The Pearlescent Specialty Paper from the January-June 2021 Mini Catalogue can easily be overlooked as a plain, vanilla coloured shimmer paper. Or at least that is what I thought…until I started experimenting with it!! Yes, this paper is vanilla coloured, but it is not plain and it is beyond a shimmer paper!!! This paper will become your new favourite product once you learn how to blend ink on it! Read on for a full tutorial.

I discovered the special properties of the Pearlescent Specialty Paper by accident (as happens with most great discoveries) when I was trying to figure out how to add colour to it. Water-based ink just sits on top of the paper, so I tried using the alcohol-based Stampin’ Blends. They worked great except when you colour on the paper it leaves lines of brushstrokes. I already knew that adding water wouldn’t do anything, so I added rubbing alcohol and that is where the magic began!

When you spritz alcohol on the Stampin’ Blend coloured Pearlescent paper, it lifts the colour and allows you to quickly blend it. Once it dries, which happens fast, you have a gorgeous colour blended piece of shimmery paper!

Here are the four easy steps:

1. Colour the Pearlescent Specialty Paper with Stampin’ Blends – Dark Highland Heather and Dark Magenta Madness used here.
2. Use a Stampin’ Spritzer to evenly add alcohol to cover the paper. The colours will change and lift up from the paper.
3. Blow on the wet paper using a straw or an old Colour Spritzer Tool (which is what I used) to move the colors around and blend them. The paper will bend from the moisture, but flattens as it dries.
4. Allow the paper to completely dry and be amazed at the pretty designs!

NOTE: When playing around with this technique, the alcohol smell can be a bit much so be sure to work in a well ventillated area or take a break while the paper dries to get some fresh air.

I blended a 2.75″ x 4″ piece of paper and added it to a card as a wonderful pop of shimmery colour. I kept the other colours neutral with black and white True Love DSP on the background, a white die cut butterfly (Brilliant Wings Dies), and simple birthday sentiment (Posted For You) embossed in white.

This technique is fun and there are so many colour combos to experiment with. I also tried Dark Balmy Blue, Light Bermuda Bay, and Light Misty Moonlight as seen below.

If the alcohol dries before you are done blending, spritz some more on the paper and keep blending. The paper below was spritzed about 3 times because I wasn’t working fast enough!! It still resulted in a cool design though!

I hope you try this technique and fall in love with the Pearlescent Specialty Paper like I have!

To purchase the Pearlescent Specialty Paper, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Spritzer, and other products seen in this post, please shop my Stampin’ Up! store.

I can’t wait to try more colours and more techniques with this paper! Be sure to follow me on Instagram @ellefedynak and tag me if you try this out – I would love to see what you make!!

Leah