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For colourless I'd go for the SN clear glitter pen. OK, I know it's not a spray but it's gorgeous. I had a Tattered Angels spray that was pretty much colourless but tended to clog and then drip, no matter what I did. If you really want a spray, the suggestion of making your own with Perfect Pearls gets my vote...I've never had a homemade mist in mini-misters clog.
Ditto the Tsukineko - and refills are available, including on Amazon. The first time I used it was in a card class, and the instructor said every one of us would want to use it too close to the paper. She had us stand up - or we could reach our hands up - to see the difference. She was right and it always stuck in my head. No clogging for me. Now I want to use it right now.
Ditto the Tsukineko - and refills are available, including on Amazon. The first time I used it was in a card class, and the instructor said every one of us would want to use it too close to the paper. She had us stand up - or we could reach our hands up - to see the difference. She was right and it always stuck in my head. No clogging for me. Now I want to use it right now.
Love this stuff. It gives such fine, even 'sparkly' coverage. I usually go overboard!
I do love shimmer sprays, but they always clog-Tattered Angels, homemade, Tim Holtz, you name it... So I rarely use them anymore. I do love my sparkle pen, tho!
When my nozzles clog, I take off the lid & run it through HOT water! I also run a basin of HOT water & dip in the end that goes down into the bottle & pump away till it cleans out the clog! IT WORKS EVERY TIME! ;)
I make my own with Perfect Pearls and distilled water or Pearl Ex, gum arabic, and distilled water.
Hi Mary, I have all the ingredients to make my own! Can you share what proportions you use? Maybe I can put my Pearl Ex to good use and make different color sprays!
Hi Mary, I have all the ingredients to make my own! Can you share what proportions you use? Maybe I can put my Pearl Ex to good use and make different color sprays!
I'm thinking the same thing. So Much Pearl Ex! LOL
__________________ Kim in Illinois, Dirty Dozen Alum, QFTD#207, FS798, VSN Moderator "Famous Last Words" Spring Virtual Stamp Night, April 19 & 20
I just keep the Tsukineko upright and it never clogs, but I haven’t tried it any other way. Sometimes it’s not used for ages. I’ll double check it later to make sure I’m not lying, since it’s been months. (I forget to use it so thanks for the reminder.)
I store mine sitting upright also. I think in the beginning I remember hearing somewhere that you should wipe the nozzle off, but I don't think that really helps. It clogs down inside the tube or inside the nozzle. The hot water does help with unclogging! You can also make your own shimmer sprays with small bottles of hair spray (Travel size), & add your color with reinkers, to whatever intensity you like & add your perfect pearls, not much. Then when you spray it onto something, it will STICK! ;) (I don't think there is a "recipe" for that, but just how intense you want your color, is decided by you.)
I saw Tim commenting on sprays recently, especially ones with Mica in. He said to make sure to wipe the nozzle after use, and they should never clog then. I've also had good results unclogging old ones by soaking in hot soapy water, the keep spraying- wuth the tube in the hot water- until they totally clear.
Is there a proper way to store them so they don't clog? That was my problem with the Tattered Angels sprays.
I was always told to store them lying down. That way the mica settles to a larger area and not under the nozzle so less likely to clog. Roll the bottle between your hands to remix the mica. Don't shake.
Hi Mary, I have all the ingredients to make my own! Can you share what proportions you use? Maybe I can put my Pearl Ex to good use and make different color sprays!
Sorry I'm late on this. I can't find my little notebook that I keep my recipes for stuff but it will turn up eventually. Couldn't remember the amount of gum arabic. I looked it up and several people used between ⅛-¼ tsp Pearl Ex, ¾ of a dropper (like the size in a Distress reinker bottle) of Gum arabic to 2 oz of water. It depends on how dense you want your shimmer. I use distilled because we have hard water. I save the little metal balls out of old sprays and drop one in to help get the mica to blend better while I shake it. I do wipe the nozzle.
One other thing I read on the Frugral Crafter is that some of the Pearl Ex Colors don't do as well as others. She mentioned the copper tends to clog but the silvery shimmer pearly whiter powders are finer and much less likely to clog.
Also apparently you can use cheap hairspray , the kind that comes in a pump bottle, in place of the gum arabic but I haven't done that. There are recipes for it in several places if you just google shimmer sprays recipes.
Is there a proper way to store them so they don't clog? That was my problem with the Tattered Angels sprays.
I did try my Tsukinkos that have been stored upright and they all sprayed easily, two that came in skinny little .24 oz bottles and one in a 2.0 oz bottle. (I prefer the tiny bottles; the larger is harder for me to control.)
