Altered Hanger Photo Frame Featuring Crackle Medium and Metallic Wax

ello friends. Hope all of you are crafting great!

DT Vaishali on the blog today with my second inspirational  post using metallic waxes. I am sure everyone is enjoying working with the waxes. Appreciate all the beautiful entries that are coming in for the Blog Challenge. Last time I used the Aqua Medley paper pack and the paper colours  complimented the metallic waxes wonderfully. This time I have an altered decor creation, using Fairy Sparkle paper pack,  2 step crackle medium and metallic waxes.  Have a look.

We generally buy for raw bases for our creations.  But if you look around, there are many simple objects  that have a possibility of alteration and can get converted to something unique and beautiful. It’s about composing them together in an aesthetic way. So let’s get started with a step wise tutorial of this alteration.

I had a pinewood hanger at home, which I decided to alter and make into a hanging photo frame.  Firstly, I glued thick cotton rope around the straight side of the hanger using the wonder glue- silicon glue from the store. Cotton cord/ thread is easily available in any local hardware store in different thicknesses. You can instead use hemp also. 

Next, I coloured the other two sides of the hanger with diluted chalk paint colours. Basically gave a wash so that the wood grains are seen through the paint coats, as you can see in the picture below.

This was followed by adding elements from the Fairy Sparkle paper pack. The pack has beautiful element sheets.  I have fussy cut few designs and adhered them to the hanger using Deco Magic decoupage glue.

Did some dot stamping for interest and darkened the colour washes too. Covered the white rope with different chalk paint colours that would go well with the entire composition.  

Once I was happy with the way it looked, I applied a coat of decor varnish. Once the varnish dried, it was time to give the crackle effect using two step Crackle Medium.

When to use two step Crackle Medium- Two step Crackle Medium is used when you want to add cracks over any finished surface. You should complete all the work that you plan to do, may it be decoupage or just paint work , or distressing, stamping or image transfer. Once the work planned is done, use Little Birdie two step Crackle edium to get beautiful, transparent, uniform cracks, which have to be highlighted. 

How to use two step Crackle Medium-  Two step Crackle Medium means there are two steps…. basically two coats- base coat and top coat. The cracks are formed as a result of reaction between the two coats. Remember no paint coat is to be applied between the two coats. 

So, first apply the milky looking base coat. For this use the dab method of application with a flat brush. As the base coat dries, it will look clear and not milky any more. This means the surface is ready for the top coat. The base coat will dry tacky (you can feel it when you touch it. It is just fine though). 

The top coat also has to be applied using dab method with a brush. The thickness of the top coat determines the size of the cracks. A thicker coat gives larger cracks and vice versa. Let the top coat dry naturally. As the top coat dries, transparent cracks will appear. Have a close look.

As the cracks are transparent, you need to fill them. I have used the newly launched metallic wax Antique Gold colour to do so. You can use the colour as per your project. The wax can be applied with hand. Rub gently over a small area. Wax will seep into the cracks and you can wipe off the wax from the surrounding areas with a soft cloth. Avoid any damp cloth. Continue doing so and highlight all the cracks with the wonderful metallic wax to see a lovely crackle effect. Have a look.

I was finding the triangular space of the hanger quite empty, so I used some leftover burlap stripes to fill this space.

Embellished it with fussy cut butterflies, doily, lace and  flowers.  I have adhered everything with my favourite silicon glue.

My hanger with two step crackle effect was ready to hang. I needed to add a frame to it. I used two equal size scrap chip boards from my stash, overlapped them and created a small  layout using 6 x 6 inch papers from the Fairy Sparkle pack. This would look different than a usual frame. You can hang any wooden or paper frame as well.

The picture below shows the base of the layout  and the photo mat. For the photo mat, I have done some layering with the papers and a burlap sheet.

This is how the basic layout looked after adhering the photo mat. I have added some fussy cut elements and done some stamping with archival ink.

Always stamp with archival ink. As the name suggest the inks are permanent and so they do not bleed even when the entire surface is cobered with decoupage glue. To have a continuity, I also added some crackled effects to the layout using two step Crackle Medium. Embellished with co-ordinated flowers and chipboard shapes. Gave a rope border.

Also gave a burlap and lace border to the layout to enhance the shabby look of the papers.

Now,  hung the layout using a cord. Passed  it from the  holes punched  in the chipboard.

Love the way, the swing looks hanging from the hanger. The swinging fairy says – ” Make a Wish “…..May all your wishes come true.  The cord adds great dimensional effect . I have given it some highlights with metallic wax as well.

Itsy Bitsy has a wonderful collection of natural and general craft supplies. Do check them out….One of my favourite product from this category is wicker balls. Have hung them to further balance the composition. Hanging them also gives a lovely mobile effect to the creation and you can actually use it as a hanging mobile too! A beautiful decor piece to brighten up your home space.

The final look-

It’s not always necessary to buy new bases. Instead why not create sometimes from your own stash? It will definitely have possibility of a unique compositions.

Hope you like my creation and find the information on two step Crackle Medium useful. Do not forget to highlight the cracks with metallic waxes.

Happy Crafting

Create, Express, Enjoy !!!

Vaishali Khandwala

List of materials used –

 

 

6 comments

  1. Such a beautiful project! As always , a detailed explanation on how to do it with even minute details touched upon. You are amazing. Hugs

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