Most times, when I use a Crackle Medium, I’m looking for an aged look. I think I’m not alone in this, most people use it to make things look old, distressed, and antiqued. I thought it would be different to try a project using Crackle Medium with bright colors, on a surface that can be used in a playroom or a child’s room as a place to put a favorite toy or stack books. You don’t ever want to use these stools for your child to use as a step up for anything, as they are sold for decorative purposes only, and are not equipped with non skid feet.
I basecoated the stool using a bright palette of Wicker White, Calico Red, School Bus Yellow, and Lime Green. When all was dry, I used tape to outline the area of School Bus Yellow in the center of my stool. Yes, the project looks quite unfinished at this point, but I planned on adding lots of Folk Art Licorice to the stool, so I left those sections mostly bare.
And then I added the Crackle Medium. I use a light coat to begin with and let that dry completely before adding another coat, a little thicker than the first, and let it cure overnight. I also added Crackle Medium in the same way to the legs where I basecoated them School Bus Yellow.
Working quickly, I used a 3/4″ flat brush to apply a coat of Deep Ocean Blue to both the top of the stool and the legs. No need to be afraid here, crackling is so much easier than you think. I allowed the project to dry completely again and sealed it with a Satin brush on sealer. Since I was planning on adding color on top of the crackled coat, I wanted to make sure my next color wouldn’t crack, also.
I measured out my surface onto a piece of tracing paper and drew my design on that before starting. Here, I took my tracing paper and turned it upside down on the dry crackled surface to transfer the pattern I had made. You can see a hint of the crackle under the tracing paper. The yellow cracks look great under the blue top coat!
After transferring the pattern, I used watered down Licorice and a script liner brush to paint the lines in. I didn’t try to make them perfect, just filled in as I went. The design of this stool didn’t call for perfection, just fun!
I added Licorice checks to the sides of the stool, and dry brushed a white highlight in their centers. I also painted large polka dots along the Lime Green border on the top. I filled in with Licorice on the “hard-to-paint” sections of the legs, which made painting them so much easier!
