Distress Crackle Paste…a love story

Hello friends! Happy Monday! I am back today with a deep dive into Distress Opaque Crackle Paste. Crackle Paste is a wonderful way to add instant grunge and age to almost every item..not only paper! What types of things can I use crackle on? Well..just about anything, as long as you have a little prep to add tooth to the item. There are the obvious materials to use it on which include, Paper, Cardstock, Chipboard & Wood, but there are also things like metal, glass, fabric, resin, & slick surfaces that work perfectly too. So, if you were ever wondering what to do with that lovely little pot of Distress Crackle Paste, this is the tutorial for you! But before you read on, you might want to be sitting in a comfy spot with a good tall glass of something cool…this is my longest post yet! 🙂

Here you’ll see all the results on my experiments on different pieces. I used crackle on EVERYTHING! 🙂 Why would you not? It’s just so vintage YUM!

I tried it on just about all I could think of, other than the obvious, paper.

Idea-ology is beautiful on it’s own, but once you personalize it with colors and crackle, it becomes magic! In the photo below you’ll see it used on an idea-ology Clipboard Clip, a Mini Etcetera Tag, a Mini Corked Dome, a Found Relative Photo, a Glass Vial, Wood Rulers, a Metal Drawer Pull and Wood Vignette Panel…and in the background, a piece of Sticky Back Canvas.

Here, I used it on a Glass Corked Bottle, a Metal Photo Frame, a Photomatic Photo, an idea-ology Spoon, Sticky Back Canvas and even Paper Bouquet Flowers!

And here, I used it on an idea-ology Vintage Clip, Baseboard Frame, Snapshot Photo and Square Vignette Panel.

Here are the items before they were crackled, and with the tips I am going to share, you’ll be producing ALL of the crackled goodness in no time!

Crackling on different surfaces requires you to do a little prep work.. and when I say prep work, I mean, running a sanding disk over top of an idea-ology snap-shot, brushing on some Collage Medium or a light coat of paint on a surface, nothing crazy, and most likely, using the things that you already use every time you make.

For example, the items in the photo below all required a thin coat of Matte Collage Medium. I needed to create some “tooth” so that the Crackle Paste had something to hold on to. When items are too slick, the paste will dry, crackle then flake off, resulting in a pile of crackle and a clean surface. 🙁

Things like idea-ology Ephemera, Snapshot Photos, Photobooth Photos and Baseboard frames all need this type of prep. Another way to add tooth to items like this is to rough up the surface using a little sanding disk or sand paper. Either way, pretty quick and easy!

Things like Glass, Metal or Wood can be prepped using collage medium (if you want something cloudy clear), or by using Distress Paint, in your desired color palette perfect for your project.

What type of mediums can you use to color the crackle? This is a good question!

Just about anything from the distress line. The photo below shows most of the items that I used for these experiments. Some are more permanent than others but generally any from the line. Just remember that the permanent things like Archival Ink, Distress Paint, Alcohol Inks and Distress Foundry Wax are permanent once dry. Distress Crayons are mostly permanent once dry, but all the others will be water reactive for life. You’re good if you don’t craft in the rain or lick your art. 😉

The fabric pieces I made for this experiment both were created on Sticky Back Canvas by Ranger Ink… one of the backgrounds was prepped with some Distress Paint, and the other wasn’t prepped at all, yet both had no problem holding onto the crackle once it was dry. I am not sure if the Sticky Back Canvas has had some kind of treatment as it is sold, as to create the “tooth”, but I am assuming it has. So, when it comes to fabrics such as canvas, performing a test on a scrap would probably be a good idea.

We’re going to start with the Sticky Back Canvas & Crackle…I started with the canvas and some Scorched Timber Distress Paint. I used a brush and a blending tool and added color to the canvas, then set it aside to dry.

Using a stencil and palette knife, I applied the paste through, then set aside to dry and crackle.

Then I did the same using the floral stencil and paste, then set aside to dry and crackle.

…and we have crackle!

To color the crackle on the brown background, I used a combination of Distress Paint and Distress Crayons. I started my applying the paint to the crackled “3” using a paint brush and drying with a heat tool between colors.

I scribbled some Distress Crayon directly on the crackle and onto the canvas, then blended it using a damp finger then set it aside to dry. The crackles pick up the crayon and give a darker look to the crackle lines..an easy was to emphasize them!

The finished look!

The floral background was colored using a combo of Distress Paint, Distress Crayons & Distress Spray Stain. I colored the background using some colors of Distress Paint and water (speckled egg, lost shadow and frayed burlap) to give the background a wash of color. Then dried with my heat tool.

