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Watercolour paper is heavier and designed to absorb the water without causing any wrinkling. If you are doing a lot of watercolouring on white, or if you get it too wet, it can wrinkle or get fuzzy. This paper won't do that. Personally I think SU's is too expensive. You can buy it at Walmart in BIG pieces which you can cut down to whatever size you want for far less. I've never tried SU's - not sure if there's a difference in quality over the stuff at Walmart. Maybe someone else can answer that - why is SU's so expensive? One nice thing about SU's is that it's the perfect size to layer onto cards as is.
I just used SU watercolor paper yesterday. First time ever using this kind of paper. It did not curl or pile up. At the same time my daughter used regular white card stock. Even before the cardstock was dried it was curling up all over!! Su paper you only get 20 sheets at 3-3/4 X 5.20 for $6.95. Now that I know Walmart has watercolor paper, I will be heading there to buy some. I just started tring to watercolor so I went through 6 sheets yesterday just practicing!
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I'm glad this paper came up, b/c I've been wanting to ask about it. I also thought the SU! stuff was way too expensive for tiny little pieces of it.
The watercolor paper I've seen at Michael's, Joann's, Hobby Lobby and Archiver's are "bumpy". I just tried to stamp on the bumpy stuff I got at Archivers and it didn't come out so good. The lines where wobbly.
Is the SU! watercolor paper bumpy or smooth?
Any help would be aprreciated!
Regarding the WC paper at Michaels,etc... If you are purchasing the paper that comes in a tablet, then yes, the paper is a bit more rough. I use this for my practice watercolor pieces. Go into the art supply section in Michaels and you can get better quality W/C paper in large sheets - like the size of construction paper. You can then cut it to any size. I use this (which is more expensive) for my final water color projects. I too think that SU's w/c paper is way to expensive.
Watercolor paper typically comes on 22"x30" sheets. There are two main weights, 140 lb. and 300 lb. You can buy large pads of watercolor paper that are 130 lb. The 130 lb. is too thin for most watercolor painters, but perfect for cards. The 300 lb. paper is too thick/heavy.
There are different "presses" of watercolor paper. Cold press offers rough and regular textured papers and if you like a very smooth surface, go for the hot press paper. You also can find these presses in the natural (off white) or bright white color. Michaels, Blick, Daniel Smith, Artist's edge, any art supply store will carry the different types and be able to answer any questions.
OK, so why do I need this?? What is the difference between coloring on this vs coloring on us white??
There are probably lots of differences, but setting that aside, it probably has to do with the issue of your CS curling or pilling when too much water is applied during watercoloring. I never had an issue with this until I used the watercolor crayons and would still be struggling with this if it weren't for a tip from stampin8mom (Kathy from oHIyo!)...her suggestion was to get a can of Krylon Matte spray. Stamp your image with any ink (the spray makes any ink water resistant), lightly spray the cs with the matte spray and they do your watercolors in any fashion. It was MAGIC!!!! The watercolor crayons flowed just like watercolor pencils did and there was no pilling or curling. THANK YOU, AGAIN, KATHY!
I have the thick, bumpy paper from Micheals (cold press, I guess) but I like it that way! :grin: I think it gives it a nice rustic appearance and it especially looks good stamped with bold images and chalk ink!
On a side note, if you use Stazon inks the images are waterproof, and the Palette Inks by TAC are all waterproof as well. A good aqua brush will also keep you from getting your paper too wet...thus avoiding ruining regular white cardstock. I use that the most!
It's very different. You can check out watercolour paper at any store that sells art supplies. I'd expect even WalMart to carry it.
__________________ ~ Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannize their teachers ~ (attributed to Socrates 470-399 BC)
When my customers are concerned about the price of the WC paper I suggest Shimmery White as my 1st choice alternative, then the Confetti papers. The White & Vanilla are not good for any watercolor applications at all - they do curl & pill. There really is no perfect substitution for WC paper though. It's just different.
I also use Michael's WC paper to "play" with & save my SU paper for my final copy. When you get WC paper somewhere else try to get as close as possible to the SU description (100% cotton, 140 lb. cold pressed) to get the best result.
Watercolor paper
