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I finally get it right! After many trial and error, I managed to get the crackle effect I would say that I am happy of. The bottom coat was white gesso. The frame was from IKEA. I sanded, applied sealer and painted with gesso before I used the Plaid Crackle Medium.

After reading some online tips and watch Youtube on how people apply crackle medium, I tried to follow as much as possible. The crackle medium was applied using thick brush, some in zig zag while some in straight line. If you apply the crackle medium thinly, you will get fine crack. If you apply it thickly, you will get a big crack. I let it dry for almost 2 days before I applied the topcoat in Burgundy Red.

The topcoat has to be applied at one go. Never stroke your brush too many times over the place that you have painted before otherwise the crackle effect will turn out bad…(based on my experience, I lost the effect of crackle since I stroked the topcoat over and over the same spot too many time..huhu)

The crackle medium will react with the pigment of the topcoat that you apply on. Some says to use a branded acrylic paint such as Americana (not a cheapo brand) as topcoat to make sure you get a good crackle effect. And another tips to remember, metallic paint won’t work as a topcoat on crackle medium. It is also best that you use a brush that fits the size of the project surface so that you don’t have to stroke on the same place many time.

For those who wonder how the Plaid Crackle Medium looks like, here is the picture. I bought a bottle in Art Friend, The Gardens. I have used Jo Sonja crackle medium before but it didn’t work that well. Maybe my techniques were not right at that time..heh! I will try again and will write an entry if my experiment is successful.

I will update with the varnished version of the frame later. I hope the tips above will be helpful for those who want to try doing crackle effect on their painted projects.

I decoupaged this bottle for a craft contest last year. The theme is Christmas and 1Malaysia. The problem was I have no idea how to implement the 1Malaysia into the submission article, and of course I didn’t win..heh! It never occur to me to put the 1Malaysia logo anywhere on the bottle or inside it..huhu!

However doing this decoupage project gave me the chance to try many new materials and techniques. First, I learned on how to clean up the Tazo Tea bottle..(available at Starbucks at RM10.90 per bottle)

Some people soak their bottles in water and later scrub the labels. I tried that but it didn’t really clear up the whole label glue. Hubby suggested to rub the leftover label glue with eraser. It did work fine but I feel that it was too much work and time consuming..huhu!

The best way is to use lighter fluid..(any brand like Zippo will do) Pour a bit on kitchen towel or directly on the leftover glue from the bottle label and scrub the glue out. After that wash your bottle with water and soap. Let dry.

I also used Plaid Glitter on this decoupage project. The effect is quite subtle and I think it suited the whole concept of this Earthy Christmas theme.

I hope I will have more time and effort to participate in any craft contest this year. From time to time, it’s good to challenge yourself to something new.

I have decoupaged this bottle about 2 years ago. It was originally a strawberry jam bottle. I used paper napkin with strawberry and butterfly motifs to decoupage it.

A few months ago, while shopping for craft items in Art Friend, The Gardens, I bought a bottle of Plaid Folkart glitter glue. I used that on my submission items for a craft contest (will write about that later). However the effect of the glitter was quite subtle.

Another shopping trip to Craft Haven in One Utama made me buy a bottle of Opal Dust from Jo Sonja. Since I didn’t have time to do new decoupage, I decided to apply the Opal Dust on this jam bottle. Before that I applied Glaze Medium and Gloss Varnish (both from Jo Sonja) on the bottle. Then I applied the Opal Dust on the strawberries and butterfly motifs.

Overall, I am quite happy with the glitter effect after using Jo Sonja Opal Dust as the opal dust is quite big and sparkly. I applied another layer of the opal dust after I finished varnishing the bottle since the bottle will only be used as decoration.

I finally got the time to edit the pictures from Niece #2 wedding. Here is the picture during the akad nikah ceremony in the mosque. The groom side brought along their gubahan hantaran which were done in red as well. Usually the bride and groom will choose different color theme but this time I don’t know why they decided to use one color theme..huhu!

The cake for potong kek ceremony after makan beradap. I ordered the buttercream cake with gumpaste floral decoration from Citra Klasik Bakery. The owner, Kak pau was very understanding and easy to communicate with. I did all the order online and via phone, and the cake was delivered just on time.

The pelamin came together with the bridal outfits rental. Niece #2 and her husband did all the booking. I think the pelamin biz is somewhere from Gombak area.

The bilik pengantin was done by SIL and her daughter #1. They used the bedsheet bought for Niece #1 wedding. I bought the bed runner at the bazaar in The Curve. The rose petals and candles were bought at IKEA.

Overall despite a few glitches here and there, the red wedding went smoothly. Selamat Pengantin Baru to Niece #2 and her Hubby!

Still on the gubahan hantaran for merah hitam theme color. Niece #1 and SIL went to seek out suitable chocolate to put in the rectangle wire basket and they decided to buy Cadbury Bournville as the wrapper color is red and black (dark choc perhaps?)

