Tips, Tools & Techniques - Crackle Painting

Hello! Here's our regular feature where we share tips, tools & techniques that have caught our eye, things we have Pinned, and things we have tried. These are probably not going to change your life(!) but might make it a bit easier...

I've seen this technique a lot on Pinterest (where else?!) and followed this method described in a fab post by Make the Best of Things

I started with a random off cut of mdf wood and gave it a coat of white primer, followed by two coats of teal coloured emulsion.

Once that was fully dry, I covered the wood in a layer of PVA glue.

Before the glue dried, I painted over the top using a cream coloured emulsion. The important part it to make sure the glue is still tacky and also only spread the paint in one direction. Don't be tempted to go over it again, or brush back and forward (trust me it's very tempting!!).

This is what started happening after only a few minutes of drying.

Once it had fully dried, it still looked a bit 'new' so I brushed over some strong coffee and left it to dry again. I then sealed it with a coat of clear varnish.

This was actually a test for another project I'm working on, which hopefully I'll finish soon and be able to share!

What would you use this technique for?

We are linking up to these parties!

Update 7th Sept 14: This post was featured here by craftgawker