Let's Talk Papers

Hi ladies. Today I want to talk a little bit about papers, for coloring. To me, papers are just as important as the markers you use, if not more. Like everything around us, you won't get good results til you start out with the right foundation. Papers are my foundation. I spend alot of money on Copics and Prisma pencils. So it just makes sense to buy good papers, so you don't waste all that good ink!

I'll do a little review of the papers I use.


Neenah Classic Crest Solar White: Very good paper, 80lb weight, smooth. Great paper to use if you are  on a budget. Blends good. Do not overblend because of the weight, or else it will bleed over the other side of your image lines.

Gina K Designs Pure Luxury: Excellent paper, 120lb, thick and dense, will not bleed through. A little more on the expensive side but worth the money. Bright white. Very smooth, excellent blending. Does not blend as fast (ink does not spread as quickly) as Neenah, but you will have more control of where the ink goes while coloring.

Couture Cardstock One Sheet Wonder: Ultra Smooth paper. 120lb weight. Thick...not as dense as Gina K so blending will need a faster hand. What I mean by that is you need to work a little faster because blending and spreading of the ink is faster once it hits the paper. More expensive than Gina K, but worth the money. Ink will not bleed through the paper.


Argo Wiggins Iridescent Cryogen White: Smooth, 89lbs, ink blends quick once it hits the paper, just like Neenahs. Shimmer finish so it if you like plain white matte, this is not for you. Excellent blending, but needs a quick hand due to lighter weight of cardstock. Will bleed through the paper. Careful not to overblend..


X-Press It Blending Paper: Smoothest of all four papers. 92lbs weight, so you will need a faster hand. Extremely blendable. Amazing to color on. Will bleed through other side of paper. Since it's a thicker than Argo Wiggins and Neenah, you will have a little bit more time to blend, before the ink spreads through the other side of your stamped image's line.


What's bleeding through?: Bleeding through is when you color on an image and you turn the paper over and you see parts of the colors seeping through the other side. This does not mean one paper is better than another, it just mean that the paper is less dense or thinner. It will blend quicker and gives a smooth overall blending of your colors.


Bleeding to the other side of the lines? : This means that if you over-blend or keep on coloring an area over and over, ink will run over the lines of your image and cause a color smear over the lines of where the image of your stamps.

Tip: When coloring, if you are planning to color an image with a small amount of space to lay your color, choose a higherweight paper (120lbs). This way you have less chance of a bleeding/smear of your ink pass the lines of your stamp image. The ink will not spread as fast as if it was on an 80lbs paper, giving you more control of where the ink will be.

These are the papers I use. I use them interchangeably  depending on the image. Want to win a sample pack?? Just add your name to Inlinkz and I will send a sample pack of all 5 papers (plus an extra surprise) to one lucky lady. I will pull the winner Friday morning.