Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Who's afraid of the big bad Wainbow? DIY shimmer colour sprays

First things first, if you can help with Earthquake relief for Japan, please visit this post. It has a lot of information on how we Crafters can do so.


Skipping Stones Design design element stamp (Timeless Textures set) with DIY shimmer mists - Copy

And now, for something trivial to transfer my "living-in-a-Vancouver-condo-that-shakes-a -lot-when-a-train-goes-by earthquake fears" onto:

Are you a little afraid of colour?
Sounds crazy, but secretly...

...I am.

I'm scared silly about using lots of colour.
To be honest it just feels bigger than me somehow.

But today I'm being brave
and getting BOLD:

.

Okay, so I'm betting that the idea of homemade colour sprays is really nothing revolutionary to any of you crafty people, but it is sort of special for me, since having these ready-made shimmer colours is helping me be less boring! ;0)

(Those of you who've known me for a while can attest to my fear
of any shade that isn't in the turquoise family).

.

No tutorial for this, sorry... Why reinvent the wheel though, right? There are many tutorials out there on how to make your own shimmery glimmery sprays or mists. I just used what I have on hand last night to make an intensely-saturated rainbow selection of them.

Here's a background I'm making using a stamp
that I was lucky enough to be given by
Heather at Skipping Stones Design:

Emboss Resist with DIY shimmer mists using Skipping Stones Design Timeless Textures stamp set

Steps it took to make this shimmery resist:

Step 1) Stamp the Timeless Textures Background in Versamark on Watercolour paper (the smooth side of the paper if you have bumpy stuff).

Step 2) Cover the versamark with Clear embossing powder & heat it with a heat gun.

St
ep 3) Paint on the shimmer ink colours on with a brush (for more control than spritzing). Let it dry & to remove excess colour from the clear embossing, rub over the embossing with a rag.

and there you have it...

Skipping Stones Design design element stamp (Timeless Textures set) with DIY shimmer mists


The middle design (used above) is having to duke it out in a
tumultuous battle with the bottom design (below)
to decide who will be my new all-time fave from Skipping Stones Design's
Timeless Textures set here:

(still not sure which one will be the ultimate winner)

lumiere settling



for do it yourself shimmer sprays


For colour: ink refills (I used S.U. Classic reinkers). I used about 40-60 drops of different ink mixes for very deep colour. Of course, you could use a little, test the colour out, and then add more until it's saturated to your liking.

Red: Ridinghood Red-30 drops; Bravo Burgundy-15 drops; Real Red-20 drops
Orange: Only Orange-25 drops; Really Rust 10 drops
Yellow: Barely Banana-30 drops; Summer Sun-10 drops
Green: Certain Celery-25 drops; kiwi kiss-15 drops; green galore-10 drops
Turquoise: Tempting Turquoise-35 drops; Soft Sky-20 drops
Violet: Soft Sky-15 drops; Lavender Lace 25 drops; Lovely Lilac-20 drops

For shimmer: I used Lumiere Pearl White acrylic paint (similar to Tsukineko's Shimmer Paint, which is also sold by Stampin' Up as Shimmer Paint). For each, I used about a 1/4 tsp of the Lumiere paint. Again, you can always start with a little and add more.

For a carrier: I just used water, but you could use alcohol. The 99% rubbing alcohol is fab. I have some, but wanted smell free sprays to avoid headaches & I also wanted to avoid drying out my hands or any potential toxicity.

For the Bottles: I just used little 3 inch high spray bottles from the dollar store (found for a buck for the whole lot, in the cosmetic section).

DIY rainbow shimmer sprays row side

However, you do get settling with the Lumiere as you can see here:

.

....and I'm worried the dollar store bottle spray contraption might clog since the "uptake hose part" is thin/fine (technical terms abound in this post, hey?) So... I've been shaking them carefully side to side (versus up and down like a mad woman). For experiment's sake, I have ordered 1 mini mister by Ranger to test out (Yup, one. How cheap am I, hey?)

For the labels: paper, circle punch, tacky glue

DIY Lumiere reinker shimmer mists punched paper circle to index colour on spray bottle tops

(I indexed the top of the bottle lids with paper labels to show the finished colour by: spritzing on paper, punching circles out, and gluing them on. If you want to keep the labels pretty, microglaze makes a quick waterproof seal: just rub some on the label.)

For mess avoidance: a piece of wax paper to protect your work surface.

For clean up: B& J's "The Master's" artist cleaning stuff is something that I've been meaning to tell you about for years. I have two products of theirs...

...the brush preserver/cleaner and some artist's soap:


I just opened the soap package today & it turns out that it is lovely for removing ink stains from your hands. Non-toxic too. Here's a description of the soap. (I have no affiliation; I just love it)

Here's a link a video on the brush cleaner. The brush cleaner/protector is amazing--especially for use on new brushes to fill the ferrule (metal part) and protect it from filling up with paint. Want to search some out? Here are the details: B&J® Original Formula "The Masters"® artist Hand Soap. Your local art supply store may carry it.

Blogger thumbnails (for those who prefer to click them):


Thanks so much for checkin' this out.
I hope you and yours are safe & well,

So, Have you ever made your own Shimmery sprays?
If so, Do tell!
What's your experience with them?

Edited to add:

Links to a whole bunch of spray/

mist tutorials in this post here.


