Friday 22 June 2012

A Little Experiment

I had an idea earlier in the week which I was itching to try but I was so busy with the class release thing that I didn't have time to try it out until yesterday. I am happy to report that the results were very pleasing, so pleasing that I had to turn my test piece into a project!!

Now some of you may think that this is not exciting at all and are wondering what all the fuss is about but for me, using Fresco Finish Crackle Glaze on fabric and getting results like this makes me a tad giddy!!! This is probably very, very sad in some respects but I don't care if you think I'm sad cos I am, in reality, beyond happy!!

I started out with a plain piece of poly/cotton fabric with a nice fine weave, brushed on a coat of Mocha Mousse Fresco Finish Paint and dried it with my heat gun. I didn't brush my paint all the way to the edges as I thought I might be able to create a nice border around the cracked areas.

Step 2 - Using a palette knife, scrap a thin layer of Crackle Glaze over the painted area and dry with a heat gun.

Step 3 - Brush on a layer on Honey Dew Fresco. It was quite a big area to cover and I was worried about getting an even layer before the cracking started as it is usually pretty rapid. I did find that it didn't crack at the speed of light like it does on cardstock (I have no idea why) but it was definitely helpful. I did use my heat gun to finish the drying which increased the size of the cracks a little.

Now to create my border and make the top Honey Dew layer a little more interesting. I dispensed a small amount of Hey Pesto and Mocha Mousse on my craft sheet and spritzed them with water. After mixing thoroughly and adding more water to make a very watery wash of colour, i brushed both colours over everything using a large paintbrush.

I think you may be able to see the effect better in this picture. I just love the shabbiness of the whole thing, leaving the border seems to be the key to achieving the desired effect.

I spent most of yesterday working with this and turning it into a finished piece, don't you just love it when an idea turns out well? I'll be demoing this at The Craft Barn Extravaganza next Saturday, so if you would like to see the sample in real life, pop along and say hi, I'll have it with me.

Hopefully, you will be able to see the detail better in the following close up shots but as most of you are experiencing the same wet. dreary day as me, you will understand that it's not the best day to be taking photographs!!











Finally, thank you to everyone who booked classes this week, there are a couple of spaces still available, if your interested click here for the details.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend despite the weather.
Lin 





25 comments:

Helen said...

WOW! Who knew you could crackle on fabric..... totally love the finished piece,and I will be sure to check it in person next week! Really looking forward to seeing you again.

Miriam said...

Gorgeous!! It has worked really well.

Francesca said...

Looks great, will be nice to see you again next week @ the Craft Barn.

Inkypinkycraft said...

This is a fabulous and stunning piece, the details all beautiful!!!!!just love it! Hugs trace x

snazzyoriginal said...

WOW, this is stunning, fantastic colour combo. Need to order me some Fresco Finish paints me thinks!

Chisgetta said...

Oh Lin, this is beyond GORGEOUS! Can't wait to try it out...May need a few more Fresco Finish paints tho!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous project Lin, glad I invested in a 'few' of the Fresco Finish Paints, just need to track down somewhere locally I can get some material from !
Sue C
x

Linda M. Cain said...

I LOVE every nook and cranny of this piece! Ir's BRILLIANT!

~Linda

Anonymous said...

Really love it. It's great. Been driven mad all day at work because could read text but not see pics but it was worth waiting for, it is brilliant. Rachel

Trish said...

Brilliant idea, and a wonderful project! Okay, I might not be blown away by the concept, but I'll be trying it myself now... :)
Thank you for sharing.

Gillian .... said...

Crackingly gorgeous, wow can't wait to give this a go, love all the texture and rich colours. x

Jacqui Chimes said...

Beautiful as always - another class maybe :-))

lin said...

this is loverly it really is...i love it when you use goodies i already have at home...can't wait to give this a try, can't wait to see it and the demo on saturday :D

Jo said...

Ooh I really like this, gorgeous textures do I spy some washi tape? Jo xx

Daniele said...

omg this is amazing Lin, I can never get my crackles like that, what a gorgeous piece
hugs

Hilda said...

Absolutely Fabulous Lin!!!! Cannot wait for the Craft Barn weekend - I will be there with all the usual cronies!!! Must get to see this for real, it is amazing - wonder if it would work on muslin??? Will have to have a try!!!

Kyla said...

Crackle....fabric.....ooh.....I need to play! Top tip, thanks
Kyla

jill said...

Thats lovely & i can't wait to try this for myself

Mark said...

Beautiful piece, Lin! I will try crackling some fabric some time soon!

Ali H said...

Hi Lin please may I ask some advice ? I have acquired a plain grey felt tote bag & want to adorn it with fabric designs that I have made. When we did the Gothic Arch all those moons ago we coloured the background with Distress Inks & then stamped onto this. If I were to do this & the bag ever got wet (please remember it never stops raining here in Wales !!!) would the Distress Inks stay fast - or would they run & come off on my clothes etc ? Many thanks Ali Haselgrove

yoursartfully said...

For Alison,

You're right, you wouldn't be able to use Distress at all. If you want to use ink pads to sponge colour like we did in class, then you would have to use Archival and heat set it to make it permanant.There's a great choice of colours now. You could spray fabric with Colorwash, then stamp your images or my last suggestion is what I have been doing a lot lately is to stamp with Archival black. Heat set. Water down some Fresco Finish paints and use the to paint to colour in your designs. Hope this helps.

Lin

Unknown said...

absolutely love the idea...have had a go and made a mini version ...tag size and posted it on my blog (complete with credits to you for the idea )...mine looks a bit more victorian tho'
Michelle

Anonymous said...

I am in AWE, that is a work of art. And a very beautiful work of art. I am looking forward to seeing it - and more importantly, YOU - at the Craft Barn.

Anonymous said...

I am in AWE, that is a work of art. And a very beautiful work of art. I am looking forward to seeing it - and more importantly, YOU - at the Craft Barn.

Neet said...

Fabulous - you are into this fabric now with a vengeance. Great experimentation - off for a try myself. Cheers!
Hugs, Neet xx