Quick Tip – DIY Shimmer Sprays

I find shimmer sprays so versatile.  You can add a bit of shine, or a bit of grunge, depending on the colour and degree of sparkle.

There are a huge variety of commercial options out there, but did you know you can create your own custom sprays using various paints and reinkers?

What you need:

Isocol rubbing alcohol or Isopropyl alcohol   – these are the same thing – the isocol has a fragrance added that I don’t like, and the untinted one works out cheaper. I ended up with the biiiggg bottle from a computing shop (go figure, something about overclocking computer chips at low temperatures) and it gets used for lots of handy household cleaning tasks as well.

Spray bottle – Ranger Mini Misters work well, but travel spray bottles are also perfect (and you can mix up a big batch).  Or, save the empty bottles from commercial sprays and refill.  If your commercial sprays get clogged, you can sometimes get them misting well again by soaking the nozzle in a bit of isopropyl alcohol to dissolve any gunk that has accumulated.

Tsukineko All Purpose Ink – these work perfectly – anything from a few drops to a few more…

Many other reinkers and even metallic paints work also, including Judikins Mica Gloss and Stazon Metallic Reinker.  You can add liquid reinker to create custom colours.  If you add ink to the alcohol and it goes all lumpy, then try a different type, or add a proportion of water to the mix, which may get it all nice and smooth again.

Then, to protect all the things, before you start misting everything in sight, you should grab one of these:  

So much fun, so many more uses for those reinkers and paints in your collection – let me know what you’ve had success with in the comments 🙂