The plastic containers initially planned to be put bunga rampai has been substituted with tiny chocolate pieces.

The chocolate cupcakes were ordered from Citra Klasik bakery. They were decorated with white fondant, embellished with red roses. I purposely asked them not to wrap the window white box with ribbon since we wanted to decorate the box with the same materials used in other gubahan hantaran.

SIL couldn’t find deep red apples such as Washington or dark red grapes. She bought cherries, plums and Fuji apples instead. Oh, not to forget strawberries to give some color contrast to all the deep red tone among the fruits..heh!

Personally I was happy with the outcome of the gubahan hantaran for this red and black wedding. Congrats to Niece #1 and SIL for doing a good job in decorating all the hantaran.

Niece #2 is getting married this weekend and her wedding theme color is black and red. Personally I am not really fond of having black as part of the gubahan hantaran, but since merah hitam is like the current trend, so here is what the family has done for the bride’s side of the hantaran.

At first I thought I will make bunga dulang from dip. But since I couldn’t find ample time to do so, we resorted to buy artificial ready made bunga dulang from Fah Lean. I added some putik bunga in black which SIL bought in Nilai 3 to complement the red bunga dulang.

The rectangle wire basket will be filled with fruits. Suggested fruits could be red apples, plum and deep red grapes.

SIL tried her hand in making folded rose from ribbon to embellish the plastic containers she plans to put bunga rampai in. I will update with more pictures of these hantaran merah hitam after the wedding is over this weekend.

If you have tried to do decoupage using paper napkin/serviette, you might have encountered this problem when trying to seal or glue the motif onto the surface. As the most outer layer of the paper napkin is very thin, and you use a brush to glue it, the motif will get crinkled easily. From my experience, the bigger the motif, the harder it gets to NOT get it crinkled..isk!

The more you try not to get it wrinkled (as you might use your fingers to adjust the position of the motif) the worse it could get. The design might get torn or damaged in the process.

Try using a bigger size of brush to seal the paper napkin. Load each side of the brush with the sealer or glue, and gently apply the glue on top of the napkin motif, covering as much surface as possible. The best way to ensure a long lasting effect of your craft is to let it air dry for few days (or even weeks if the project is big) before you proceed with finishing process (applying glaze medium and varnish).

These are the outcome from the students who attended my last decoupage class. One of them chose the motif of grapes while the other one went for floral motifs.

For my decoupage class, I usually will use paper napkins or serviettes from the IHR range. There is also decoupage paper but the method to seal (glue) the motifs to the surface will be more tedious and can’t be completed within 2 hours.

For those who are looking around to buy such paper napkins or tissue, if you are in KL/Selangor area, you can try to find them in Jusco, Metrojaya, Living Quarters and Sogo. Per pack of 20 pieces are usually sold at RM16.

Na was my student. She came for decoupage and scrapbooking class when I conducted them at my home about 2 years ago. Ever since then she has been doing decoupage and selling decoupage napkins and other craft products at her online store.

She is running a giveaway for napkins and I feel tempted to join. Who knows if my luck is there to win 10 napkins at my own choosing.

I have browsed through almost all of her napkins collection and I can’t really list down just 10..hehe! I am torn between design of roses, herbs and fruits (which God knows when I can actually use them for decoupage) But hey, I love collecting decoupage napkins even when I can’t use them straight away.

So here is my list of napkins.

1. M191 (I’ve seen on Internet how they use this motif to decoupage mannequin)
2. M064 (It has berries and mushroom)
3. M140 (classic motif of rosa centifolia)
4. M187 (I can always use sunflower design to brighten my day..)
5. M233 (cherry and bottles of jam – good for kitchen plaque)
6. M009 (more berries)
7. M226 (pumpkin at the window)
8. M177 (white roses – on a wooden box it will be very classy)
9. M104 (illustrated roses, very English style)
10.M230 (another design of rosa centifolia)

For those who are looking to buy decoupage napkin per piece basis, feel free to visit her store or even read her blog – Raznacreation.com for ideas and tips.

It’s been a while since the last class I conducted for decoupage. There were times when I conducted this decoupage class almost every week at home. It’s an easy craft to learn and to teach to students, especially those with less ability to be artful..haha!

I am currently browsing a book titled New Decoupage: Transforming Your Home with Paper, Glue, and Scissors by Durwin Rice on Amazon.

I think once I have enough money I will buy this book as a reference as it provides contemporary decoupage idea – not your grandmother’s decoupage: delicate Victorian or floral images on dainty plates buried under innumerable coats of heavy varnish (as quoted from the product description of the book)

For those who are interested to know about the history of decoupage, here is some info for you to read : The Art of Decoupage. And there is even a National Guild of Decoupeurs with a membership fees of USD40 annually. For in-depth history of decoupage, read it here : A Bit Of History.