Thursday, April 12, 2012

~ Cracks Can Be Beautiful ~

  Happy Thursday my friends!
Things are slowly getting back to normal here at the Nest.
I am once again playing with my paint and doing my best to 
create a touch of beauty
everyday.
I attended a community rummage sale a few weeks back.
It benefited the local SPCA, which I am a huge fan of.
All my family pets have come from shelters...
well except for Igor, the Iguana lizard.
But thats a whole other story!
I brought home quite a few great pieces of furniture to refurbish.
More about them in a later post.
I picked up a large frame at the sale.
Today I would love to show you some more magic that I have created with the help of
 Annie Sloan's Craqueleur™ crackle varnish.
I love this stuff!!!
***UPDATE***



Maryann was kind enough to feature my Craqueleur ™frame on her wonderful blog!
Many thanks my friend!

I forgot to take a BEFORE photo of my frame, but it looked almost exactly like this one.
Mine was a wood frame to a very awful oil painting. I knew I could simply remove the painting and restyle the frame.
It was a large frame also..not bad for $5.00

So what do you think...
I may be biased, but I think she is beautiful and will look great in my shop.
Let's look at a few before and afters of the crackle technique.

One coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ in Provence
After that dried, I used a damp rag to gently distress to expose the gilding.
Then I applied Annie Sloan's two step
Craqueleur™varnish crackle.
The first coat was dry in a couple of minutes and it dries shiny..so check it. It will look wet, but it is not.
After applying a thin coat of step two, I hit the frame with a blow dryer and let the magic happen!
Once the crackle was complete, I applied Annie Sloan Dark Wax™
The wood was still warm from the dryer and this made the dark wax melt beautifully onto the wood frame. 
I wiped away any unwanted excess with a soft rag.
If you find you have any spots too heavy with dark wax, simply apply a little Clear Wax to remove them.

Before the Craqueleur™ and Dark wax...

double click for an even closer look!
**After**

Instant age in a bottle I tell ya!!


So you could spend $154.00 on this crackled frame....

Or you could turn a $5.00 thrift shop frame into this and save yourself over $100.00!!

Once Again...
**Before** 

**After**
I will go with the thrifty version any day.
Thanks for visiting today and thank Annie for a great product.
Until next time...be kind and stay creative.

                                                                

27 comments:

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Janet, I LOVE it!!!!!!! Gorgeous color and love how the crackling looks so natural.

Rustown Mom said...

Gosh, that is super gorgeous!

Glenda @ Magnolia Bend Drive said...

I love it too! I don't have that color yet - maybe that will be my next pick.

Nancy Patton Wilson said...

So sooooo pretty, Janet. I'd buy it in a minute if I could find your shop down the road from me.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous color and finish on this frame! LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!

Annette said...

Wow, I love the color and the crackling! I'm glad you had such a great time with Annie. You two look like you could be sisters! :)

Jennifer Juniper said...

The crackle definitely gives it an authentic look! It's subtle but looks so natural.

Amy W. said...

Just Awesomely Beautiful!!!
Looks like you spent multiple number of many many hours working on this. Rich and Classy your frame now boasts!!!

Danielle said...

I love your frame! It is much nicer than the expensive one you showed.

Claire said...

Hey Janet, that is one gorgeous frame......

Love the colour you chose and the overall effect is amazing. A little bit of magic in a paint can...

A new lease of life for a tired old frame.....

Claire x

Karen O said...

That is gorgeous! I love that color, and the crackling with the gilding is lovely. Thank you for sharing.

The LadyBugs Garden said...

I love this Janet. The color and crackle are so pretty.
Xo
Stephanie

deborah@confessions of a craigslist junkie said...

It's beautiful Janet. Love the color.

Brenda said...

That's my favourite colour of all time. Gorgeous job, it looks super......B:)

Laura at Ms. Smartie Pants said...

I'm sitting here starring at a frame in my house that looks alot like that, NOTHING is safe with AS laying around! Is that crackle available for us yet? What a stunning piece and the price is icing on the cake!

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I attended a community rummage sale a few weeks back.
It benefited the local SPCA, which I am a huge fan of.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Absolutely beautiful, Janet! The crackle finish was a great way to go with this frame and all its detailing and Old World look. Love the color and the touches of gold. I'm sure this will go fast in your shop!

Lady Courtney said...

That is gorgeous, I cannot wait to try that out! So Pretty!!!

Jean @ www.thebackyardbungalow.com said...

That is gorgeous! I never liked the crackle medium from the 80's and 90's, but Annie's stuff is the bomb!

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Until next time...be kind and stay creative.

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Piera said...

what a wonderful magic! great job, wonderful frame .. hello! by Attic

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