Wearing glitter is a quick way to earn the term high fashion. The small pieces of colored plastic or paper stick to a surface and make it look classy. You can even apply a dash of glitter on your skin and you will look like a vixen beneath the spotlights of a classy nightclub. So, what’s the secret of these dust-like adornments?
A Sparkling Secret
Glitter is often painted in metallic colors so that each particle reflects light. The reflections make the wearer look sparkling, especially during nighttimes. Scattering the particles evenly on your wardrobe is the best way to maximize the enhancing effects of glitter. Just be selective when applying glitter, since they only go well with evening gowns and themed dresses.
Types of Glitter
You have four options when making glitter:
Salt glitter
Prairie paper glitter
Plastic Glitter
Crystal Glitter
Salt glitter is easy to make but it gradually fades through sweat. Prairie paper glitter, on the other hand, is a bit more tedious to prepare but it will surely last for the entire night. As for the plastic and crystal glitter, their creation procedures resemble those of the first two.
Salt Glitter
Salt glitter shouldn’t take you more than an hour to prepare. All the processes are simple and straightforward. The only possible challenge is transferring salt from one vessel, which isn’t too hard to begin with.
Materials Used:
½ cup salt
food coloring
cookie pan
mixing bowl
spoon
oven
salt shaker or any small container
Procedure:
Choose the color combination for your salt glitter. The ideal pattern is red, silver, green, yellow and a little blue. Experiment on the colors until you get a combination that will suit most of your wardrobes.
Arrange the corresponding food coloring for your chosen combo.
Pour the salt into the mixing bowl.
Add the food coloring one drop at a time. Be careful when doing this step. You do not want to wreck the combination by creating too much of one color.
When the colors settle, stir the mixture thoroughly.
Transfer the salt to a cookie pan. Arrange the salt to form a thin and even layer in the pan.
Set the oven to 375 degrees, then heat the salt for more than 10 minutes.
Use a spoon to break the formations of colored salt.
Transfer the glitter to a salt shaker or a cosmetics container.
Salt glitter will last for at least several hours before completely dissolving. Applying one serving should be okay unless you plan to go partying until the sun comes out. In any case, you can just bring your container for salt glitter for emergency purposes.
Prairie Paper Glitter
Using prairie paper means, you are creating an exact replica of the glitter sold on the market. The preparation is a bit tricky, especially the part where you need to balance the colors. Although, if you do the steps carefully, you shouldn’t have any trouble creating a usable set.
Materials Used:
3 - 4 sheets of prairie paper
metallic-colored dye (different colors)
scissors
small container
water
plastic cups
paper shredder (optional)
Procedure:
Purchase prairie paper and the dye from a school supplies store.
Cut the prairie paper into tiny pieces. The ideal measurement is 1 x 1mm, so make your cutting precise. If you have a paper shredder, this task becomes much simpler.
Get your dye and experiment with the color combinations. If you are satisfied with the preset colors of the dye, you can proceed to the next step. If not, pour the dye into a plastic cup with water. Try mixing the colors until you get a neat set of hues for your glitter.
To create a proper color scheme, arrange the small pieces of paper into different sets (1 ½ tsps for one set), one set per color. Assign one plastic cup per color as well.
Place the sets of paper in their corresponding cups (colors).
Apply several drops of dye into the plastic cups. Match a color to a cup, according to the color scheme you made awhile ago.
Mix the cups thoroughly, so that the dye will settle throughout each set of paper bits.
Let the cups settle for a few hours, until the dye dries.
Transfer the cups’ contents to a small cosmetics case, then mix the glitter well.
Prairie paper glitter is an all-purpose item for stylizing. You can apply them on your wardrobes or any item that you wish to enhance aesthetically. Except for your clothing, you can glue the paper-based glitter to your jewelry, ********* ornaments, and even to your fingernails.
Plastic and Crystal Glitter
If you are not satisfied with the durability of prairie paper, you can use the plastic strips and crystals as replacements. Both materials are tough and can withstand constant friction from your skin or other surfaces. The only drawback for both materials is, they do not stick to some surfaces as efficiently as paper. They will be dislodged from most surfaces with a few rubs.
Making Plastic and Crystal Glitter
The creation process for plastic glitter is similar to prairie paper’s. As for crystal glitter, you can follow the procedure for making salt glitter, minus steps six, seven and eight.
Glitter is your easy option to look stylish. Instead of purchasing pricey elegant items, you can just sprinkle glitter on your clothes and accessories to raise their perceived market values. Make a set now, so you can style and profile without worrying about your budget.