Marbling Technique using Blendabilities -- An Experiment with Papers

I just "discovered" the alcohol marker marbling technique and find it fascinating.  In the original tutorial, Audrie Magno-Gordon uses Glossy cardstock.  Since our Stampin' Up! Glossy cardstock is retired, I decided to try the technique on our Whisper White cardstock and the beautiful Shimmery White cardstock to see how they might differ.  I think it's easier posting the results of my experiments on three different Stampin' Up! papers on a separate page for ease of reference as time goes by.

I'm posting the three samples, all created using the same Blendabilities alcohol markers (the darkest of Pumpkin Pie, Olive Green and Smoky Slate) but different papers.  Don't judge the dried papers by the patterns.  Since one scribbles the colours onto plastic and then spritzes them with rubbing alcohol, the patterns are, naturally, going to differ each time.  What interested me was the reaction of the paper to the technique and also the quality of the colours once the papers had dried.

A quick overview of the technique:

1) Spread out a plastic bag or window sheet and scribble your selected colours in the area you expect your paper to cover.

2) Spritz the colours generously with a spray of rubbing alcohol.

3) "Plonk" your paper face down into the wet colours.  If desired, spritz the back of the paper with the alcohol spray.

4) Gently remove paper and set aside on Paper towel to dry.

First up:  the suggested Glossy White:

You can see how the colours smoothly transition and blend with this paper.  The gloss makes it seem as if I could reach inside as I look at the sample beside me.  It's hard to see that effect on the screen, but it really does have depth even though the colours are slightly muted.

Next up:  the Whisper White cardstock:

Of the three papers, I found the Whisper White absorbed most quickly and therefore captured a much more true marbling effect.  This is what you see in pieces of marble, especially with some streaks of almost white.  There isn't the depth of the Glossy but the colours are more vivid using the Whisper White.

Last up:  the Shimmery White cardstock:

I found that the colours appeared most vivid on this paper.  I also loved the slight shimmery effect.  There wasn't the immediate absorption that I saw with the Whisper White but there is still a very strong marbling effect.  The transition of colours did not result in the same degree of blending as with the Glossy White but there was definitely more blending than with the Whisper White.

What has this taught me?  I discovered that I really like each effect and can see myself using them for different purposes.  If I want a smoother blending and more dreamy effect, I would most likely turn to the Glossy paper although, if I had no Glossy, I would turn to the Shimmery cardstock but use slightly lighter hues.  If I wanted a very strong marbling effect then my first choice would be the Whisper White.

Because the inks are alcohol, all three papers dried as rapidly.  I'm glad I tried these papers out.  I hope you found my little experiment to be useful.