Posts tagged ‘folkart mediums’

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November 17, 2011

Teaching Thursdays: Upcycled Fall Votive Holder

by: Julie Lewis

When you think of fall…memories of warm moments, spicy smells and family gatherings are foremost in everyone’s thoughts. This easy to make project exemplifies all those thoughts and more as it becomes the focal point of your holiday table. Reusing an old cookie or candy tin begins the process. Follow these easy to do steps created by Plaid Designer, Julie Lewis.

Here is what you’ll need:

Mod Podge® Matte CS11301, Mod Podge® Sparkle CS11217, FolkArt® Antiquing Medium – 817 Woodn’ Bucket Brown, FolkArt® Eggshell Crackle Kit – 692, FolkArt® Acrylic Paint – 527 Forest Moss, Candy/cookie tin, Scrapbook papers, Squeegee, Foil, Wax paper, Burlap, Yarn, Acorns, 4 – wood doll pin stands 1 1/8” x ½” round, 4 – wood wheels 1 ½”, Scissors, Glue/hot glue gun, Craft knife, Ruler, Tape, Glass votives, ½”, ¼” flat brushes, Foam plates, and Dried pinto beans

Gather your supplies.

Place your scrapbook papers on pieces of foil and brush the fronts with Mod Podge Matte. Set aside to dry.

While your paper is drying, paint your wood pieces Forest Moss.

Paint your acorns too!…just the bottoms.

Measure the height of your tin…

Measure and cut two strips from your paper. Coat the backs with Mod Podge.

Brush the tin with Mod Podge.

Center and place paper onto one end of tin…smooth it around the corners.

Here’s a great tip…place wax paper over your surface and use the squeegee to push out excess Mod Podge. The wax paper won’t stick! Repeat with second strip of paper and here is another great tip…wait 20 minutes before applying your top coat. There will be things to do in the meantime.

Brush Mod Podge Sparkle over painted wood pieces and acorns.

Seal your tin with Mod Podge.

Cut your other scrapbook paper into strips 3” x ¾”. This tin took 40 strips.

Place ends together and tape.

It’s now time to apply Step 1 of the crackle medium. Apply slightly thick, smooth coats brushing out any ridges. Let dry 1 hour.

Glue the doll pins to the wheels and let dry.

After the hour, apply Step 2 of the crackle medium. Small cracks should appear within a half hour. Let dry at least 2-4 hours.

While you are waiting, cut strips of burlap and fray edges to desired look.

When crackle medium is dry, brush on antiquing medium and rub off with a soft cloth. The fine cracks will be more evident.

Find center of tin and glue or hot glue pieces of paper to tin layering in rows.

Place two loops of paper on either side of middle loop for spacing. Five across and four up.

Mod Podge a strip over top edge of tin for a finished edge.

Glue or use double sides tape to attach burlap ribbon.

Tie yarn around tine and attach acorns. Secure with a bow.

Glue feet to bottom of tin.

Fill with beans and nestle glass votives into tin.

Place candles in votive holders and scatter remaining acorns among the beans to finish. A beautiful piece for your holiday table!

Posted in FolkArt Acrylic, FolkArt Mediums, FolkArt Texture, Mod Podge, Teaching Thursdays | 2 Comments »

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October 3, 2011

Make it Monday: Elegant Halloween Wreath Decor

Project created by Julie Lewis

Halloween has always been a favorite and fun holiday. It’s not just for kids anymore and Halloween crafting and décor is fast becoming a seriously hot trend. Pairing elegant with Halloween takes crafting in a new direction and this hanging wreath shows what levels you can go to.

Here is what you’ll need:

FolkArt® Acrylic Paint – 479 Pure Black, 660 Pure Gold, 741 Glazed Carrots, 2577 Toasted Vanilla

FolkArt® Extreme Glitter™ – 2786 Gold, 2793 Orange, 2797 Black

FolkArt® Crackle Medium – 696

Wood bird cut out, 3” wood disk, 14” paper Mache or wood wreath, Black feathers, Glue, #1 Liner brush, ½” Flat brush,

Pencil, Black/Cream damask ribbon, Wire, Scissors, Antique gold purse/drapery ring, a Ruler

Gather your supplies…

Basecoat your wreath and bird with Pure Black.

Let dry thoroughly.

Generously apply Crackle Medium to wreath in a slip slap motion.

