Inspiration - Fe Fi Faux Fun

It is Cec here and I am bring you the inspiration post this week.  Since the Let's Fake It challenge still has one week to run I thought I would bring you some faux backgrounds that you can create for your projects using products you probably already have in your craft stash.

I have made my samples on 4 1/4" x 5" pieces of heavy card stock (Recollections) and haven't prepped the card stock with anything.  I did get a bit of warping so I would suggest that you use water colour card or whatever you have that can take a lot of wet media.  In all cases, I am providing the colours and brands that I used because that is what I had on hand but feel free to use whatever you like.

Crackle

1.  Coat substrate with an even layer of Liberty Blue acrylic paint (Accent) and allow to dry completely.
2.  Cover with a medium to thick coat of white school glue (Elmers) and allow to dry for a couple of seconds.
3.  Cover with a coat of Khaki acrylic paint (Craftsmart) painting in both directions and allow to dry naturally.

Make sure that the two paint colours you choose are contrasting so the cracks show.  For more open cracks, you can thin the second paint colour slightly with water.

Wood

1.  Score the card stock every half inch on the back side.
2.  Turn card stock over and paint completely with Khaki acrylic paint (Craftsmart) and allow to dry completely.
3.  Run a Coffee Archival Ink pad (Ranger) down the length of the piece from top to bottom and again from bottom to top and then repeat with a Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) ink pad.

Do not press too hard on your ink pad because you don't want to cover your paint layer completely.

I had made a different sample first using Pumice Stone Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) instead of paint for the first layer along with the Walnut Stain DI and it looked great but I accidentally put the crackle piece on top of it not realizing that it was still damp and it turned the whole wood piece a hazy grey.  Once it was dry again, I re-inked it with a Coffee Archival Ink pad (Ranger) and this is the result.  I didn't toss it because it looks kind of cool.

Metal - Rust

1.  Paint card stock with Gunmetal Grey Metallic Acryllic (Folk Art) and allow to dry completely.
2.  Using a sponge add some Raven's Black Metallic acrylic paint (IndigoBlu) and some Harvest Copper acrylic paint (DecoArt) in random spots.  Blend the edges with more Gunmetal Grey where needed.

Metal - Tin

1.  Paint card stock with Vodka Martini Metallic acrylic paint (IndigoBlu) and allow to dry completely.
2.  Using a sponge add some Raven's Black Metallic acrylic paint (IndigoBlu) and some Gunmetal Grey metallic acrylic paint (Folk Art) in random spots.  Blend the edges with more Gunmetal Grey where needed.

Instead of using a sponge, you could spatter the other paint on.  I think I would spatter next time so more of the silvery first coat showed through.

Metal - Patina

1.  Paint card stock with Harvest Copper acrylic paint (DecoArt) and allow to dry completely.
2.  Use a Gears embossing folder (Tim Holtz) to emboss the card stock.
3.  Paint with Patina Green Antiquing Cream (DecoArt Media) and allow to dry for a few seconds.
4.  Dry brush with White Gesso (Liquitex) and then use a baby wipe to randomly remove some of the colour leaving the copper to show through.

Travertine (Stone)

1.  Use a palette knife to spread Molding Paste (Golden) over the card stock making it thicker in some areas and then allow to dry completely.
2.  Paint with Tapioca acrylic paint (Folk Art).
3.  Spray with Gathered Twigs Distressed Spray Stain (Tim Holtz and quickly blot with some paper towel.
4.  Splatter with some watered down Coffee Bean acrylic paint (Folk Art)

Leather 1

1.  Paint card stock with English Mustard acrylic paint (Folk Art) and allow to dry completely.
2.  Mix Espresso acrylic paint (Craftsmart) with equal amount of washable school glue (Elmers) and paint over the first coat of paint.
3.  Immediately lay a piece of cling film or dry cleaner plastic that has been scrunched up a bit on top of the wet paint and pat it down with the palms of your hands and then peel it off carefully.

The bigger the folds in your plastic are, the more interest there will be on your faux leather.  You want to lift larger sections of paint off with the plastic rather than small bits. 

I made a green sample first but there wasn't enough contrast between my paint colours and I didn't handle the plastic well enough so I need more practice but love the effect.

There you have it - a few faux techniques that you can use for your projects.  I will use these small samples to create tags and when I stamp on them I plan to use an archival ink.

If you want to fake it and create something faux for the current challenge, you have until Wednesday, June 6th at 20:00 pm UK time and you can find the challenge HERE.