Technique of the Week

I'm going to try and offer some information as often as I can. At the moment I'm not buried with work-my plan is to keep this thing blogging along. One of my most favorite new things is the Tim Holtz(tm) Distress Crackle Paint. I know that it's not out there yet, but it will be soon enough. As I usually do, I started with painting a few colors, then a few more...I then realized that there are 24 colors of paint and 26 letters to the alphabet. Alas, the Alphabet Exemplar was born.

Some of the things I've learned so far when working with the Crackle Paint:

1. Don't go too thick with the paint when working on paper. I'm too impatient and like it when the cracks are more evenly distributed than when I get the gloppier ones when I go too thick.

2. This alphabet was painted on Desert Storm cardstock, from Neenah Papers. You don't want to go too thin with the paper as I think it will overtake and warp the paper too much.

3. Be patient. Allow the paint to dry by itself. Put it far away so you're not staring at it, waiting for it to crackle...the "watched pot never boils" thought process is key here.4. To allow the paint to pop more, you can use blending foam and the matching ink over it and then dry it with the Craft Tool.

5. I absolutely love to stamp over the Crackle Paint with the Adirondack(r) Paint Dabbers, then using a white, opaque pen. It's amazing how detailed an image you get and it really pops. The letters on the exemplar are actually from American Crafts, and they transferred flawlessly! http://americancrafts.com/

6. Don't go crazy with too many colors. If you do add some additional color, let the first color start to dry first before adding the other so as to not contaminate the brush.

I'm still playing with this paint and will work toward some home decor type items, but one thing at a time!