Happy Friday, crafters! Are you enjoying Mousse week here in the CLASSroom as much as I am? I never knew there were so many fun and pretty uses for mousses! Today I am sharing how mousse can come to the rescue in your papercrafting projects.
My card has a stamped acetate tag on it, colored on the back with Tonic Mousse, over an embossed cardstock background. Using the mousse as is, directly from the jar, it is beautifully opaque which is what I wanted for my acetate tag, so the the embossed background would not show through the flowers. But I discovered the mousse can also be thinned with water, and I have some samples at the end of this post.
Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousse Properties:
- Adheres to just about anything!
- Obviously, it is ideal for use with stencils. As a comparison to stencil paste, Tonic's Embellishment Mousse is a little lighter and fluffier.
- Adds a unique lustrous shine to any papercrafting project.
- It has just the right amount of beautiful pearlescent metallic shimmer, provided by highly pigmented mica powder.
- Used straight from the jar, it is provides an opaque textured coverage.
- Apply with a soft cloth for a smoother finish.
- Add water to soften the consistency.
Mousse to the Rescue -- A few uses:
1. Transform and customize the color of almost any embellishment: buttons, ribbon, stickers, die cuts ...
2. Color wood veneer or paper
3. Color acetate (which is my project today!)
4. Customize the color of Craft-a-Board.
To make my card, I started by hand cutting a piece of acetate to a #8 tag size (just use a #8 manila tag as a guide). Then I stamped it with Essentials by Ellen Mondo Peony using Jet Black Archival ink. The sentiment is from Mondo Hydrangea. I used my Misti since acetate can be tricky to stamp on, in case I needed to stamp again. Fortunately, my first inking was good!
Originally I thought I would try coloring the flowers two different tones, to create some shading. So in my palette I mixed Pink Flambe Tonic Embellishment Mousse with Mother of Pearl, to create a lighter shade of pink. The mousse mixed together very well, creating a new lighter color! So I would highly recommend either getting light and dark shades of one color family so the two can be mixed together to get a mid-tone color, or getting the Pearl or Black Ash so you can lighten or dark any color!
Unfortunately, I didn't care for the shading I attempted but since I was working on acetate, it was easy to wipe/scrape off and start over! (Although I missed a few lighter specs of pink, so you may see that showing through on my sample).
I used a cheap old paint brush to apply the mousse to the back side of my stamped acetate tag. You can apply it as thick or thin as you'd like. I ended up applying it thick, for a very opaque look. I found the easiest way to "paint" it on with a brush is to mix it up a little first (use a cotton swab or palette knife). By working it and loosening it up a bit, it is easier to apply with the brush.
I later discovered the mousse can be thinned with water, to make it easier to apply, giving a slightly less opaque finish AND it dries lovely on the acetate (a sample is shown at the bottom of this post). Had I simply read the jar, it tells you that water can be added to the mousse to create a softer, smoother application, LOL!
I used Aquamarine mousse directly from the jar to color white silk ribbon, making it match the rest of my card and tag perfectly!
To finish my card, I embossed a Taylored Expressions Cupcake cardstock panel (4" x 5.50")with TE's Leafy Vine Embossing Folder. The panel was adhered to a 110 Lb. Neenah Solar White card base onto which I also rubbed the Aquamarine mousse down the left side (about 1/2-inch). The mouse applies to cardstock easily and did not cause warping of the heavier 110 Lb! This is a great way to also color coordinate paper to the rest of the elements on your project. The tag was trimmed to 5.50" and popped up with foam tape (behind the peonies) over the card base, but you could also use temporary adhesive so the tag can be removed and used by the recipient.
As I said above, after I finished my project I had the idea to try mixing a little water with the mousse to create a wash, and this works beautifully! In the photo below, I used the wash to color ribbon, watercolor paper, as well as acetate! Much to my pleasant surprise, the watered mousse dried beautifully on all the surfaces, even the acetate!
I hope you will give this mousse a try -- it has tons of wonderful uses!
