How To Make Your Own Spray Mists

Hi everyone! Maggi here with our newest tutorial, brought to you courtesy of Alchemist Misty. Today Misty is going to teach you how to make your own mists. Misty’s Mists are a great way to get a wide range of colors in your mists collection at a fraction of the cost. Take it away, Misty!  (That paragraph sets the world record for the most use of the word, “Mist”.)

****************************

Anyone who knows me, knows that I like to layer on the ink, paints and mists on my projects. Unfortunately, I found myself being very frugal with my misting because it seemed like I could go through half a bottle on one project! At $7-$8 a bottle, it was really tough trying not to break the bank just to satisfy my love for misting. So I was determined to find cheaper ways to make it happen. I tried the paint, pearlex and glue idea, and while it got me through some broke times, it just didn’t come close to being as good as some of the big name mists.

Misty used her collection of homemade mists on this art journal cover.

So I kept looking and recently, while searching through the paint department at my local Hobby Lobby, I came across Dr. Ph. Martins bombay india inks. The package said that they would work on most any surface and could be used for stamping, calligraphy and airbrushing…oh, and they were archival safe. I figured why not try to make some mists with it. So, with my 40% off coupon in hand I ended up getting 12-.5 oz bottles of ink for less than $20.

Aside from these inks being fairly inexpensive, I love them for two big reasons. For one, they are a permanent, waterproof ink. I love this, because I am one to layer…and layer…and layer! Unfortunately, when I would use other mists, I would have problems with the colors smearing and running together when adding my layers (even if I let that first layer dry completely).

Here’s a comparison of my homemade mists (on the left) and store bought mists (on the right):

With the Dr. Ph Martin inks, the ink dries faster and even if I layer while my paper is still wet it usually doesn’t mix together making a mucky mess. So that is my biggest reason for loving them. My second reason is because I can make my mists as light or as dark as I want them to be…and I can alter some of the colors by mixing them together to make my own custom colors. Plus, I had 3 or 4 different colors of perfect pearl pigment laying in my stash that I was rarely using. It is a perfect way to add different colors of shimmer to my mists.

So here’s what you need:

-Small spray bottle.
-Water
-Dr. Ph. Martins Bombay India Ink set
-Rangers perfect pearl pigment (if you want to add shimmer)
-Small paint brush

I used a 2oz spray bottle and filled it up only about a 1/3 of the way full with water. I feel that if I do it in small amounts its easier to control the vibrancy of the color and I can always add water if its darker than I would like. Plus, I think it helps me to keep tabs on how low my ink is getting so I will know when to restock.

Once I’ve added the water, I choose my ink and start adding it to the water with a dropper (one comes in the package of inks). I like rich, vibrant color so I usually add about 3 ink droppers full to get the color that I desire. Sometimes if I’m just wanting a small tint of difference, I might add another color but usually not more than half of the dropper full at a time, because it can drastically change the color! I personally have just used the ink like this and loved it but sometimes I just like to have some shimmer, so that’s where the perfect pearls come in.

If you like a project, to glisten you can easily add it with perfect pearls pigment. Just scoop up some pigment onto the end of a small paintbrush and drop it into your mist, then shake it from side to side and its ready to be tested. If you try it and decide you want more shimmer, just add another scoop. See! It’s so easy!

Another awesome usage of homemade mists!

***********************************

Now go glue something awesome onto some awesome something!

Maggi

About these ads