forward to you tube Tuesday returning. Hope Dave is better. Bx

  18. Hi Barbara. This is beautiful. Thanks for showing us what each colour looks like, they all change the feeling of the piece though don't they? I think you will go for the dark blue, I am torn between that and the Cobalt. Glad to hear that Dave is feeling better, tell him not to do too much too soon though : ) Take care x

  19. Super technique today Barb. I liked all the colours as background! Would be perfect for my brother, he lives in the Lake District and climbs a lot as he is re-writing the Guides to the Lakes.

  20. Hi Barbara, this is lovely. I have micas, and adhesive sheets, and have wanted to have a go at this technique, but me and sharp knives! My chronic fatigue syndrome means my co-ordination can be not that great – head works quicker than body!!! And my movements can be jerky too! I got banned!!!! Although not sure Nicola knows this, I've not told her and she had hardly any handover ;-)!!! Not good at not telling though, something I hate about Asperger's, can't hide anything, always got to be upfront and honest, no matter how hard I want to not say something!!!! (I can keep secrets, but only if they are meant to be secrets!!!) I did have it easy for a bit while Nicola was getting to know me, she didn't know the right questions to ask! But she does now 🙁 !!!!!! Anyway, it's not worth the risk while I'm this ill, and I've got my Jane art to do, no sharp knives involved there!!!

    I think white and then black out of these choices for background, it's the only one that gives the illusion of depth to your art, for me anyway. I feel all the blue options bring the stamped and coloured blue hills to the forefront too much, that's just my opinion. I think you need the black to bring the black mountains and the water to the forefront but I was wondering about the pale blue instead of the white, that might still give the depth to the whole piece, maybe the pale blue bringing the water even more to the front and enhancing the whole piece, replacing what the black takes away from it. Just my opinion, sorry, what do I know, I'm probably talking a load of rubbish!

    love Brenda xx

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