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!