Playing With DecoArt Metallic Lustres. . . .

 Hello everyone, I hope your week is going well. I have been playing with DecoArt Metallic Lustres again. If you missed my first post in this series, please click HERE.

Having tried the lustres mixed with water in a mister, I decided to see if they would behave as other water based products do when using a stencil and a baby wipe.

I came up with some results which I really like and they are now ready to be used as tag backgrounds for future projects:

The tag on the left has been misted with the Lustre mixture and also has some extra layers which I will explain later.  The tag on the right is just DecoArt Metallic Lustre in black shimmer.

Mix the Metallic Lustre with some water in a mister - shake vigorously to ensure the Lustre dissolves. (I had no problem with the mixture blocking the mister when I went back to it the next day.) I have misted onto either white card or gessoed card but you could paint first and add various layers before misting the lustre on your project.

Allow the misted tag to dry thoroughly. Place chosen stencil onto tag and using a baby wipe, remove the lustre as desired. If you rub too hard it will lift the surface of the paper so beware!

Close up image for detail.

Paint a tag with two or more layers of DecoArt gesso to seal the surface. Apply DecoArt modelling paste through a stencil with a palette knife. Allow to dry. Mist with lustre spray and dry. Remove areas of lustre using a stencil and baby wipe as before. Add some shading as required using coloured pencils. Spot the mistake in this image (I forgot to put the correct tub of lustre in - it should show the colour iced espresso!).

Detail image to show pencil used on top of modelling paste - it can be used wherever needed.

To start building layers, paint a thin layer of DecoArt paint onto the craft sheet. Tape the stamp lightly into the paint several times then apply as required on the tag. Wash your stamp immediately to remove paint. At this point you can continue with as many layers as you wish but just remember that the lustre mist will react with wet products even after it has dried. If you want to avoid this, I suggest you spray it with a thin layer of sealant such as DecoArt Americana spray finisher/sealer. When dry, you can then continue your layers.

Detail image to show stamped paint.

For a further layer, you could stencil paint onto your design as shown.

The same stencil was used for both the modelling paste and the paint.

A mister, a stencil and a baby wipe remember. Love how you can get an idea of the shimmer here. Great for a single layer project perhaps.

This image gives you some idea of the level of shine you can expect to achieve. 


Here are two tags which I've started work on and which need more work but they give you an idea of where you can go with this technique.

 The tag on the left uses the method shown above. The one on the right had some acrylic paint added to the metallic lustre in the mister. I used it through a stencil and really like the effect. However, I left the mixture in the mister until the next day and found it had blocked. I would suggest washing out the mister if paint is added to the mixture!

Two different stencils were used here followed by some randomly applied translucent Traditions paint.

 The image was stamped straight onto the background for this tag.

The image was stamped on another piece of card for this tag. Archival ink was used followed by DecoArt translucent Traditions paint.

Hope this gives you some further ideas for using the product. Thanks for looking and if you have time, let me know what you think.