In January, I found one of these awesome Faber Castell Gelatos kits for dirt cheap at a Barnes and Noble After-Christmas clearance sale. I paid around $7 for the entire kit, which usually retails for anywhere between $25-35. Score!
But like I'm always telling my sons, it's only a bargain if you will actually use it.
I've seen some wonderful projects using gelatos with rich, vivid color. I did a little searching and found a tutorial on Youtube for making your own spray mists. It looked easy enough, so I thought I'd give it a try.
{warning: things appear much easier on the Interwebs than when you attempt the project at home!}
The video said to shave off some of the pure pigment color, put it in a mister tube of warm water, shake, and you are good to go!
Well, not exactly. To get a really good spray of color, it takes a bit more work than that.
You will need a nice craft mat, a shallow bowl, spoon, pourable cup, gelato and empty spray mist bottle.
Gelatos are pure pigment, and you will want a good chunk of that yummy color for this project. Maybe around 1/4 inch off the top.
Slice it with your spreader tool.
Here's a really important step. Chop that color chunk into lots of little pieces. Mince it as fine as you can. This will help it to dissolve in warm water.
Next, scrape up all that color and put it in a bowl. Fill your mister almost, not quite to the top with very warm water, then pour it over the minced gelato.
Next, use a spoon to stir and stir and stir. Use the back of the spoon to crush and grind that color into the water. This job would probably work well with an old fashioned mortar and pestle. It's kind of fun and makes you feel like a mad scientist.
When you have done a really good job of mashing and smashing and mixing, pour from the bowl into a nice cup with a spout. My husband brought this one home from a corporate swag bag. I think it's made by OXO brand. It's awesome! It is made of a flexible silicone, so you can squeeze it as you pour, which is very handy for filling these tiny mister bottles.
Pour, shake, and spray. And there you have it! Homemade spray mists, straight from the kitchen!
Did I save any money? Maybe. But you can buy a much bigger bottle of Distress Spray for around $6. For the cost of a package of mist bottles, ($5 for a three pack) and the gelato kit, ($7), I have three small misters for $12. Not bad. At any rate, I found a new use for a must-have clearance item!
I can't wait to try these on the new My Favorite Things Mix-able stencils I just got this week!
Tell me, do you have any more great uses for gelatos? I'd love to hear how you use them!
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