Creating faux patina

Enjoying some crunchy toast with my sister’s homemade peach jam, a cup of hot cocoa and my favorite Soap on DVR – and finally time to update my blog! My life has been a whirlwind of activity lately and I don’t see it letting up any time soon!

Truth be told though, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I enjoy the craziness that comes with working, teaching and everyday life. Amid prepping for and teaching The Gardenista’s Almanac recently, we were without power due to the high winds; I’m working on a professional scrapbook for my friends’ business; we’ve had new windows installed so the place is still a mess; and I’m working on a Christmas class for my antique letter type trays I picked up at an antique fair this summer.

The students and I had a wonderful time during the first weekend session of The Gardenista’s Almanac. It was a great bunch of students and they learned a slew of distressing techniques. One of the techniques most found to be quite easy but with great results was creating faux patina on metal using nothing more than Ranger Paint Dabbers. It’s a very simple technique that requires very few materials. In class we took the bright, shiny silver Tim Holtz Memory Frames and made them look very old before filling them with seeds and dried flower heads.

Begin with Ranger’s Paint Dabbers in Aqua, Pitch Black and Gold; a Tim Holtz Memory Frame, two pieces of Ranger Memory Glass – one clear and one frosted – a Ranger Memory Capsule and a scrap of pattern paper. Open the memory frame by lifting the clasp that keeps it locked and place it on your Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet. Randomly spackle on the Aqua Paint Dabber; do not totally cover the frame – just spackle randomly. Let the paint dry briefly or set with heat tool. Next spackle on the Pitch Black Paint Dabber overlapping some of the Aqua; let dry again. Finish by adding just a touch of the Gold Paint Dabber in random areas. The secret here is to dab the paint on, not brush or paint it on but to dab. This gives the paint texture and creates the look of aged metal. Let the paint totally dry or use a heat tool to speed up drying time.

The next step is to assemble. Using a piece of the memory glass trace the outline onto a piece of scrap patterned paper with a pencil and cut out by staying inside the lines. The paper must fit evenly with the glass edges otherwise it will not fit correctly into the memory frame. Sandwich the paper in between the two glass pieces with the clear glass on top and frosted on the bottom. Next, place a few pieces of dried flowerheads and seeds into the memory capsule. Dab some very small dots of Art Institute Clear Dries glue onto the top of the memory glass sandwich (the glue will catch some of the seeds and hold them in place to prevent them all from falling to the bottom of the capsule when done).

Place the sandwich – top side down – onto the memory capsule then carefully place the sandwiched pieces inside the frame and close by sliding the clasp into its slot. Burnish the clasp in place, tie some pretty ribbons to the top ring and attach to your scrapbook page or altered art project.

The faux patina can be used on just about any metal piece with great results – have fun experimenting!

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.