Using a paint brush I added a combo of colors to the crackle, then dried with a heat tool.

Once the paint was dry, I spritzed the canvas with water and some Gathered Twigs Spray stain, then dried it with my heat tool.

Next, I rubbed some Distress Crayon onto the crackled leaves and flowers and the canvas background to create depth and interest. I used a wet finger to rub the color into the crackles and the background to create the smudges. I added some Antique Linen Distress Paint using my finger around the edges of the stained areas. The stain was still water reactive so the color of Antique Linen has a hint of gathered twigs.

The finished look…

Glossy papers and ephemera…

I decided to use some stencils on a couple pieces and some pieces were randomly applied with crackle paste. The first photo I did was the trio of boys photo but I wanted to keep the crackled design towards the top of the image.

I cut a piece of post-it note that was cut to create a more random edge. I stuck the post-it in place and placed a stencil over top, then applied the paste and set it aside to dry.

Once crackled, I rubbed the cracked area with a combo of Distress Crayons (walnut stain, broken china, black soot and iced spruce) then, using my finger, I applied some Sterling Foundry Wax rubbing in both the crackled and the background, then using a heat tool, activated the wax to bring out the shine. I smudged some more crayon around the edges of the photo to create more age.

*In this application, I noticed that some of the crackle came off a little when I rubbed too hard, but that doesn’t ever bother me as a true old photo would have some of the crackle missing because of age.

Also, notice in the finished piece that you can see the brush marks in the background from the application of the collage medium that we added to create the tooth. The Foundry Wax brought that texture into focus! Bonus YUM!

The finished look…

The photomatic photo paired with a small cross stitch stencil, then set aside to crackle.

Then I placed a small piece of scrap paper over her face and sprayed on some Decayed Mica Stain Spray, then dried with a heat tool.

I wasn’t quite sure if this would work because of the mica NOT being permanent and being water reactive, but it did set, which I think happened because of the heat from the heat tool and being heated into the dried collage medium tooth.. a happy surprise!

I rubbed the cross stitch pattern with some Vintage Photo Distress Crayon, then smudged up the edges of the photo and lightly daubed off some of the color with a baby wipe to give the photo a mottled look.

The finished look…

Snapshot Photo with the Crackle Paste applied using a palette knife very randomly applied then set aside to dry.

Photo rubbed with some Picket Fence Paint in the background, then dried with heat tool. Then scribbled and rubbed with a combination of Distress Crayons (picket fence, pumice stone and walnut stain) then rubbed with walnut stain Distress Ink using a blending tool. Using a damp baby wipe, I daubed the photo to create a mottled look.

The finished look…

The baseboard frame was treated with Crackle Paste that was applied through a stencil, then sprinkled with Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder. I set the frame aside to dry and crackle, then once dry, I embossed the powder to reveal the crackles.

I applied some Distress Paint (tattered rose and victiorian velvet) to the background of the frame and a bit over the top of the crackled area using a paint brush, then dried it withy heat tool.

Using a sanding disk I scratched up the background where I had painted, then rubbed the crackled embossed area using distress crayons. Then, I blended the scratched area with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Wood Vignette Box, Chipboard Etcetera hardboard tag, rulers, & metal clips…

All were rubbed, blended or brushed with a combo of Distress Paint which becomes the “tooth” for these products.

The Merchant Tailor Vignette Panel was sprayed with Gathered Twigs Spray Stain, dried then rubbed with crackle paste…because I had treated it with a water reactive spray, it soaked up some of the color into the crackle once it was dry. Here is a look at all the goodies with the crackle paste applied with a palette knife or my finger.

I wanted to point out that you’ll notice that I applied a thicker area on the right and left side of the tag using the palette knife.

The thicker you apply the Distress Crackle Paste, the bigger the cracks will be, and the opposite applies too, the thinner the application, the smaller the cracks. Just another FYI, that might be helpful to you down the way. 🙂

See what I mean in this photo below? Bigger cracks!

I used some Frayed Burlap Distress Paint to color the cracked areas then dried it with a heat tool.

To color the rest of the crackle I used some Distress Oxide Spray that I painted on with a paint brush, then dried with a heat tool.

The clipboard clip was rubbed with Salvaged Patina Distress Paint then set aside to dry. Once the paint was dry, I used a palette knife and my finger to apply Crackle Paste to the clip, then set it aside to dry and crackle. Once crackled, I used a sanding disk to remove some of the paint.

