Altered Frame & Crackle Paint Tips.

by Elisa Kammerdiener

Supply List

• Picture Frame (Maple Lane ready to make frame)
  
• Tim Holtz Crackle Paint (Black Soot and Peeled Paint)
• Making Memories black paint
  
• 1 1/4 Die cut chipboard squares
• 1 sheet of pattern paper (to mat your photo on)
• Embellishments (rub-ons, ribbons, puffy paint, pen, etc)
• craft knife
  

Directions

1. Take your regular black paint an paint the entire frame with a thin coat and let dry.
   
2. Using your crackle paint (peeled paint) paint the entire frame. You want to paint it really thick as seen in photos below. Then set aside for several hours to dry.
3. While your frame is drying take your black soot crackle paint and paint 6 squares. Paint these with a thin coat as seen below. Set aside to dry for about 30 min
4. Once dry line your squares into a box and adhere your photo then turn over and with your craft knife carefully seperate your squares. once you have all 6 of your squares apart sand all your edges.
5. Trim your pattern paper to fit in your frame but be sure to make it a little bigger then the opening. If you are using the Maple Leaf frame I simply took out the insert and used that for a measuring guide. Once you have that done carefully insert it into your frame.
6. Center your squares and adhere them to the pattern paper in your frame.
7. Once your frame is dry embellish it with your rub-ons, ribbon etc.

I have been playing with Tim Holtz crackle paint since July and have come up with some tips I think will be helpful.

• Roll your crackle paint bottle in your hands for a few minutes. This will help stir your paint and warm it up at the same time. You will notice the difference.
• Painting a thin layer of crackle paint on your project will give your finished product a lot of very thin cracks.
• Painting a thick layer of crackle paint on your project it will give your finished product a lot of deep cracks.
• You do not have to be neat when using the crackle paint. It will all settle as it dries. I actually found that the messier I applied the paint the cooler my project looked as it dried. What I mean by applying it messy is not just a straight line. Apply it on your project in every direction you can think of. Side by side, up and down, circular etc.
  
• If you are working on a smaller project and the brush that comes in the bottle with the crackle is too large for you to use. Then use your own brush. Not a foam brush. You need to use a bristle paint brush. You can find them at any craft store. Be sure to buy a nice one where the bristles won't fall out on your project.
• Drying time. Well that really all depends on how thick you want it. As I have told anyone who has asked me. Don’t start a project that you are going to use crackle paint on unless you are ready to give it the time it needs to dry on its own. Yes you can use a heat gun on it when it has STARTED to dry. As it dries it starts to crackle. However, it looks much better if you just let it do its own thing. So paint and set it aside for a few hours. If you painted it on thin it will not take that long to dry. Maybe 30 minute to an hour, but if you applied it thick give it a few hours.
  

Now I have some cool fun technique tips to share with you. It will for sure get you pulling out other supplies to use along side your crackle paint.

• Paint your project with a different color before you use your crackle on it. I painted a wooden haunted house with an orange paint. Then I took the “black soot” crackle paint and painted over it. When my crackle paint dried my cracks were all orange.
  
• Use your distressing inks over the crackle once it’s dry to give your cracks a more visible feeling or to give your crackle a different color.
  
• Use your embossing inks over the crackle to give it more dimension. Don't be afraid to stamp on the crackle paint with embossing ink and using your embossing powders. Put rub-ons over your crackle paint when it's dry. In other words don't be afraid to embellish your crackle paint.
• Use it on anything and everything. Your photos, Overlays, chipboard, buttons, felt, metal, glass etc.

Have fun with it. I hope this has given you some great ideas and helped you decide that every scrapper needs a few bottles of crackle paint. It really is a great product and one you will not be disappointed in.