Inspire Me Monday: The Perfect Paper

Hello, my flower-loving friends! I hope you are enjoying the return of Inspire Me Monday! If you have yet to play in the monthly Blossom Challenge, there is still time to join the May challenge, "April Showers Bring May Flowers"! The challenge closes at NOON on June 17th. See all the details HERE.  

Today is my turn to share the weekly inspiration. I wanted to inspire you to think outside the box...the paper box that is! If you are part of any coloring or card making groups on social media, then you know that one of the most asked questions is, "What is the PERFECT paper to use for my coloring?" That is not an easy question to answer because the true answer is, it depends. It depends on what you wish to accomplish, what your coloring medium is, what stamps you are using, what your skill level is, and more. The truth is, there is NO perfect paper that fits every artist or every need. 

I decided to try a few experiments to see what I could do with alcohol markers, colored pencils, and digital stamps from Power Poppy...on non standard paper! Namely...on scrapbooking paper. Because, let's face it, I have a huge boatload of scrapbooking paper!

I decided to print some Power Poppy stamps onto SCRAPBOOKING PAPER. And not only scrapbooking paper, but TEXTURED scrapbooking paper. (I used various papers from Authentique, but any heavy-weight, slightly textured paper should work.) I printed each image to to fit onto paper that was cut to 8" x 10". 

Note: To make sure the paper would run through my printer without jamming, I taped the scrapbook paper to an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of printer paper. I had no issues with my printer accepting the thicker scrapbook paper by doing that simple trick. 

Now, we are always told that you cannot use Copics on paper other than marker paper because you will not get good results, the ink will bleed, and all sorts of other dire things will happen. And all those things can happen, but it is only paper and ink! Why not have a play to see what happens?! If it doesn't work out, it only costs you a few dollars in paper and ink, and a little time.

I printed the Hydrangea Hype Digital Stamp Set image at approximately 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" onto a piece of Authentique Glamour One (double-sided) textured, decorative paper. I love how the text pattern seems to overlay the printed image.

I used a very light gray line which was really difficult to see on this paper. I do wish I had printed the "black line" rather than the "no line" version, but in the end....wait and see...

I began to color with Copic markers, and the paper did feel like it pulled the marker a bit, and it felt like the paper soaked up a little more ink than regular marker paper. But, happily there was almost no bleeding of the color outside the lines! What magic is this?! Any bleeding that happened was masked by the busy print and texture of the paper! Plus, the no-line printing of the stamped image also helped to disguise any bleeding that did happen.

I kept adding color and blending. The ink did not blend exactly the way it does on marker paper, but it was looking very much like water color! The no-line printing with the gray lines makes the lines disappear, especially on this text background!

I roughly scribbled in color, then went back over to shade and blend. I did not do as much shading or fine detail work as I normally do because I wanted to keep the water color look. Plus, I did not want to risk the paper getting too soaked with ink.

I used the following Copic colors: BV31, BV04, BV02, BV000, BG70, B34, B21, B000, G28, G24, G21, G20, RV52, RV34, RV19, C9, Colorless blender. I also drew in the leaf veins with a Prismacolor Goldenrod colored pencil.

Using this technique was very fast compared to my normal way of coloring with Copics on marker paper! I am not at all skilled with water coloring, which made me super happy to achieve a water color substitute with a medium with which I am much more skilled and familiar! 

I ended up double-matting the piece as a picture suitable for framing rather than turning it into a card. I could have added a sentiment and created a card out of it just as easily. 

Since Copic markers are a more transparent medium they allow the background to show through the coloring. I think the text background makes the finished piece look a lot like a vintage postcard or a vintage botanical water color print!

Next, I turned my attention to my Prismacolor pencils. I have mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of Prismacolor colored pencils because they are so soft and waxy. However...

I printed the flower wreath from Peony Love Digital Stamp Set at approximately 7" x 7" onto Authentique Party One textured, decorative paper. (Make sure you have the textured version of this paper as Authentique made both a textured and a smooth version of some of their paper collections.)

This time I printed the "black line" version of the image to make it easier to see the lines. This is a really intricate image, printed onto paper with a background print...and my eyes are kind of old! {smile}

The sentiment in the center of the wreath is from the Geraniums Digital Stamp Set. Once again, I love the "built in" background of the scrapbooking paper! Printing directly onto the printed paper was so interesting! Because the colored pencils are a much more opaque medium, the background gets colored over and only shows on the actual project background! 

The Prismacolor Premier colored pencils are a dream to work with on this textured paper! I normally prefer an oil-based, harder lead colored pencil so that I can layer the color. However, this paper is very "toothy" which would mean layering for dog's years! With the Prismacolor pencils, I could lay down a thicker layer of wax and then blend it, easily filling in the tooth of the paper (tooth = texture).

I am overjoyed at how bright and vibrant the colors look on this slightly ivory paper! I have used the following Prismacolor Premier pencils, from the 150 set: 

Dark pink flowers: Scarlet Lake, Blush Pink, Carmine  Red,  Pink, Deco Pink, Hot Pink, Process Red, Magenta, White

Light pink flowers: Blush Pink, Pink, Hot Pink, Deco Pink, White

Red flowers: Scarlet Lake, Crimson Lake, Tuscan Red, Mahogany Red, Deco Pink, White, Black

Peach flowers: Sunburst Yellow, Salmon Pink, Light Peach, Peach, Nectar, Mineral Orange, White, Sepia

Yellow flowers: Goldenrod, Yellowed Orange, Canary Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Deco Yellow, Cream, Light Umber

Flower centers: Spanish Orange, Light Umber, Yellowed Orange, Goldenrod, Canary Yellow, White

Leaves: Limepeel, Chartreuse, Apple Green, Prussian Green, Olive Green

Shadows and highlights: Indanthrone Blue, Black, Sepia, Cream, White

I am still working on this piece, so it will remain a Work In Progress (WIP) until the next time! But it is turning out pretty well, don't you think?!

Thanks for joining us for Inspire Me Monday! Make sure to come back every Monday to see new inspiration!

Power Poppy Products Used:
Hydrangea Hype Digital Stamp Set
Peony Love Digital Stamp Set
Geraniums Digital Stamp Set

Other Products Used: Copic markers, Prismacolor colored pencils, Authentiuqe printed paper,  cardstock