This is what it will look like when completely covered. Set aside to dry while you go on to something else. It should lose its shiny appearance when dry.

Apply Black Exteme Glitter to bird. Let dry between coats and apply as many coats as desired for maximum glitter.

Paint your wood disk with Glazed Carrots and when dry, apply Orange Extreme Glitter. Extreme Glitter is awesome anytime but, it’s especially awesome for Halloween!

Now let’s crackle! It’s no secret that I love crackle so I have to use it again here. Apply Toasted Vanilla in the same slip slap motion all over the wreath.

Try not to overlap where you started as it will already have crackled by the time you get around the wreath. It’s so cool to watch!

Ta da!

Paint the inner and outer lip with Pure Gold.

Now apply the Gold Extreme Glitter.

Rub your pencil over the back of your flying witch pattern.

Trace onto your glittered disk. Press hard as the surface will be slightly rough.

It will be slightly hard to see but, there will be enough to go by.

Paint your witch with a liner brush in Pure Black. Keep your pattern handy to refer to if any parts are too hard to read.

Paint a few starburst shapes and you are done with the moon!

Paint accent lines on crow with liner brush. Create eye by using opposite end of brush dipped in paint.

Starting at sixteen inches, cut lengths of ribbon descending in size to about nine inches.

Fold each length in on itself and glue at the center.

When all your loops are glued, stack them and tie in center with wire.

Fan the loops out to create bow.

Glue a small piece of ribbon around center to hide wire.

Cut two lengths of ribbon and glue back to back for hanger.

Glue feathers to bottom end of wreath.

Glue bird and moon in place.

Glue bow and hanger ribbon in place.

Thread ring through loose end of hanger and secure at desired length.

Originally elegant!

Posted in FolkArt Acrylic, FolkArt Extreme Glitter, FolkArt Mediums, Halloween, Make It Monday | 1 Comment »

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August 4, 2011

Teaching Thursday: Tips and Hints for Crakle Projects

I used to be afraid of Crackle Medium, I’ll admit it.  It seemed so intimidating!  But practice makes perfect, and I’m here to tell you that it’s one of the easiest faux finishes around, and it makes your projects look beautiful, too!

Crackling is an effect that makes things look aged, antiqued, and without the years of wind and weather it takes to make it naturally, it makes it easy!  You can use Crackle Medium with just one color, or two, it’s really the user’s choice.  I love to use it with two colors, as I appreciate the contrast of the colors and usually take forever to make my color choices unless I’ve picked a palette beforehand.

After basecoating your project, you just brush Folk Art Crackle Medium on top of the dry surface.  And, here’s a little secret; you can stop here with the Crackle if you want to, but I like to make sure I let the Crackle coat dry completely and apply a second coat, a bit thicker than the first, on top!  I found that when I did this, my cracks were more defined.

You can apply the top coat to a surface using a number of different methods.  You can apply the paint very thick or just brush it on to get different types of cracks.  Generally, a thick topcoat creates bigger cracks, and a thin topcoat creates smaller cracks.  The style of brush you use will make the effect different, too.

Here, I used a thick top coat, applied with a sponge brush.  I brushed the paint on unevenly, crossing my strokes while keeping my brush loaded with paint between every stroke.  You don’t ever want to brush over a stroke as this will pull the top coat away from the Crackle Medium and make an ugly mark.

The results are large, beautiful cracks heading in different directions.

You can also apply the paint in the same way with a brush.  Here, I laid down a light coat of Wicker White over a Deep Ocean Blue base-coat to show you how beautiful a darker color is under a light one.

The results here are great, too.  As you can see, with the lighter top coat, you can see more of the darker base-coated color, which is just a different look from the one above.  It’s your choice which one to use.

Here is an example of using a brush for the top coat, with even strokes all heading in the same direction.

You can use Crackle Medium on just about any surface you choose, except glass and plastics.  Furniture is especially lovely when it’s aged, I think.  You can also be adventurous and try it out on a wall or two at home, if you’re so inclined!

But my biggest tip would be to play with it awhile before you commit to your project.  Try out the different methods shown here, or create your own, but definitely don’t pass by the Crackle Medium the next time you see it on your craft store shelf.  Pick it up and try it!  It’s a great way to add new dimension to your craft projects!

Posted in FolkArt Mediums, Teaching Thursdays | Leave a Comment »

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