Friday, April 4, 2014

Eye shadow or mica powder? (and a Friday Smile, too)

I want to begin by giving a huge thanks to Jo at JoZart for generously teaching this technique on her blog.

Many of you saw my visit to the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Swap and Shop yesterday, where I picked up a can of spray starch.  This prompted me to remember Jo's background technique.  You can find her spray starch background tutorial here

Last year I began my month of recycling, reusing, repurposing by showing how to make your own shimmering mists.  Later, I updated the post with this one, and Nancy Lee asked if I thought eye shadow might work equally well.

So I decided to use Jo's tutorial to see if eye shadow could be substituted for mica powders.  The supplies I used are above from back left clockwise:

Old, never used eye shadow that was given to me
Spray starch picked up at the HHW Swap and Shop
WOYWWendy (watching in anticipation, but not part of the supply list)
Mica powders (the brand that doesn't have a binder)
Card stock
High end glossy photo paper cut from junk mail
Not shown: Wet wipes (handed out at the grocery store to wipe your shopping cart handle)

I started by using a make-up sponge to rub the eye shadow powder onto the card stock (CS), but got bored rather quickly,

and decided to scrape off bits of the caked eye shadow powder, which I then sprinkled on the CS.
 
I then sprayed some spray starch on the eye shadow, card stock, and much of my table!

Using a free wet wipe I got at the grocery store, I blended the colors, pushing them into the spray starch,

while coloring the wet wipe along the way.  When dry, I'll add the wet wipe to my stash of hand dyed-hand painted fabric.

Next it was time to see how the eye shadow compared to the mica powders.

I sprayed the starch on the dry CS and mica powders and loved what I got.

The glossy card stock I cut from junk mail was another story, though.  The paper didn't allow the starch or the mica powders to soak in, instead sitting on the surface of the paper.  The only places they really soaked in were at the cut lines.

Once again, I used a second sheet of CS to remove some of the excess starch and mica powders.  To mop up the last of the residue, I grabbed another wet wipe, then allowed everything to dry.

I made a few changes for the final experiment.  First, I used a tool to break the eye shadow into powder, making it more like mica powders.

Then I sprayed the CS before adding the colors, something I had not done in the previous two experiments.

Again, I used a second sheet of CS to mop up the excess powder and starch.

This time, instead of using a wet wipe, I laid down a plastic bag, as Jo did.  Of course, Jo used plastic wrap, but we in the States have so many wasted plastic bags, why use a new product, when a used one will do?

Once dry, I liked the piece that had dried under the plastic bag, but not the one that dried on its own.

Although I loved the end result I got with the plastic bag, you can see the eye shadow still doesn't look as good as the mica powders.

So, to answer the question about replacing mica powders with eye shadow, my belief is they definitely don't work the same way, at least when using Jo's spray starch background technique.  For some reason, I thought I had another set of eye shadows, but I need to look for them and get more distilled water.  Then I'll see how well they do when I replace mica powders with eye shadow in my handmade shimmer mists.

Now I'm not sure if this qualifies as a Friday Smile or not, but  I hope Annie at A Stitch in Time won't be too unhappy if I share this for the 63rd Friday Smiles.

Today, which is Day 5 of recycling projects leading up to bEARTHday,  I recycled spray starch I found at the HHW Swap and Shop, two free wet wipes from the grocery store, junk mail glossy paper, a plastic bag from the grocery store, and eye shadow that my friend was going to throw away.  I'd say a pretty good day overall, because I got 5 sheets of CS for mixed media backgrounds, and two colored wet wipes to use in fabric collages.


16 thoughtful remarks:

Vicki Miller said...

This is a great post. I have a ton of eyeshadows, mostly unused. Perhaps between us we can find a way to use them, but like you, when I have tried in the past I have found they don't have as much colour as the mica powders. Probably because ladies don't really want very bright eyelids! lol
Am really enjoying your recycling series!

Annie said...

Of course it counts....if it made you smile :-) I'm smiling too at the lengths you girls go to the get pretty background papers :-)
Hugs,
Annie x

Gill Edwards said...

It was a good experiment, im all for making things for as little as possible too. Have a good week.
Gill xx

Julia Dunnit said...

how fascinating. I know some eyeshadows contain mica, but probably only fractions compared to the craft products. The Pearl ex brand doesn't contain a binder, but for anyone in the UK, the perfect Pearls are pre. Ixed with gum Arabic, so they are pre - bindered! I like the plastic bag result, looks like rag rolling. This pre Earyh day series of yours is a genius thing.

