Thrift-It Thursday: Crackle Finish Frame

Today I am going to show you how to create a crackle finish without buying an expensive kit.  I bought some wood picture frames at our local Habitat Restore for 50 cents and was originally going to spray paint them with a metallic paint.  But then I thought, why not find a thrifty way to crackle paint them.

Here is what I used:

wood picture frame

Elmer's Glue-All

acrylic paint, 2 colors

paint brush

First, you apply your base coat.  You generally want to apply a darker color as your base coat so that your lighter top coat has good contrast when it crackles.  Let it dry completely.

Next, working in sections, apply glue to frame.  Using your finger works best.  You want to work in small sections because you need to apply your top coat of paint while the glue is still tacky.

After applying the section of glue, using a brush, apply the top coat paint.  Use a light stroke going one way.  You don't want to use too heavy of a hand because you don't want the paint to mix too much with the glue.  After each short stroke, put more paint on the brush.

Let the paint dry completely and you should have a nice crackle finish. 

Here's the breakdown on what my frames cost to make:

     1.  frames - $1.00 (for 2)
     2.  glue -  $2.00

     3.  paint - $1.00 (for 2)

    
I got all my supplies at Hancock's Fabrics and K-Mart.  So my frames cost me $4.00, or $2.00 per frame.  Plus I have enough paint left over for another project and plenty of glue.

Last week, I posted the Elmer's Glue YouTube video where I got this idea.  Here it is again:

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha