Hi crafters, Antony here! This weeks post is all
about up-cycling, or making relatively cheap objects look both expensive
and beautiful without costing the earth. So as Christmas is just round the corner it is a great time to give this type of craft decorating a go as you can easily personalise any object using this technique! The
main decorative element is the simple paper napkin, there are loads of
fantastic designs out there. So why not co-ordinate different items in
your room by using napkins of the same design.
The products used in
this weeks post are Viva Decor micro crackle undercoat, Viva Decor
micro Crackle colour paint, Pinflair Napkin Glue and a decorative
napkin.
Step 1
Take one old or
cheap clock or other house hold item and make sure that the surfaces
are clean and dust free. In the case of the clock I am decorating I also
removed the clock mechanism. But if your are decorating objects
with handles or that have other furniture such as hinges on, remove them
all if you
can. Once removed if the surface you are going to decorate is already
painted, lightly sand the surface. This will help the glue have
something
to key to.
Step 2 I then took a napkin and separated the layers.
Normally a paper napkin has 2 or 3 layers. The one you need is the one with
the printed image on. Now place this over the area you wish to
decorate. In the case of the clock I decorated the main body. Squeeze
a small amount of the napkin glue on top of the napkin and using a very soft
brush gently start to spread the glue over the napkin. Wait until the
glue has completely dried before you trim any of the over hanging
napkin, other wise the napkin will tear. You can trim the overhang by
using a craft knife or rub it away gently using fine sandpaper on a
wooden block.
Step 3 Next start to
apply the Viva Decor micro crackle undercoat primer to the area that
you wish the crackle paint effect to be. Then let the undercoat dry,
this can take about 1 hour. Once dry I painted on the topcoat. In the
case of the clock I used a similar colour paint to that was also in
the napkin design.
Step 4 Leave the top
coat to dry. I left mine overnight and when I returned in the morning
it had cracked nicely. The thicker you apply the topcoat the wider
the cracks will be.
Step 5 Next I turned my
attention to the clock face. I was able to remove the clear plastic
cover and also the hands. I cut out two small butterflies from a
napkin and again used the napkin glue to stick them to the clock
face surface.
Step 6 I used some Viva
Decor micro crackle transparent primer over the whole of the clock
face. Then when the primer was totally dry I used Viva Decor
Transparent Crackle Paint and left it to crackle overnight. Next I used a fine
gold powder I filled in the cracks on the clock face to highlight the
cracks. I then replaced the hands and clear plastic cover and placed
it back into the main body of the clock.
I also decorated a
small chest of draws using the same design napkins as I used on the
clock. I removed the small wooden knobs on the draw and used Pinflair
Buff-it craft polish on them and then stuck them back on.
Until next time, Happy Crafting!
Antony
