What you see is what you get.  Programmers and techies call this WYSIWYG (pronouned wizzywig).  As if we needed an acronym like that.  But the concept applies to so many things and is an important feature of any product. 

• If what you see on the viewscreen of your camera doesn't represent the photo you've taken – that's troublesome.
• If what you type on the screen didn't look like that when you printed it out – troublesome.
• If what you see in a bottle of colored spray isn't what it looks like when you spray it onto something – troublesome.

Well I encountered the last scenario in a couple of ways over the last few weeks.  On Halloween night I was NOT happy to have to spray hair color I purchased which was CLEARLY advertised on the lid and labeling as a bright cherry red, to come out in in a wimpy and dismal attempt at giving me any color to my hair at all.  Let's just call it cherry fizz-led.

And more applicable to you, my dear readers, last weekend I was up in Indiana teaching workshops and came across a competitor Glimmer Spray product.  I'm not going to name it, but suffice it to say that it looked like *BAM* in the bottle but went ~FIZZLE~ on the project.  Definitely NOT WYSIWYG. 

So I went on a mission to find out the why Glimmer Mist DOES work as well as it does as compared to some of the newcomers I've seen on the shelves recently.

In the interest of full disclosure I do not work for Tattered Angels.  I am not paid by Tattered Angels and I am not currently on their design team, although I was until my term ended at the end of October.  I do teach classes with their products; which is why I intend to know as much about the product as possible.  I'm all about quality and working with the best product possible in my classroom.

So let's talk about what makes Glimmer Mist a better product in my opinion:

Behind the Scenes

First – take a look at the bottle.  The top of the bottle, where there is no liquid does not look crystal clear.  There is a reason for this – and it is because there is so much gorgeous dye in this product that the bottle itself gets stained.  It isn't watered down so that the packaging looks clear – it's chock full of color. 

If you want a good representation of what the mist in the Glimmer Mist looks like, there is a sprayed label on the back of the bottle that will give you a great idea of what color you get.  WYSIWYG!  So take a look 'behind the scenes' and don't let other product's first impressions fool you.

What Lies Beneath

The second thing you should look for is the glimmer.  Take a look at the bottom of this bottle.

 
Unlike the competition, Glimmer Mist is much more than just white pearlized powder in there.  These colors are mixed to give you beautiful combinations of the glimmer and the mist.  They don't just give you a colored spray over a white pearl glimmer.  Sure, they have a Pearl color of Glimmer Mist — and it is one of the products I use when I don't want to change the color of my project but just add glimmer.  The rest of the colors are more specialized and customized to give you an amazing combination on your finished project.  This picture is of the bottom of the bottle of Pashmina Glimmer Mist.  This is the glimmer. 

And that is why I tell my students to look at both the color of the mist and to look at what lies beneath to see the color of the glimmer.  Blended together, they create the subtle glimmer and punch of color that makes Glimmer Mist such a great product.

The Jack-O-Lantern Glimmer Mist, for example, has a terracotta mist and a green/gold glimmer.  How much more WYSIWYG could you get?

What You See Is What You Get

Glimmer Mist is water-based, archival safe, acid-free, and non-toxic. Glimmer Mist is safe for and adheres to all types of materials including paper, acrylic, metal, and fabric.

If I spray a piece of white paper, a Glimmer Chip (light cream in color to start) and a Prima Flower – I will get three items that coordinate beautifully together.

This Prima Flower is not sprayed with Glimmer Mist yet.  For the purpose of my project I chose a flower that had some light green petals and stamens.  I want to make these Pashmina in color to match my project.

And take a look at the same flower with Glimmer Mist in Pashmina applied.

The cardstock and "Glimmer Chip' show their contrast against the torn edge of the paper and the unsprayed center of the alphabet frame.  Look at the difference in the flower, with color applied over its original color.  Glimmer Mist is translucent, so it doesn't cover the flowers original hues completely, but the light colors now have a Pashmina overlay to them.

My camera simply cannot capture the beauty of the glimmer.

The Gift that Keeps on Glimmering

My birthday was yesterday, and eleven years ago Brianna was a lovely present…

She is just the Energizer Bunny when it is her turn at goalie.  Non-stop action.  And yet such a girly-girl.

So while she and her sister went with Daddy to a 'Me and My Guy' hayride last night, I wrapped some birthdy presents for her.  And because you can get such lovely results against a white backdrop, I added some Sweet Pea, Patina and Sunflower to her packages from the roll of recycled paper that we use for drawing to make a pretty, glimmery gift wrap for her presents.

So when you see this product, take a closer look and know that you are getting a quality product that will give you not only the color you expect but a glimmer that goes beyond the pearl and color that is vibrant and truly as advertised on the label.

Happy Birthday, B.!  I look forward to celebrating some more after goalie practice tonight.

🙂 SL