A Wintery Technique

Well it is Friday and much of the midwest and east coast are headed into a wintery blast. Here in northern Indiana we are expecting 3-5 inches, so in honor of the wintery weather that is headed our way I thought I would share one of my design team projects over on If It's Groovy from January.

I took these pictures in 2008 during the ice storm that we had a few days before Christmas. I was able to play with these beautiful papers and accents from Bo Bunny's gorgeous Snowy Serenade collection and I also was able to play with my new crackle paint to give the snowflakes their wintery look.

 Want to create this look on your next page? You're in luck because I am going to share this technique today.

Gather the following supplies: chipboard snowflakes, Tim Holtz Crackle Paint in the color Picket Fence, a heat gun, Ranger non-stick craft mat, cardstock, temporary adhesive, paper towels, makeup sponges, various colors of acryllic paint, a mini mister filled with water, and paper towels.

1. Cut a 1 inch strip of cardstock and adhere the snowflakes to it using the temporary adhesive. This will give you a way to hold onto the pieces as you paint them.

2. Shake up the crackle paint before using. Apply a medium to thick layer of the distress crackle paint to the snowflakes using the applicator in the bottle. Make sure you are working on the non-stick craft sheet to make clean-up a breeze later.

3. Allow snowflakes to dry on their own for about 5 minutes, or until you start to see it cracking on its own.

You can either let it dry completely naturally to get fine cracks in the paint, or you can get large cracks with a heat gun.

4. Zap the snowflakes with a heat gun until dry. Make sure not to hold the heat gun in one area for too long or it will burn the snowflake.

5. Use a makeup sponge to dab paint on top of the crackled surface. Make sure to work the paint down into the cracks.  Adirondack paint daubers work well also.

6. Spray the painted snowflake with a mini mister a few times just to moisten the paint and use a paper towel to gently wipe away the paint from the surface of the snowflake. The paint should remain in the cracks giving the snowflake a muted color.

7. To finish off the snowflakes, use a Fantastix and some Distress ink to go around the edges of the snowflakes. Attach to your project with glue dots or pop dots.

I also made this cute card with some of my leftovers from the project. The inside reads "Thanks 'snow' much!"