Must-Try Techniques with Shimmer Relief Pastes
Hi from Scotland! This is Bibi Cameron, and I'm just passing by to share some fun techniques and creative tips for using Altenew Shimmer Relief Pastes.
In this post, I’m featuring the first seven Relief Paste colors: Pearl, Antique Silver, Brushed Pyrite, Enchanted Gold, Burnished Platinum, Rose Gold, and Smoky Quartz.
These pastes are water-based, semi-translucent, and have a creamy consistency, though they lean on the watery side, which means they dry slowly.
If you apply a thin layer, the paste adds a translucent shimmer to any surface, allowing the background color to show through beautifully.
On the other hand, a thicker layer will completely cover porous surfaces, giving you a bold, metallic finish.
Must Try Release Paste Techniques
You can apply Altenew Relief Pastes to a variety of materials, such as paper, canvas, fabric, wood, felt, and even ceramic. In the video, I share some tips to achieve crisp stenciled images when using detailed stencils.
Ideas
Apply on paper, allow to dry and then die-cut it to create gorgeous metallic components for your cards. The sky's the limit but here you have some florals.
When used on plastic and left to dry, they can be peeled off to create metallic accents—perfect for building multicolored compositions on your projects.
For this, it is ideal to use layering stencils.
You can see the effect created by the Altenew Relief Paste on the samples above (butterfly accents, flower center, and leaves) and also in the sample below (the image outlines).
The application tools you choose can make a big difference. I personally love using the Altenew Mixed Media Palette Knife Set to achieve a smooth, professional finish, which is what I’ve used in today’s examples.
Want to add some extra texture? Try applying embossing powders over freshly stenciled images, allow them to dry, and heat set.
In the sample above, you can see how embossing powder looks when applied over the paste. Keep in mind that embossing powders can be translucent, opaque, or even add texture. I used translucent colored powders to share a few extra ideas—but remember, the sky’s the limit!
You can also try heat setting the paste! It expands as it dries, creating unique, unpredictable textures.
My top pick for versatility is the “Pearl” Relief Paste Color. It can be mixed with other mediums to alter its color, giving you endless shade possibilities.
For the sample above, I mixed Shimmer Relief Paste – Pearl with dried blue watercolor paint to create a blue paste—easy peasy.
Check out the video to explore all the creative options in action—I hope it gets your creative juices flowing!
Happy Crafting
Bibi
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