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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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