Product Review
Liquid Pearls™ from Ranger Ink
By Gloria Stengel

Does anyone remember using fabric paints? Scribbles® dimensional paints, I think they were called, and they came in every color under the sun? Well, Liquid Pearls™ from Ranger Ink are a waterproof pearl medium, very similar to fabric paints. The difference I noted is that the fabric paints tend to get “rubbery” and to pull away from paper projects. They also tend to crack over time. You can use Liquid Pearls as an embellishment in much the same way as you would use glitter glue or liquid appliqué and they are designed to work on paper AND fabric.

You can use Liquid Pearls directly from the bottle to create dimensional embellishments, which dry raised, with an iridescent color. I have to confess that Liquid Pearls were not “my thing.” I prefer the Stickles™ glitter glue from Ranger Ink instead of the pearls (Crop Stop also has lots of colors of Stickles the store).

Liquid Pearls were designed to make little pearlized dots that look like freshwater pearls when dry. However, I found you must be careful to let them dry naturally for at least 24 hours. If you heat them to hurry the process, you will end up with little pitted pearls. For me, that 24-hour dry time was a killer! Also, you tend to get “Hershey Kiss” peaks on your pearls. If you are working on paper, you can thump the back of your project lightly to allow the peak to settle. However, if you are trying to work on a small flower, you cannot simply “thump” it! You can pierce the pearl with a paper piercer to encourage the pearl to settle, but this does not always work. It takes some practice to get the little pearls, but when you do – they look FANTASTIC!

Y-ou can also dilute Liquid Pearls with water to make an opalescent paint. I have seen some examples of this technique and they were stunning! I confess that I did not have the patience to make paint with my Liquid Pearls! You can also use the pearls directly from the bottle, by applying them to a sponge or piece of felt, and then “pouncing” or rubbing the color onto your project. This is the technique I ended up using, since it dries very quickly.

Liquid Pearls can also be blended to make more colors, so you can have as many colors as you like! There are 13 lovely colors!

Note-: Liquid Pearls must be kept from very cold temperatures. If they get too cold, or freeze, they will be ruined.