Crackle Finish for fraction of the cost!

What do you get when you combine these three objects??? That's right! Crackle!

Okay, I really think I need to work on my Titles, they are definitely not snappy or eye-catching, but you get the idea of what this blog is about.

In the spirit of "Back to School",  I was reading a website for Elmer's Glue-All and stumbled upon the FAQ section.  There are some really cool projects listed on their website, from decoupage to slop/slime!  This is where I got my recipe for today's project!

How do I use Elmer's to create the painted crackle effect or antique look on furniture or crafts?

Just follow this recipe:

1. Paint the object or furniture with an acrylic craft paint. Let dry.
2. Cover the paint with a coat of Elmer's Glue-All glue.
3. While still wet, paint on another coat of a different color of acrylic paint. The painted item will begin to crackle as it dries.
4. When dry, cover with another coat of the Elmer's Glue-All as a sealer.

I can't wait to try this on some rough wood!  I think it would really make it look rusty!

from this

to this

I'm sure this picture frame wasn't the best project to start with, and the crackle doesn't show up well in the picture.  Next time I think I'll use something straight.  I still like the way this frame turned out, but the picture doesn't really show all the true crackle.

Painted upfashioned T's using Freezer Paper

Today is the first day of school for my little boys.  They were a little apprehensive on going back to school, so I let them pick out a clipart off the web of something that makes them smile and decided to upfashion one of their T-shirts, for their first day.  They were super excited to wear their new T-shirts to school!  My boys are really into characters and graphics on their shirts and socks, so I pulled out a few of their plain T's and started working on them.

Materials:

Plain T-shirt

Fabric paint (or plain acrylic paint with some textile medium)

Paint brush

Freezer paper

Fine point exacto-knife

Iron and Ironing board

Printout of your template

I found this cute spacedog online and used MS Word to add the wording.

Place the piece of freezer paper (shiny side down) over the image 

and start cutting out every negative space (the black part of the drawing).  

***Remember*** to save the little pieces of positive space 

(the white part of the drawing) if you are forced to cut it.  

(i.e. the tail of the dog)

Use your hot iron to iron on your T-shirt.

Include the little pieces too.

Just another photo with the included pieces.

Use your paint and paint brush to paint the open spaces. I also used a piece of parchment paper to put underneath the shirt so that if any

paint leaked through the shirt it wouldn't damage my ironing board.

Peel off the paper after it's dry and put a piece of cloth over the top of the

image and iron to seal in the paint.

Both boys wanted the same image, so I was able to use my template twice, 

but after that, it's no good.