Teri Anderson

I’m really digging spray mists right now. Here’s why: They’re just plain fun to play with. You can do so much with them: mask with them; change the colors of paper flowers and ribbon; and create all kinds of fun backgrounds.

Betsy Veldman and I played with spray mists for the Dear Go-to-Gals column in the September/October issue of Paper Crafts magazine. (Click HERE to see Betsy’s Fall Masked & Misted Card and my Tie-Dyed Thanks Card.)

And I’m excited to share with you today one of my favorite techniques: the tie-dye misting technique.

To pull off this fun technique, you’re going to need:

• A can of compressed air. I found mine at the office supply store in the computer supply aisle.
• A few bottles of spray mist
• Watercolor paper

And here’s what you do:

1. Spray several puddles of mist on a piece of watercolor paper. Be sure to spray close to the paper so you end up with nickel to quarter-sized puddles.

2. Shoot air from a can of compressed air directly into the puddles. Move the nozzle around to spread the mists and cause splotchy marks.

3. Allow the mists to soak into the paper and fully dry. Patience is key here. This could take minutes or up to an hour.

The end result is a super cool background, like what you see here in my Hello Tie-Dye Card:

What I love about this technique is no matter how many times you try it and no matter what colors you use, you end up with a different look every time.

Feeling adventurous and want to try the tie-dye misting technique at home?

Leave me a comment today and you could win some cool stuff from Shimmerz. Three of you will get a bottle of Hot Fudge Shimmerz Spritz, as well as some bonus jars of Shimmerz Pearlz in PapaPurple, Evergreen and Pixie Dust. All comments must be received by midnght (MDT) on Thursday, Aug. 19.

Three lucky winners will each take home this Shimmerz prize package!

‘Til we get to play again,

Teri Anderson,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal

P.S. Wondering how this technique would work with reinkers? Hit my blog today to see how, as well as view another project.

Jennifer Schaerer

Let’s see. We got through Merry Hallowistmas, and Happy Merrygiving is long past as well. Hmmmm…

Then it must be time for Happy Christmastine’s Day here in Magazineland, which means that even though it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, my inner lyrics are saying what the world needs now is love, sweet love.

That’s because, along with a few changes in our columns, we’ve been thinking about the glory of love and Valentine’s Day since early last summer. We’ve also been fine-tuning our cover look, and are head over heels in love with this one:

Get ready to fall in LOVE with our January/February issue!

Aren’t those cards by cover girls Teri Anderson, Julie Campbell and Dawn McVey just, well, lovely? And hey – it sure looks like kraft is popular, doesn’t it!

As for the changes in our columns, you already know about our shift from Ask the Pros to Dear Go-to Gals. But we’ve also re-launched the Joy of Card Making column as Go-to Sketches starting in this issue.

And, since you told us in our reader surveys that you love color and the inspiration of color combinations, we’d like to introduce you to Color Play. In this new column, five designers will be given a palette of four colors to create a design that’s all about inspiration, style and trendy color combinations.

How’s this for a lovely color combination? Don’t miss our newest column: Color Play!

We’ve also covered our Valentine bases with features on Vintage Valentines and Valentines for Everyone on Your List. Oh, and don’t miss our talented Paper Crafts Go-to Gals as they Try Something New – we asked them to step out of their comfort zone and create a card in a completely different style than their usual one. Our own Kim Kesti did shabby chic. Seriously.

So if you still need to get your hands on our January/February issue, leave me a comment and I’ll send FIVE random commenters a copy. I might even find some lovely goodies from our stash to include with it, you just never know…

Love is definitely in the air,
Jennifer

P.S. Are you a fan of Paper Crafts magazine and this blog? Here’s your chance to tell us what you like, what you want to see more of, etc. Complete our 2010 Reader Survey and 20 random respondents will win a copy of our newest book, A Card a Day: Your Ultimate Resource for Inspiration, Design, Tips & Techniques (retail value $21.95!).