Painting techniques
Have you ever visited a craft show or gift shop, and wondered how the
manufacturers get those brand new hand crafted items, to look like antiques?
Well, there are many different techniques used for aging new items. Here
are just a few that are easy to do, using a variety of different items.
First, we will talk about distressing items. Take a brand new teddy bear
for example, his fur is in wonderful shape, no worn spots, his stuffing
is firm and in place. But you want this bear to look like a small child
has loved him for years. Take a razor or electric clippers and just start
trimming that brand new looking little furry creature. Basically around
the muzzle and ears, and anywhere he would have been rubbed by little
hands, you can also give him a tea dye bath which I will describe later
on.
Also for wooden items, such as signs, toys or shelving, break out the
sandpaper, hammer and even a screw driver, start taking out your frustrations
on the piece of wood in front of you. Beat it, scrape it and sand the
edges to make them look worn. Then you can use a medium colored stain
to darken the wood and stain the paint. Just put on one light coat and
let dry.
You can also add age spots to any items by mixing a bit of black or dark
brown paint with a little water, to make it ink-like in consistency. Just
dab this on lightly with a paint brush, anywhere you feel a little age
spot would be appropriate.
Have you ever seen a sign that looks like the wood had been kept in a
work shop? This method is called spattering. After you have painted your
project, take an old toothbrush, it is helpful to trim the bristles to
between 1/4 and ½ inches long. Dip your toothbrush in water, and
now in a spot of paint, color doesn’t matter, but you will need
it to contrast with the background color of the painted item. It is also
best to place your object on newspaper or in a cardboard box, to keep
from spattering your paint everywhere. Now, with the toothbrush facing
the project, run your thumb down the bristles of the toothbrush, and spatter
the paint onto the surface of your project. You can also spatter with
more than one color. Just rinse your toothbrush out, and after the first
spattering is dried, re-spatter. Items can also be distressed after this
procedure.
Old fabrics generally are stained also, and staining your fabric is very
easy to do, with tea. Choose a large container that will hold your project.
Fill the container halfway with boiling water and then add about 8 regular
tea bags to the water, I usually add some vanilla extract and cinnamon
with this too. Wait for the water to cool so that your project will not
shrink. Now just toss in your project and allow to soak. Some people recommend
removing the tea bags, but I like leaving them in the water, since they
will touch the project and make a darker stain in some spots. You can
leave this soak for several hours or overnight. Remove, and set out to
dry. You can actually even set the item on the edge of the bowl face down
and let all of the excess tea run into the face, which will leave interesting
looking marks.
If you want to add a few more spots to your item, take a wet tea bag and
just tap it on your project. If you are tea dying fabric to use for a
project, it can be tossed in the dryer, then pressed before cutting out
your items. This process can be done with any fabric items, such as doll
clothes, doll bodies and teddy bears.
There are several aging products on the market one is called “Age
it” and another “Crackle it”. This is just painted on
a surface after a base coat is painted. If you are going to paint a surface
that will be white or another light color when finished, start with a
dark base coat. Now paint on the product, it will chemically change the
first coat of paint so it will react with the last coat.
Lastly, paint on the final color coat. Watch the chemical reaction taking
place, the paint will crack and bubble, giving your project an aging paint
look Very similar to old weathered wood.
These are just a few of the techniques that I use to “age”
my craft projects to make them look older than they really are.
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