FRIENDLY WARNING: Using alcohol, or other blenders to make your sprays? Please consider reading this info on it. Basically, it is flammable & you should avoid inhalation. Can you just picture me wearing my respirator & safety goggles? (Seriously though.)

If you are considering putting Ranger Alcohol blending solution into sprays, please do not. Here is a post that warns against it since the blender has a resin that should never be sprayed or it can harm your eyes.

24 comments:

Erum Tasneem said...

loving the colours Mel! I have done the same thing, except i use either food dyes or fabric powder dyes :)
I too love this middle stamp more! loads of hugs!

Alexandra said...

wundervoll...ich nehme distress re-inker von ranger, verdünne sie mit wasser und gebe perfect pearls dazu, gut geschüttelt einfach wunderbar.
lg
sanny

patricia said...

gorgeous technique!

Anonymous said...

First off, hands down, the middle stamp does it for me!!

another fabulous frugal idea!! Thanks for the ideas and perhaps (only if you have time & are feeling good) you could add some links on how other have made the spray. I love that you tell us how many drops of each colour because your colours are fabulous!!! I love colour.
Thanks!!
Beth Greco

Darla said...

Love my minimisters!!
Worth noting if you like the mini mister you ordered save yourself some money. I ordered a whole lot of them 30 or so i think off eBay from a lady who sells beauty product stuff (I guess they're used for perfumes??!!) and they are identical in my eyes they just don't have the word ranger on them. If I remember right she even sent me 5 extra!! I use them for everything now!! I am not affiliated at all just a happy customer since they were just what I wanted and I think I paid like $15 for all 30 of them?!?!
I saved her as a seller and her store link is http://stores.ebay.ca/Miss-Ds-Samples if you want it.

I use alcohol reinkers and pearls in mine since that is what I happen to have. I keep wanting to try the lumiere paint but can't find it locally or at least not yet. :)

Oh one tip is to keep track of what goes in them especially if you switch to the misters since they will empty quickly for colours you use often.

Debbie Pamment said...

Ooooh I'm with you - colours scares me - and I NEED to use these sprays more often!!! Thanx for the courage to go out there and TRY!
xXx

Holly Young said...

I'm glad you are conquering your fear of color Mel, and your rainbow is gorgeous! Looks like you had a lot of fun mixing this up!

Cassie said...

Fantastic idea, Mel! Thanks so much for sharing that :D

Esther Asbury said...

Love your colors....so pretty! I've made homemade glimmer mist with Metallic Acrylic Paint and Water -- love how it turned out.
http://estherscardcreations.blogspot.com/2011/03/homemade-glimmer-mist.html

Dawn said...

beautiful, fabulous, beautiful!!

oxoxoxxx

Tanya said...

I have been wanting to but have not yet. I love the colors you achieved!

Robin said...

My cheap spray bottles clogged up, so I gave up and went with GM.

leslie (crookedstamper) said...

I've been meaning to play with Perfect Pearls and water, and I knew about adding reinkers, but can I just say WOWZA? Such gorgeous colors you've achieved!

Mari said...

You made such gorgeous colors! I've made a couple myself for special projects - mostly using perfect pearls & Distress reinkers a la Tim Holtz. Yum!

Kim Etherington said...

Love love love the colours! The Stepping Stone middle one and last one are fab. Now, I can't wait to see the project you make out of those 3 panels. I think they go well together.

katemade designs said...

I love that you experiment and make your own because you are cheap. I'm the same way. I made my own color misters LONG before they were popular. I used the cheapest hair spray I could find that was liquid - Hello AquaNet - and Pearlex. The colors shimmer and the hairspray acts as a sealer so they don't need a separate fixative. I don't use them often so the nozzles sometimes clog, to fix the problem I just take the squirty mechanism (more tech talk) out and soak in warm water.
They are also a great way to add a little color to your hair for parties.

Priscilla said...

Love the bright colors Mel. thanks for the receipes. I have made shimmer mists with pearlx and acrylic paints and water. As long as I swirl and don't shake they do not clog.

Arlene said...

Love your tips and those wonderful colors you achieved. I HAD to read every last word in your post... loved the "techie" talk... hehehe

Kelly G said...

I use the cheap sprayers and I've never had a problem with it clogging...unlike the glimmer mist I bought. I use reinkers and pearl ex

Deebi27 said...

I Just LOVE your posts, they are so on point and helpful, keep them coming as time allows. I will be trying these sprays as they are sooo much more economical. Ya gotta love saving when you can, right on there Mel!!! Your colors are sooo perfect, thankz for the recipes!!

christopher said...

The colors are amazing, and so are you.love your blog.rosie.x

Anonymous said...

I'm SO pumped!! I just got home for ScrapFest today and I bought a little container of perfect pearls and guess what I'm off to do??? Make me some Shimmer spray!! I'll let you know how it goes. I want to use your red combination and my any luck I have those re-inkers. :-) Doing an excited little happy dance here.

Beth Greco

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited to try to make and use these. Quick question - what surfaces does this work on? Is paper best, or would it stick to canvas?

mel m. m. mccarthy said...

Hi Jessie, (mybakingempire) Thanks for stopping by! Not sure if you'll see this, but you're "no reply" in Blogger so I couldn't email back. This should work on canvas, especially if it's treated with gesso or primer. I do notice that with the Stampin Up ink refill as colour they fade a bit on fabric but have more intensity on paper. Hope that helps. :0) mel