Crackle Painted Reindeer

Today's project is another "repurposing" of an old item

that I made from a destined for the trash piece of home decor.

We don't know where it came from, but my daughter came across

it when she was moving and wanted to throw it away or donate it.

I knew this plain old wooden deer shape had potential

and that it wouldn't take much to update it, so I took it :) 

A little crackle paint then hot gluing

on of some greenery and twine. 

Ta-dah, greatly improved !
(I think my daughter wants it back now)

This project is my design team project for the 

Love To Craft Challenge blog.

We are a month long anything crafty goes challenge.

 Share what crafty project you are working on this month with us!

HOW TO

In addition to the item you want to crackle. you'll need:

two contrasting colors of acrylic craft paint

a crackling medium

wide paint brush

decorative embellishments

hot glue

Optional:

antiquing medium and old rag

brown paint and an old toothbrush to splatter with

(I didn't end up using them on this project, but have in the past)

I've had the supplies pictured in my craft hoard for quite some time. I assume they would still be available but perhaps by different manufacturers

I removed the ribbon bow and wiped the wood down well. Since it had the brown stain already, I decided to crackle over that. Normally you would paint a base coat of a contrasting color to your top coat when crackling.

Apply a nice even coat of the crackling medium and allow to dry thoroughly before the next step. It has a nice glossy sheen to it when wet.

Once the crackle medium has dried (notice it looks flat now), apply your top coat of paint.

NOTE: you want to apply the paint in one direction and only one layerusing a wide paint brush. Do not go back over it and try not to overlap the edges. Going back over it ruins the look. The crackle is almost immediate, depending on the weather conditions. The thicker the layer of paint, the wider the crackle lines. The thinner the layer of paint, the finer the crackle lines. You may want to experiment first to see how it reacts and what you like.

Crackle painting is a fairly quick and easy way to update a piece of home decor.

 It's also a fun technique, watching the paint react with the crackle medium!

This is a thick layer of cream paint over the crackle medium , creating larger cracks. 

I painted the opposite side with a thinner layer of paint to show the difference it makes
 versus using a thick layer of paint.

Once the crackled paint dries, you can rub on antiquing medium . You could also splatter it with an old toothbrush lightly dipped in paint to create a fly specked look.

Hot glue on your embellishments and if you wish to make it an ornament, add a hanger of some sort.

That's all  there is to it ! Have fun finding things to crackle !

Happy Holidays ! 

I'm entering my project in the following challenges:

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes December
https://merrylittlechristmaschallenge.blogspot.com/2018/12/mlccb-5-december-anything-christmas-goes.html


Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Anything Goes December
https://christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.com/2018/12/december-challenge-anything-goes.html

Crafting By Designs Christmas
https://craftingbydesigns.blogspot.com/2018/11/get-ready-for-christmas-november-edition.html

Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes


Thanks for looking =)