Belle Papier {pretty paper}

I’ve been having so much fun altering frames the past few weeks, I just had to try something I’ve wanted to try for a very long time…a painted faux crackle finish. I found some crackle medium while I was doing some spring cleaning and decided to procrastinate no longer! I can take ONE day off from papercrafting, right?!

Aged Frame

For this frame, I started off with the Team Frame by Provocraft. I love how it has the brass-tone hinges and that tiny frames on the sides. The frame comes pre-finished with a white paint that makes it great for a quick alter. If you have limited time or are just starting out, this is fabulous. I also couldn’t believe the price, only $7.99 Cdn! If you live in the USA and happen to know the US price, I’d love to know it. I purchased the frame at Michael’s.

This frame was a bit of an experiment for me. It has been a long time since I’ve done any painting on wood and I’ve never tried out a faux finish. I found some Butter Pecan colored acryilic paint by and decided that would work well with the white. I actually started off thinking I’d do the pecan as a top coat and just leave the original white primed finish to show through the cracking. I painted the crackle finish directly onto the original white and let dry. I then coated it with the Butter Pecan acrylic paint. I have two problems…..the butter pecan turned out much darker than I expected and I hadn’t put enough of the crackle medium on to get much of an effect. Hmmmmm…..

I decided another couple coats couldn’t hurt much at this point and I just wasn’t about to give up yet! I painted right over the Butter Pecan layer with another coat of the crackle medium…this time much thicker and headed off to bed. This morning I got up, quickly found some white Making Memorie’s acrylic paint that I use for scrapbooking and painted over top of that. Just so you know, each coat takes VERY little time to apply and since you are going for a distressed finish, you don’t need to be super-fussy! With-in minutes, the cracked finish began to appear. I was so excited…just like a little kid. It seems like magic and I was finally getting the look I wanted!

Quick Tip: Make sure you apply a good coat of the crackle medium and let dry well. The bottle suggests 60 minutes. Also suggested is that you use a spray sealer to seal your project. Because the Crackle Medium reacts with liquid, a spray is the best way to go.

To finish up my project, I decided to see how rub-ons would work on top of the crackle finish. They worked fabulous! I used a brand new sheet of rub-ons from K & Company that I found at Michael’s last night. My husband actually took me there last night as I was searching for the right item for a revision on a design project. I was so excited to finally see all the new product on the shelves! I very carefully cut out the rub-ons I wished for and applied them to my project. To finish up…I applied a nice light coat of Matte Spray sealer to the frame. I’m so excited with the unique look I got for my frame and I’m so glad that I went out the box for a new look!

Supply List:

Team Frame - Provocraft

Weathered Wood Crackling Medium - DecoArt

Folk Art Butter Pecan Acrylic Paint - Plaid

White Acrylic Paint - Making Memories

Classic K Bailey Ornamental Rub-ons - K & Company

Matte Spray Sealer - Krylon

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