For a moment I thought one had gone bad because it wasn't clear! That's because it was gold. It's probably not been used in a couple of years; I forgot I had it though it's been on a cart next to me all this time.
Sorry I'm late on this. I can't find my little notebook that I keep my recipes for stuff but it will turn up eventually. Couldn't remember the amount of gum arabic. I looked it up and several people used between ⅛-¼ tsp Pearl Ex, ¾ of a dropper (like the size in a Distress reinker bottle) of Gum arabic to 2 oz of water. It depends on how dense you want your shimmer. I use distilled because we have hard water. I save the little metal balls out of old sprays and drop one in to help get the mica to blend better while I shake it. I do wipe the nozzle.
One other thing I read on the Frugral Crafter is that some of the Pearl Ex Colors don't do as well as others. She mentioned the copper tends to clog but the silvery shimmer pearly whiter powders are finer and much less likely to clog.
Also apparently you can use cheap hairspray , the kind that comes in a pump bottle, in place of the gum arabic but I haven't done that. There are recipes for it in several places if you just google shimmer sprays recipes.
Hi Mary, Thank you so much for taking the time to find and relay your great tips! I will pick up a bottle of distilled water and try it with the fine Pearl Ex. I like the pearly white shimmer as it seems very versatile. Thanks!
I LOVE the Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spritz from Imagine Crafts. I've had it for quite some time and used it more recently and it is a gorgeous, fine spray with lots of sparkle!
I LOVE the Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spritz from Imagine Crafts. I've had it for quite some time and used it more recently and it is a gorgeous, fine spray with lots of sparkle!
Agree - Imagine Crafts is Tsukinko. Never any clogging, and I haven’t wiped off the nozzle that I recall.
Hi! Not sure anyone is still interested in ideas for shimmer sprays, but for those of you who were interested in making your own, I will share the recipe I have been using since 2013 with great success.
My personal recipe for DIY Shimmer spray uses 2 items that I did not purchase - i I used items I had on hand and upcylec them for my project.
One of the items was an empty 4 oz glass spray bottle that originally held Epionce Toner. The pump sprayer on it gave a fine, even mist, which is what I was looking for in a shimmer spray.
The other found item that I used from my cupboard was a clear plastic drinking straw (the normal sized ones that come in the paper wrapper). Is cut this to a shorter length (5” or so) and then squeezed one end and nipped a portion of the straw off with scissors - this created a scoop like end to the straw.
Now for the recipe using these found items!
4 oz of RO water (reverse osmosis) or distilled water or purified water. I avoid regular tap water because it can go weird after it sits in a bottle for a year or so!
Ranger Perfect Pearls powder - you will use 4 scoops of this using the straw scoop that you made.
Spray bottle that will hold 4 oz of water. For best results avoid cheap spray bottles from discount stores, etc...search your stash for makeup bottles that have nice sprayers that have not clogged when you used them and that put out the spray pattern that you like (if they sputter and spray erratically, dont use them for shimmer spray!)
Several small clear real stone pebbles for shakers. The kind I have used that work well are takenfrom strings of inexpensive polished semi-precious stones that you see in the craft stores. The string I had in my stash had polished agates, white quartz, turquoise, brown stones and clear....I avoided using any stone with color because I didn’t want to take a chance that they were dyed (faux!!!). Anyway I picked out 3 or 4 of the clear or natural white polished stone beads and tossed them in the bottom of the spray bottle to act as permanent shakers to mix up the Perfect Pearls.
Now it time to put this all together.
4 oz (or larger) spray bottle with good quality sprayer mechanism
4 scoops of Ranger Perfect Pearls, using handmade scoop from plastic straw
4 oz (this is 1/2 cup) of purified type water
4 clear/natural colored small polished stones for shakers
Put the sprayer top on the bottle and gently shake until all the powder is activated. It will look like a swirly pearly ocean inside the bottle.
Spray away!
When you go to use the DIY Shimmer the next time, ALWAYS take time to gently rock n roll the bottle until all the powder is thoroughly remixed. DO NOT spray without shaking it first. Remixing the Perfect Pearls and the water each time before spritzing, will keep your spray nozzle clog-free.
I have been using the above mix of products in the same spray bottle since 2013 and have never had a clogged nozzle or gloppy looking spray pattern. A 4 oz bottle will last a very long time, which is why I make sure to use something other than local tap water, to avoide bacteria contamination.
I apologize for the windy post. I thought it would be more helpful to provide specific info, just in case anyone is interested in trying making their own shimmer spray.
Shimmer Spray
