Crackle Paint Embellishments

A few people have asked me how I made the 'Crackle Embellishments' on my two latest cards

So I will try and explain how I do it

I bought some Tim holtz 'Crackle Paint' the other day just to have a dabble and I am so pleased I did!

Here are the other things I use

First of all I cut three shapes out of card

You can see I have used 'Shapeabilities Butterlies 2'

You can find these here

These are just ideal as they are solid shapes with no holes

I glue the three shapes together with 'Anita's Tacky Glue' and leave to dry

Now here is the secret cover the whole shape with 'Glossy Accents' and leave to set solid (takes a few hours)

I discovered this bit by accident!

At first I  covered my heart with the crackle paint without glossy accents.....although it did crackle it didn't have the effect that the ones on my cards have......the cracks were small and fine

I was still quite pleased but decided to give the heart a glossy appearance too

Big mistake! The cracks filled with the gloss and I was left with a pink glossy heart

So I thought I wonder what will happen if I paint back over the heart with the crackle paint

Wow the cracks opened wide and gave the effects you can see on my cards.....the paint glided over the slippy surface as it dried creating the large cracks!

So that is now why I cover my shapes with the glossy first

The Crackle Paint dries in no time and you can see the cracks appear more or less in front of your eyes

Don't be afraid to wallop plenty of it on to your shape either because the thicker  the paint the larger the cracks

Here is a butterfly I made earlier

You can also sponge some distress ink around the edges to add some dimension

Now I just NEED  more colours in the 'Crackle Paint'!