Layering mists with Emily Pitts!

Hello again, I'm back with a tutorial on misting and a little more information to "de-mistify" misting!   A commenter on Monday's post asked for a vieo tutorial on "shadowing," I'm not sure if this is what you meant, but I've done some layering of mists that ends up looking like shadows, so I hope this what you were looking for!

I created this layout using butterflies as masks, moving them for each layer of mist. I also showed this technique in the Spring issue of Scrapbook and Cards Today on page 27. It's a little hard to explain in just a few pictures so I've got a few more, hopefully that will give you a clear idea of how to use this fun technique with mists.

I'll show you how to make the same type of background, only using snowflakes instead of butterflies. The look you get depends on the colors you use and how many different layers you decide to do. I did three layers for both the butterfly and snowflake backgrounds, but there's no reason you have to stop at three. Many mists are  beautiful when you layer them, and masking allows you to get a very subtle effect if you stagger the die cuts/punched images just right. There's no wrong way to do this technique, just play with it until you get the look you want. Here are the products I used: Studio Calico's Mister Huey in Warm Calico, Lunch Tray, and Calico White, Martha Stewart punches in Himalayan and Scandinavian, adhesive, White Orange Peel Cardstock by Bazzill, and a cardboard box.

To keep the snowflakes in place, I used a small strip of the adhesive.

 


Attach the snowflakes randomly to the cardstock, making sure some of the snowflakes overlap the edges.

 
Lightly mist with your first color. I tried this technique a couple of times, first with the Lunch Tray, then with the Warm Calico, just to see if the order I applied the mists mattered in the final product. It doesn't really matter with these three colors. I also adjusted the number of snowflake masks, the first time I used about 20, the second attempt I used 28 masks. It gives you a more complex look the more masks you use.

 Carefully lift and reapply the masks, overlap some of the original snowflakes, so you'll still have bits of the original white cardstock showing through after the second layer of misting.

 
Add your second color of mist. It's really important to LIGHTLY apply the mist. I held the bottle about two feet above the box I was using. The image below shows what it looks like after you start to remove your 2nd round of masks. (I took some of the masks off to photograph.) Remove all your masks, then you'll reapply them as in the last step, making sure to overlap the original images.

 
The final step is to mist your masks with the Mister Huey's Calico White. You can go a bit heavier with how much mist you use with the white. This step may not appear to do much at first, but as the mist dries, the effect is beautiful. Any place that has the original white cardstock showing will almost glow, and the spots you've had masked for this third layer of misting will be subtle. The image below is after I've removed my 3rd round of masking.

 Let it dry fully, then use the background in any manner you'd like. I love the subtle layers the different mists create. It looks like a snowstorm, yet if you look carefully, you can see each layer of misting. It's really a fun technique.

 
Try it with other die cuts/ punched images and play with your mist colors. I found that doing the white last gave me the most beautiful surprises, but try it in a different order if you'd like. The possibilities are great.

Someone also commented on Monday about the clumps you can get when you mist. Don't shake the bottle up and down, that will add bubbles to the mist and then they transfer to the tube and you'll get splats because you've got air in the tube. To mix up the mist, swirl it in a circle instead. Another commenter asked if there was a way to not get mist on your hands. I haven't found one yet. I suppose you could wear rubber gloves, but I just prefer to have green hands :) It washes off pretty well with soap and water.

I also did this video for Studio Calico a while back to show you how I made my "Morning Soundtrack" layout using stripes of mist.

Thanks for joining me today. If there are more things you'd like to see addressed concerning mists, please add that to your commets. I'll try and address it in my next blogging adventure come September!

~ Emily Pitts

Comments

[Brenda B.]

And to think that I thought this was a magical process...thanks for the super tutorial.

[Renee VanEpps]

Great tutorial Emily!! I really learned alot and appreciate that SCT takes the time to not only read but address their reader's questions!!! Great job 2 all!!!!!!!

[Sue Alg]

Great tutorial. I hadn't seen the other instructional video and that was helpful too. Thanks for sharing.

[Lisa Federspiel]

Great info! I may even be tempted to try this technique now. Thanks for sharing!!

[Kerys]

WOW! I SO love this page! I REALLY struggle with misting - you have cleared up most of my questions - just one more - when I mist (even lightly) the paper always crumples and bends. How do you keep your paper flat afterwards? I've often tried it as a background paper but because it is so crumpled and not flat I don't use it - I often end up cutting it up to make embellishments! Will definitely be giving masking a go though. Thank you so much for sharing :-)

[Penny Douphinett]

Thanks for the tutorial and your tip about how not to get the clumps I don't like! Your snowflake background is beautiful!

[Dorina D]

Great tutorial and fantastic tips for better misting. The snowflake background is gorgeous. Thanks!

[Deborah Price]

Thanks for the tutorial. I have been reluctant to try mists but you made it look so easy and uncomplicated, I am going to give it a try.

[Sharon Gullikson]

What a cool idea. I have mists, but haven't used them because I don't know what to do. I do now!!

[Erica Hettwer]

Gorgeous! That snowflake background is just gorgeous!

[Bonnie Cooper]

thanks for the tip about the bubbles, so helpful!!

[Susan]

Lovely -- thanks for the great tutorial!

[denise]

I LOVE this idea. I see mists all the time but it's one of those items that I just don't know what I'd do with it or how to incorporate it into my projects!!!

[Sacha Rowe]

I second the question about how to mist without the paper warping...I always seem to have this issue even after covering my cardstock with heavy books for a couple of days. Am I just using too much mist or is there another trick I'm not aware of? Love the tutorial though. I would definitely like to try this technique!

[May]

Love it! Thanks Emily!!

[Lorraine Melin]

Thanks for the tutorial! In the final photo, it looks like you've stamped with the snowflake (the darkest ones.) How was this achieved? I was thinking maybe with the negative of the punch?

[Hair clip accessories]

I am going to have to try this!! It looks GREAT!!! Thank you for sharing!!

[Ruza]

Thanks for the tutorial! I think I'm going to try this with a card! ;o)

[Kelly Panacci]

You did a great job with this tutorial. Love it!