I spritzed the clip with some Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Spray, then spritzed the color with water, then I dried it with my heat tool. Once that was dry, I used a Black Soot Distress Crayon and scribbled some color onto my craft mat, then used a paint brush to add the color into the cracks. Once the crayon was dry, I scribbled some more of the crayon onto the crip around the edges to add more grunge.

Both of the rulers were rubbed with a Walnut Stain Distress Crayon and water and set aside to dry.

The Metal drawer pull was painted with both Vintage Photo and Scorched Timber Distress Paints very randomly, then dried with a heat tool.

Then I rubbed the cracked area using a variety of distress crayons and some Mushroom Alcohol Ink and Statue Alloy Alcohol Ink.

The Corked vial was rubbed with Collage Medium then dried. Once dry, I rubbed the bottle, including the cracked area, with Salvaged Patina Distress Paint, then set it aside to dry. The top cork was rubbed with collage medium, then Gilded Foundry Wax and heated with a heat tool to reveal the shine.

Once the Salvaged Patina paint was dry, I rubbed it with Antique Linen Paint, dried it, then using a sanding disk, I scraped off some of the paint to create an aged look.

Then I rubbed the vial and cork with Walnut Stain Distress Ink an then rubbed in some Vintage Photo Distress Crayon.

The mini dome and cork were rubbed with collage medium, then set aside to dry, I then rubbed on some crackle paste, then set it aside to dry and crackle again. Once dry, I used a combo of distress paint and distress crayon to color the crackled areas.

All the finished components for this combo of goodies!

The idea-ology Vintage Clip for the baseboard frame, Vignette Square Panel and Snapshot photo combo was rubbed with Scorched Timber and Vintage Photo Distress Paint, set aside to dry, then crackle paste added, then set aside to dry and crackle.

Once crackled, I used some Victorian Velvet Distress Paint applied to the clip using my finger, then dried. Once dry, I rubbed the crackled area using Black Soot, Victorian Velvet and Tattered Rose Crayon. To get the color into some of the cracks, I used a damp paintbrush to run over the cracks.

The Vignette Panel was rubbed with some Black Soot Distress Paint, then dried. The crackle was applied using a palette knife, then set aside to dry and crackle. Once crackled the cracks were colored up using a combo of Mushroom Alcohol Ink, Statue Alloy and finally a scribble of Evergreen Bough Distress Crayon.

The Metal Frame was rubbed with collage medium, then dried. Once dry, I rubbed the corners with some crackle, then set it aside to dry. Once crackled, the entire frame was rubbed with Mined Foundry Wax, then heated to bring out the shine. I rubbed on some Black Soot Distress Paint, then let that dry, then rubbed Walnut Stain and Tarnished Brass Distress Crayon using some Mushroom Alcohol Ink to blend the crayon in.

The idea-ology glass bottle was rubbed with collage medium, then set aside to dry, once dry, I applied some Crackle Paste to the cork and sides of the bottle then set aside to dry. Once crackled I used a combo of Mushroom Alcohol Ink, Statue Alloy and a Tarnished Brass Crayon to color the bottle and cracks…the bottle was filled with some glitter and the cork placed on top.

I dipped a bunch of idea-ology Paper Bouquet Flowers into my pot of crackle then rubbed some of the paste into the flowers and along the stem. Then I lightly sprinkled the flowers with some Distress Clear Rock Candy Glitter, then set them aside to dry.

Once the bunch of flowers were dry, I spritzed them with a combo of sprays. I started with the flowers, aiming some Winterberry Mica Stain directly at the flower petals, then dried it with my heat tool. Next, I spritzed the stems with Peeled Paint Oxide Spray, then a quick mist of Decayed Mica Spray, then dried it with my heat tool.

This is something that I have NEVER done to the flowers, but after I did it, I may not stop. It gave the flowers a really vintage look…crispy crackled grunge, yet, with a feminine feel!

The finished looks…

Oops, almost forgot the spoon… collage medium over top of the spoon, rubbed with some Pewter Foundry Wax, heated to set the wax, rubbed with Black Soot Distress Paint, Glossy Accents applied to the spoon bowl, dipped in Clear Rock Candy Glitter and dried, then rubbed with Abandoned Coral Distress Crayon!

WHEW!!! I hope you’re still here after LOTS of photos, techniques and instructions… and I’m hoping you give Distress Crackle Paste a try and find more techniques and items to get crackled! Grungy crackle for the WIN!

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