How to Create the Perfect Crackle Glaze Finish

How to Decoupage and use a Craquelure Finish. -A two-part crackle glaze that imitates old cracked varnish. When dry, the craquelure glaze on your decoupage item can be improved by adding a dark wax.

YOU WILL NEED

• A surface to decorate.

• Fine sandpaper

• Water based paint

• Crackle Glaze varnish

• Small rollers and brushes

• Cleaning cloth

• Gift Wrap Paper

• Glue

• White glue

• Cutting instruments

• Embellishing wax

How To

Clean the surface with garnet paper and apply a water based paint. Mix up a small amount of wallpaper paste and cut out your paper designs. Stick paper cut-outs onto your prepared item press firmly, eliminating bubbles and any excess with a damp cloth or roller.

Paint on the base coat of the crackle glaze. Leave to dry and then paint another coat.

Add second layer of varnish with soft paintbrush Wait until the varnish is totally dry. Rub dark wax into the surface of the cracks. Rub away the excess wax with kitchen paper.

Cover the inside, non decorated parts of your item with paint. Seal the insides with a light topcoat of clear Varnish.

Once the PVA glue is dry, you can apply a coat of clear furniture wax to the surface. Lightly burnish the waxed surface with mutton cloth.

For the final touch, apply gilt cream to rims and edges.

Now you can show your finished article to your friends and start finding new items to decoupage and decorate. Make more decorative items and presents for friends and family using your new-found skills!.

Gill Fothergill has been creating and writing about decoupage techniques and resources since 1995. To find out more visit her website
http://www.decoupagepapers.co.uk

Crackle Effect and Decoupage Go Together So Well

Decoupage is nice way to embellish something itself, but you will give it a special touch if you add crackle technique. There are different crackle mediums, most common is one component crackle medium. It is used to break second color as I will explain soon.

When you are using this kind of crackle medium you will need darker and lighter acrylic colors. First paint your item with dark acrylic color, leave it to dry, than cover it with crackle medium. It looks like honey, it is mostly transparent, sticky and thick. Leave your item to dry completely, you will know it has dried when surface is no longer sticky. Now paint it with lighter acrylic color. If you want to add decoupage on it, you must use very light color such as white, light beige or any other pastel color with lots of white in it. You can apply this second color with brush or with sponge. Be careful to go ONLY ONCE over same part of the surface because otherwise you could ruin crackled look. If you are using sponge, crackles will be smaller and in many directions, with brush you will get your color break in streaks. Upper color, which is light, will break and in those cracks darker colors will become visible creating a vintage look.

After few hours your item will be dry and you can start applying napkins if you like.

Two components crackle medium is used differently and gives totally different look. It is used over finished item, meaning your item was colored in light color, napkin was applied and everything is totally dry. Then you apply first component thoroughly using dry brush. Leave it to dry and when it has dried you can apply second component. Take a look at manufacturer's instructions, but usually second component should be applied thicker. Thickest the second component and shorter the time of drying, your crackles will be bigger. When everything is dry crackles are not very visible so now you should use metallic powders and rub them into cracks to emphasize them. You can even use your old eyeshadow. Wipe off excess powder with soft cloth and finish everything with transparent varnish in spray-make sure it is not water based because it could eat up your metallic powder. Enjoy and results will be smashing.