Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Metallic Lustre vs. Embellishment Mousse

Last week, I did a post (here) featuring some cards I had made using a product that I got for another purpose; changing the color of something metal.  But the packaging said the product worked on paper and since it looked and worked similarly to Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousse, I wanted to get some of the mousse and do a product comparison for you.  I made a card out of the test piece so I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and entering a second card at the AAA Card Challenge. 

The two products look very similar and have the same consistency.  The biggest difference I found was that the Embellishment Mousse is Water Based and you can add a bit of water to thin it out if you like.  I haven't done this yet. The Metallic Lustre is a wax based product and is quite a bit heavier, making it harder to control where you are putting it.  I really like the Embellishment Mouse (seen here in the color Indian Gold) and found it much easier to apply to the raised surface.  It is lighter and and looks a lot less heavy handed. Since this product was specifically made for paper, I'm sure I will go forward using the Mousse.  I had much better control over where I was putting the product and over how much product I was putting down.

While I like the card I have today, I should let you know that I tried some other embossing folders but found the results not very satisfactory at all. To get the nice even distribution of the embellishment mousse, the design needs to be close together and continuous.  

The method of application was the same as last time; a rubber glove.  I buy them by the box at Sally Beauty Supply for occasions that might get messy. You can use a soft cloth or probably even a bit of paper towel to apply this.  I haven't tried it with an Ink Blending tool as of yet because the rubber glove is working for me so far.

For today's featured card, I started with a panel of Simon Says Stamp Mint Cardstock. I dry embossed it using an Anna Griffin Embossing Folder. Using just my index finger, I rubbed the Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousse all over the raised areas of my card.  I felt that I had much more control with the Embellishment Mousse than I did with the previous product.  Tonic Embellishment Mouse comes in 24 different colors so there's something for everyone.

You can also use the embellishment mouse to "paint" with by adding a bit of product and a mist of water to an acrylic block, mixing it up and then dabbing your paint brush in that.  I don't have any examples to show you as I was just experimenting on some scraps, but you can do it.  I like the feel of the mousse and the price point is identical. I used a coupon for the Metallic Lustre at Hobby Lobby. Since I got the Metallic Lustre for something not related to paper crafting else, I'm glad I tried it out on the paper, but I like the product meant specifically for paper better.  At this point I don't really see me purchasing other colors in this product, but you never know.  I know what to expect from it now so it will be interesting to find all the ways it can be used.  

To finish up my card, I misted the panel with some Tsukineko Sheer Sparkle Shimmer Spritz and let it dry.  Next I used a Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle Die in the largest size to die cut the embossed panel, adhered it to a top folding card base made from Stamper's Select White using Kokuyo Dot Adhesive.  The design of the embossing folder had the 4 little dots in it so I adhered 1 little crystal on each of the dots.  I use Ranger Multi Medium Matte to adhere them. The Butterfly die cut is from Concord & 9th Floral and Flutter Dies.  The sentiment is one of many that I had ready to go ahead of time. This is a very clean and simple design that packs a lot of bang for the buck.