JoZart Designs said...

That's a really interesting experiment and I had never thought of using eyeshadows. I think a combo of the eyeshadow on a brighter base colour might enhance the effect of the shimmer from the powder. Amongst others I used Brusho powder but any colour medium should work. I do save used cling film and use it over and over.... I have demmed this at shows and only used one piece of cling film over 3 days and then it went home to be used yet again!! It gives a finer crackle effect than plastic bags. It's so good to get other people's ideas and increase the results info. I did enjoy it and Thank You!
Jo x
PS Dolores cannot make the date for the crop so we are going to a big new craft show here in my city.

dawn said...

Happy Friday my friend! You have amazed me again!! I love this post and your results were PRETTY!! So glad you shared it in process, enjoyed seeing what would happen each time.
Can't wait to see what you do with them now. Good to see you save the used wipes too. I've seen art made from those wipes.

I have posted my PL pages if you'd like to see them.

Thanks for making me smile today! HUGS!

Hettie said...

Now that is an interesting idea! I may have to try that. I have powder eyeshadows and wonder if that would be better?
I once wanted some silver sparkly body spray but could not find any for love nor money, and it was just before Christmas. So I went in my craft room, put some Perfect Pearls in a clean spray bottle, topped up with water and sprayed myself. Looked good and it being pewter instead of silver was quite subtle. Someone at the dance commented that she couldn't find any and was shocked to hear what I used. As someone who is allergic to some brands of washing powder, I can report that I suffered no side effects and the sheets looked great next morning!
LOL!
Hugs
xx

Darla said...

Always enjoy seeing how you make background papers. Don't have any eyeshadow but I do have some poor quality pastels. They crumble. I wonder if they could be used in the same way. Ever tried them?

Darla

BumbleVee said...

uhm.... I think I'll be content to stick to my scribbles on paper or my stitchery .... so much less mess and effort..... basically..............I'm lazy.............

Twiglet said...

You have had fun there! I never think of using ordinary household stuff for crafting. I do have a starch spray so may give it a go! x Jo

Caro said...

What an interesting experiment with some reasonable results in the end. Thanks for the interesting smile. Caro x (#8)

505whimsygirl said...

Hi Elizabeth,

What a very cool post! I love how us crafters use what we have and look at things differently. Now, I hadn't thought of keeping those wipes from the grocery store...... tee hee.

I like the look of the eye shadow drying under the plastic bag.

Thank you for visiting me already! Happy belated WOYWW
Hugs, Kay (21)

Shoshi said...

Thank you for your lovely comment on my mum's 93rd birthday, Elizabeth - it really was a lovely day! The trouble is, it left me completely wiped out, which is why I have been so long over the past couple of days, catching up with my comments awaiting moderation - your comment for WOYWW was certainly there, and is now published. Sorry about that.

I am MOST intrigued by your most recent couple of posts. I seem to be in frugal/recycling mode myself atm so found it all very interesting. What a good idea to have a centre where people can drop off their household waste that would otherwise go into landfill! I wish we had such a facility here. I have often found that building/decorating/household materials work just as well as proprietory art/craft materials and at considerably less cost. The experiments with the eyeshadow got me thinking too - I have got a whole lot from the days when I used to wear much more makeup than I do now, in some fabulous colours. I might try mixing them with some gel mediums and PVA, and see how I get on with that. Spray starch is not something I have in stock (I still use the old fashioned stuff you mix with boiling water as it works so much better) - when I used to use it, I managed to spray it on the floor as well as on the ironing and it made the floor dangerously slippery!

Thanks for a couple of fascinating posts - I shall return for reference, and also to see what else you come up with!!

Shoshi

Judys Lace Creations said...

What an interesting technique.

Halle said...

I've tried old eyeshadow before to make glimmermists with very limited results. Mostly just plugged up the sprayer.

Anonymous said...

I actually liked the effects you achieved with the eye shadow but then I do go for more muted effects anyway! Especially liked the 'crackle' effect from the plastic carrier bag - sadly I don't have any of those now after going over to jute/hessian shopping bags so I don't pollute the earth with carrier bags:)
Love what you are doing to raise the awareness of not throwing so much into the dustbin (trash can as you say).
Am gradually working my through your blog after becoming a follower:)
Lynn x