EASY & CHEAP Elmer's Glue Crackle Chalkboards

My most popular post and Pin is this simple crackle paint DIY.

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2010/05/crackle-finish-with-elmers-glue.html

Let's use Elmer's glue and craft paint to make these neat (and cheap) chalkboards.

 This is simple and inexpensive and has a big WOW factor. You can do this!!

I used this super simple but effective process on some chalkboards awhile back, and here's the tutorial. You'll love it. You'll want to crackle something for sure. I love this cheap crackle technique! It seems like magic every time I use it and did I mention that it was cheap? Holy cow, with Elmer's school glue 2 for $1 right now, I have stocked up big time.

I started out with cupboard doors from a local bargain builder's supply at $1 each. 

After spray painting them flat black (which saves you money on the expensive chalkboard paint) I spread the glue on really thick. I did not use a brush for this but laid a nice line of glue around the frame and spread it with my fingers. You are not looking for an elegant finish here, you want a nice layer of glue on your intended crackled target. Now, wait til it gets tacky. 

DO NOT LET THE GLUE DRY, the glue MUST be moist when you do the next step.

Taking plain old acrylic craft paint, load up your brush and paint, in ONE DIRECTION only, a nice thick coat of color. Do NOT go back and try to touch up and at this point and do NOT go back and forth. One direction, one swipe, with a light touch. You want a nice layer of paint on top of the still moist glue layer. The crackle effect will begin almost immediately and within a few minutes you will see a great aged patina bloom right before your eyes..

Five minutes later....crackle, baby!

It does not matter if your paint goes on thick and thin, as this effect looks much better with a bit of uneven paint.

Look at that, it makes me smile every time I do this.

If you have some spots you have to touch up, use a smaller paint brush and a light touch and go in the same direction as before but lightly, lightly. At this point it is very easy to drag the paint and the glue and make a big non crackled spot. If this does happen, let it dry, add more glue and repaint with a gentle hand. This technique is very forgiving.

If you have perhaps got distracted by kids, pets, some kitchen disaster or life and your glue has dried, don't worry. Just add more glue on top and go on from there. I've done this dozens of times and this technique has lots of wiggle room.

Oooh, ahhh. I like the white on black, love the black on white and ADORE the turquoise on white. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

 Let your paint and glue dry thoroughly before you seal the crackled edges with clear acrylic. I added a thin layer of umber glaze before I sealed mine. Then paint the centers with chalkboard paint.

 Wait 24 hours or close to it if you are impatient like me ;0) and season the chalkboard with a layer of chalk, wipe it off and voila! Easy peasy crackle framed chalkboard, baby!

My FAVORITE board was the red on black, it was stunning and of course it was the first one we sold at the Artwalk. Now I'll have to make another. Good thing I stocked up on Elmer's glue!

I'm linking this up to the fun linky parties. Be there or be square!

http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/ http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2015/03/whatever-goes-wednesday-260.html
http://www.simplenaturedecorblog.com/fabulous-friday-party-26/

CHEAP Elmer's glue crackle chalkboards

Dear Faithful Readers - Here's a wonderful way to shabby up some simple frames for some very cool looking chalkboards. I' ll soon be back to regular posting now that I've finished chemo and radiation and the side effects are diminishing.

In the meantime, enjoy. It's simple and cheap and has a big WOW factor. You can do this!!



I used this super simple but effective process on some chalkboards awhile back, and here's the tutorial. You'll love it. You'll want to crackle something for sure. I love this cheap crackle technique! It seems like magic every time I use it and did I mention that it was cheap? Holy cow, with Elmer's school glue 4 for $1 right now, I have stocked up big time.

I started out with cupboard doors from a local bargain builder's supplyat $1 each. After spray painting them flat black (which saves you money on the expensive chalkboard paint) I spread the glue on really thick. I did not use a brush for this but laid a nice line of glue around the frame and spread it with my fingers. You are not looking for an elegant finish here, you want a nice layer of glue on your intended crackled target. Now, wait til it gets tacky. DO NOT LET THE GLUE DRY, the glue MUST be moist when you do the next step.

Taking plain old acrylic craft paint, load up your brush and paint, in one direction only, a nice thick coat of color. Do NOT go back and try to touch up and at this point and do NOT go back and forth. One direction, one swipe, with a light touch. You want a nice layer of paint on top of the still moist glue layer. The crackle effect will begin almost immediately and within a few minutes you will see a great aged patina bloom right before your eyes. The picture above was taken within 5 minutes of painting.

Crackle, baby!

It does not matter if your paint goes on thick and thin, as this effect looks much better with a bit of uneven paint. Look at that, it makes me smile every time I do this. If you have some spots you have to touch up, use a smaller paint brush and a light touch and go in the same direction as before but lightly, lightly. At this point it is very easy to drag the paint and the glue and make a big non crackled spot. If this does happen, let it dry, add more glue and repaint with a gentle hand. This technique is very forgiving.

If you have perhaps got distracted by kids, pets, some kitchen disaster, life and your glue has dried, don't worry. Just add more glue and go on from there. I've done this dozens of times and this technique has lots of wiggle room.


Oooh, ahhh. I like the white on black, love the black on white and ADORE the turquoise on white. Gorgeous, just gorgeous. Let your paint and glue dry thoroughly before you seal the crackled edges with clear acrylic. I added a thin layer of umber glaze before I sealed mine. Then paint the centers with chalkboard paint. Wait 24 hours or close to it if you are impatient like me ;0) and season the chalkboard with a layer of chalk, wipe it off and voila! Easy peasy crackle framed chalkboard, baby!



My FAVORITE board was the red on black, it was stunning and of course it was the first one we sold at the Artwalk. Now I'll have to make another. Good thing I stocked up on Elmer's glue!

I'm linking this up to the fun linky parties. Be there or be square!

http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/

Two Tissue Boxes For My Desk Redo

For my continuing desk/office space remodel I had two tissue box covers I'd found at a Thrift Store. They were flowery and oh so eighties but they were .99 each so I nabbed them. Here's the first one which my daughter, Insanely Creative Christy, Mod Podged with cleanly cut book pages. She is neat and methodical in her craftiness while I am more untidy and, um, let's say, flightier in my craftiness. ;0) But I did add the chalkboard label. See how nicely it came out between the two of us?

And it matches the Mod Podged storage boxes and the little cubbyhole shelf so well!

Then I remembered this post over at Can't Stop Making Things about making faux first editions with hot glue and tissue paper. Here's the inspiration pic....

And here's the link...
http://www.cantstopmakingthings.com/2010/09/leather-bound-first-edition.html

So cool! This is just one of many neat projects on that clever blog.

I used a very similar technique in my own blog post, but I never thought to make faux books with it! Here's my link.....

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2010/05/3-d-effect-with-hot-glue.html

So I added dimension with hot glue, then decoupaged crinkled tissue paper over everything and painted the whole shebang black. I brushed on Elmer's glue then white paint for a cool crackled look, then dry brushed with black. NOTE-let the glue get tacky and brush on the paint in one direction only. You will see the crackle magically appear as the glue and paint dry! It is VERY COOL.

Here's a link to my Elmer's glue crackle paint post-

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2010/05/crackle-finish-with-elmers-glue.html

I added more details and a number with a Sharpie then glued on a vintage style heart and skeleton key. Lovin' it!

And now I have TWO tissue box covers for my desk. Hmmm. I like them both. Instead of choosing between them, I'll just have to put one on each side, lol!

These were both fun, easy projects and cheap, too. That's a win win in my book. I'll be linking up to the parties in my sidebar, come visit and see what's cooking in blogland this week!