Review: Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mists

Sep 2

I admit the tie-in is loose at best, but I thought it would be fun to turn in my Chalkboard Glimmer Mist "report" during the school themed week. A favorite from the Winter CHA show, this product is finally becoming widely available, and I find myself wanting every single color. I was lucky enough to have three test/sample bottles sent to me before they were available, and now that I've been able to buy more colors I am even more addicted.

Currently I own eight of the twelve colors. The twelve colors are Apricot, Banana Pudding, Chalk, Charcoal, Concord, Cornflower, Cotton Candy, Evergreen, Hot Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Peacock, and Strawberry Shortcake. What really appeals to me about these is that they manage to show a bit of sparkle without being over the top. Even if you do a lot of boy pages, these would be easy to get away with. I also appreciate that they've been very useful all around in my craft room.

Supply List:

Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist in Mint Chocolate Chip
Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist in Evergreen
Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist in Hot Chocolate
Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Chandelier
Pink Paislee patterned paper, glittered stickers, metal accent: "Old School" collection {coming soon}
Jenni Bowlin brad
Jenni Bowlin butterfly
Prima flower
American Crafts Alphabet
Fiskars border punch
Ranger Ink Studio by Claudine Hellmuth Multi-Medium
Sakura journaling pen
Bazzill Kraft cardstock

Above is an image of a black sheet of cardstock sprayed with the peacock mist. You can't see the blue tone, but all that lovely sparkle does show up. So even on dark paper it still adds something! I have used Chalkboard Mist on Pink Paislee Artisan Elements (shown here), chipboard, and paper, as well as on stickers and anything else I need a color wash type product for. I loved using them on chipboard in combination with the Chip Art tool (review here), and every time I pull these out I have a great time.

I will be the first to admit that on plain white cardstock they are not all that different from their Glimmer Mist siblings. That said, most of the time I'm not trying to work on white cardstock. In my creative play, I've found that it tends to take more Glimmer Mist than Chalkboard Mist (due to their difference in opacity) to get a good strong color on most surfaces.

So how do I use them?

There are three ways I tend to use them. The first is to open the bottle up and use a paint brush to apply the product. This appeals to me greatly as I don't like to get mist all over my stuff, and I get a more precise application. I love that the Chalkboard colors tend to show up better on colored papers than their Glimmer Mist counterparts. I like that they have a subtle sparkle and shine while being matte.

The second thing I do is to combine a few drops of the mist with Multi-Medium, liquid adhesive, or white acrylic paint to create a sparkly color with more body and more presence. In other words, the result is to make it more like paint than a mist or wash. This is a great way to multi-task with your stash too. There is no need to have every color of paint - you can use mists! (This works great with Glimmer Mists too.)

The third option I use is to mist directly from bottle. Above you can see a piece of paper both misted and splattered with some of my Chalkboard Mist plus Multi-Medium mixture from the previous photo. I tend to avoid misting because it has the most waste, it makes a mess, and it needs a more controlled environment.

I have the following advice if you're going to mist straight from the bottle, as it's the messiest way to use the product:

Check the pump first! Sometimes they get jammed up and need some TLC.
Have a dedicated 'spray' spot. I use a gutted USPS priority cardboard box
Don't mist too much! Do one, maybe two squirts at a time, allow it to dry, and then spray again. Repeat as needed. This will keep your paper from curling up due to over-saturation.
The Tattered Angels website is a must-see, especially their projects, ideas, and FAQ.

In this image I am applying the Mint Chocolate Chip color (mixed with Multi-Medium) with a paint brush to fill in a thin area. I have been lucky enough to work with this product for awhile now, and I can tell you it's wonderful. I love it! I really like that it's something I reach for and use - far more than the traditional glimmer mists too. I wish there were more colors, I can only hope for some soon!

If I had to pick three colors to recommend, what would they be? That's a hard one! I would tell you that they all seem lovely to me, but I tend to use the darker/brighter colors more often. I would not recommend picking your favorite colors based on what you like, but rather what colors would be most useful in your scrapbooking (which isn't always the same thing). So, that said, if I were shopping for one of my scrapbook friends and buying them three colors, I'd pick:

Hot Chocolate
Peacock
Evergreen

I might be tempted to change my vote to the Charcoal (chalkboard-like color) or the Chalk, but as I've not tried those colors I can't say for sure. If you like a subtle sparkle, a semi-opaque color wash, or spritzing color... you've got to check these out. They've got two big thumbs up from me.