Make custom-dyed glitter with Becky Fleck...and a winner!

Good morning, so glad you could make it back! I mentioned in my post on Monday that I am a glitter addict, albeit a closet one.  It is not uncommon to find glitter on various surfaces of my home, including the carpets, hardwood floors, bathroom counters and yes, even the TV screen!  When Libby the Wonder Dog sparkles, my husband is the first to say, “Uh-oh, mom’s been playing in the fairy dust again!”

 

Making your own custom colours of glitter is super easy and this technique works with all types of glitter, from micro fine to chunky to German glass glitter.

To get started, you’ll need glitter, reinkers (I used Memento) and glass jars (avoid plastic as it will be permanent stained). The colour recipes I list below are to match up with Carta Bella's new Alphabet
Junction and Merry & Bright collections.

Pour a tablespoon of glitter into a mason or glass jar with a lid. Add 3 drops of New Sprout and 1 drop of Dandelion reinkers. Secure the lid and shake the jar vigorously to disperse the reinker and dye the glitter. It will take a bit of shaking to cover all of the micro fine glitter. Stop shaking when the desired colour is achieved.

 

For the peach glitter, I used a tablespoon of German glass glitter and added 2 drops Dandelion, 2 drops Rose bud and 4 drops of Cantaloupe. I didn’t have to shake the jar very long and the German glass glitter took the dye beautifully.

 

For the light pink glitter, I chose a chunky-styled glitter by Martha Stewart. If you look closely at this type of glitter, you’ll see that they are hexagon shaped. Pretty cool! Add 1 drop of Rose Bud to a
tablespoon of chunky glitter. This one also did not take much shaking and the result was a more speckled effect. Love that!

 

My final colour is a dark pink glitter and for this one, I used Doodlebug’s Sugar glitter. It’s coarseness is somewhere in between a micro glitter and the chunky. I added 2 drops of Rose Bud and 2 Drops of
Cantaloupe and shook it for quite a while. It speckled just a bit and took longer to dry, but I love the shade it produced.

 

So there you have it, custom dyed glitter in four sparking shades! I also dyed a small amount of the German glass glitter in black to sparkle up the bee in my second card (you can see all of the
individual cards and close-ups here).  

Here are a few tips I learned while doing this:

• Add yellow for a warmer colour.
• Add blue for a cooler colour.
• Add red for a deeper hue.
• Always start with ONE drop and shake before adding more. You’d be surprised how much colour it adds!
• Allow the glitter to dry completely before using. I spread mine out on the lid of the mason jar and let it dry for a few hours.
• Store in a breathable glass container such as a salt shaker. If you close it up, it will remoisten and lose its sparkle.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on colouring glitter! I’ll see you in November for a fun project for the holidays!  ~ Becky

 
We are so thrilled to announce a winner to Lynn Ghahary's fabulous "Step It Up" class...

Thanks for the chance to win a spot in your workshop. I make most of my Embellishments and am always looking for new ideas. I am going to try the wood ideas!
Posted by: Deborah Price | September 13, 2012 at 09:47 AM

Congratulations Deborah!  Be sure to check your email! 

Have a wonderful day everyone!  Don't forget to join us on Friday as we release our brand new Fall issue! 

~ Catherine

Comments

[Laura]

WOW!!!What awesome-ness (is that a word??!) I will definitely try this out--what out world! I`m experimenting!!! :D

[Laura]

oops..meant to say watch out world!

[Phyllis]

great idea!! this I've gotta try! thanks for the tip!

[Renee VanEpps]

Great post, thanks for the tutorial!!

[Penny Douphinett]

Great ideas and thanks for the recipes! I now have yet another reason to collect re-inkers - even if I don't have that stamp pad.

[Julie A. Shearer]

Great idea ! TFS.

[Jessica Shelton]

What an amazing tutorial. Gonna try this out asap!

[leslie]

Oh what fun! Reminds me of way back when my boys were little and we colored macaroni :)

[Theresa VanderStaay]

Wow that's awesome! Something definitely worth trying. Thanks for the great tip and instructions :o)

[Chris R]

Really love your coloring tips for the glitter. Thanks for sharing.

[Dorina D]

Wonderful tutorial and great idea for getting the right colors. Love it. Thanks for sharing.

[Jessica Shelton]

Will this technique work with Archival Ink Reinkers or Adirondak Alcohol Inks?

[auntie em (emily)]

Thank you for the great tutorial on colouring glitter and your cards are so pretty. I love glitter and the more colours the merrier. But I have a question...if you use dye based inks to colour it, will the colour come off on the glue when you stick it on a project? I couldn't see any evidence of this on your projects so I was wondering if you used a specific glue for it?
Thanks for sharing your ideas and inspiration! :)

[Ruth G]

This is wonderful! Thanks for sharing your "recipes"!!!

[Pam Thorburn]

How clever-great idea!!

[carriep]

love this, thanks for sharing

[Beneta]

Hi what stamp set was used for the cards. I love the sayings and the queen. Thanks for passing along great info.

[Becky Fleck]

Jessica, this technique will work with any dye-based reinker, including Archival, Stampin Up and other brands. Not sure about alcohol ink, but I'll bet if you worked quickly, it just might! (I'm thinking that the alcohol inks have a tendency to dry very fast.)

Auntie Em, I used Helmar's pva glue for all of the projects. Because the reinker is dye-based, it actually soaks into the glitter, rather than staying on top, so it doesn't come off. I did notice a bit of staining on my fingers with the German glitter glass.

[Beth W]

I had no idea you could color glitter.Can't wait to give this a try!

[Barb Wagar]

I'm a total glitter nut! So stoked about this idea! Thanks for sharing this tutorial! ;)