Crackling a Frame.

I will admit it, I get bored easily.  Sweetie is up at the cottage, I came back to town (this girl has to work tomorrow) and I have been playing on the computer since I got home.  Yesterday I posted about relaxing and smelling the fresh air....yeah right!  I'm bored!  Who the heck am I kidding... I can only relax and sit for so long (maybe 1.5 hours at the most to snuggle with grandbaby) and then I start to get twitchie.  So I guess when I posted my last post, I was totally relaxing up at the lake and now that I am home, I am back to business.

On another note, I am a Pinterest addict!!! When I do finally sit down at night I love playing on this site.  A lot of my ideas for around the house lately have been coming from Pinterest.  If you are wondering what to do with your bathroom, kitchen, garden, outhouse, you name it, you will find great ideas on how to do just about anything.  Mr. Wonderful will either love me for putting you onto this sight because you will be trying new recipes or he will hate me because you may start tearing the house apart and trying to enlist his help.  To keep peace, as in my last post I said to try to do the projects yourself and he should be okay and possibly impressed with your ambition.  Truthfully, the majority of my projects are done when hubby isn't around to give me his two cents and just plain get in my way, and believe me, I get a ton done when my darling is gone.   So if your honey is planning a trip with the guys, maybe that will be a good time for you to spread your wings.

Here is a project I did this past spring.  I got the idea off, yes, you guessed it, Pinterest.   Sorry I don't have step by step instructions with pictures,  I did this before starting this blog.

BEFORE PICTURE

If you have a frame or a piece of wood  do a sample first to see if you like the effect.

AFTER PICTURE

What you need is Elmers Glue, an old paint brush and two colors of paint (one dark/black  flat color and a contrasting color for the top coat).  First you paint the wood the dark color.  The frame I had was already pretty dark, so I opted not to do this first step and it still worked.  When it drys,  you paint the Glue onto the wood  (heavier for wide cracks) and as the glue  starts to get tacky,  you paint your contrasting color. Don't wait to long to paint the top coat, if the glue is too dry, you won't get the crackles.   As your top coat of paint starts to dry, you can watch the cracks begin to form.  It's awesome!! 

For the wrought iron, I dry brushed it to give it a worn aged look.

The site I saw this technique was http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/crackle-finish-with-elmers-glue.html  The gal showed several different looks that she was trying to achieve for you to see.

I used to faux finish for people and one of the things that I always did BEFORE the project was a sample board.   You always want to do a sample board before a project to make sure you like the look you want to achieve.  Better to ruin a piece of old wood than the dresser that you wanted to give a shabby chic look to.

Let me know if you try this...it's fun to do and better yet...it's CHEAP!

Good Luck and we will talk soon!

Beth

Pin It