Summer Bliss (ter)


Suntans, swimming, vacations, grilling out, fresh fruits and vegetables, summer reading, lazy days… although the bliss of summer has given way to a bliss-tering heat wave, see it as an excuse to hibernate in the air conditioning and create some bling!

This little charm is an experiment with a crackle paint technique using elmer’s glue. Super, super simple; super, super cheap. A small bottle of acrylic paint costs less than $2 and comes in a rainbow of colors, and you’ve probably got the glue in your junk drawer right now. You can re-purpose just about anything around your house for this project. The results will surprise you. What about decorating an old journal or photo album cover? Give new life to that empty, round cardboard oatmeal container you’re about to throw away. Jazz up an old picture frame. A previous post (4/11/11) showed this technique on a little cardboard box. 

Here we have a little wooden heart. Here’s what you do: Paint a base coat and let dry (I  used dark brown). Then brush on a layer of elmer's glue over that. Immediately on top of that, brush on a coat of paint in a contrasting color (I used silver). It will take awhile to dry, but as it does it produces a crackle finish. You can lay the glue on thick for large cracks spaced apart, or a thinner layer of glue and top coat for finer cracks.  Once dry, just adhere photos, trinkets, buttons, stickers, stamped images, words, etc. to create a simple collage.

That’s it. Easy summer bling that beats the heat! Kids will love it, too.

       


Q:  What do you do to jazz things up?


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1 comment:

Jean Montgomery Wallace said...

so cute just makes me relax looking at her and her blissful. And you have a new background here that goes so beautifully. lovely