8*8*2010

Hey Kreators!  It's Nat and I'm taking over the blog today. I have Keandra tied up in the closet but I PROMISE I've given her water and M&M's and I'll release her as soon as this post goes live!  I just wanted to show you one fun and easy way to add a little paint to your layouts – and you don’t even need to own a paintbrush! 


THE INGREDIENTS:

This is a great technique to jazz up your background cardstock or other plain pieces of paper. Here I’m using the Evening Sky cardstock and the Scenic Route grid photo mats from the August kit. I’ve got some plain, ordinary (read: cheap!) acrylic paints in two colours, and yes that’s right – an old toothbrush.  I’m also going to use a syringe (that’s why I’m the Scrap Doctor!) which I forgot to photograph here.

This is definitely a technique where you want to cover your work area because we are going to get QUITE messy!

THE SPLATTER:

 

Create a mixture of half and half acrylic paint and water. You don’t need to get too exact – no measurements necessary!  Just get it nice and sloppy.  Then dip your toothbrush in and load it up. Holding it over your paper, run your thumb through the bristles to create some lovely random splatters. You might like to practice on a scrap piece first because it can be a bit unpredictable.  You might also like to wear gloves if you don’t like to get your hands dirty – but that’s half the fun isn’t it?



THE EDGES:

I also used the same colour on my toothbrush to run along the edges and create a grungy border. It’s not even, it’s not neat, it’s definitely not perfect... But that’s how I like it!



THE DOUBLE UP:

To add more depth I then splattered a different colour paint over the top using the same technique. And I did the same on my photo mat. 




THE SPLOTCHES:

To get bigger splotches on my background I used the same watered-down acrylic paint mixture and loaded up my syringe.  You can buy empty syringes in most pharmacies – at least you can in Australia! But you could also use a straw. Simply dip the end of the straw into the mixture, then hold your finger over the top so the liquid doesn’t drip out until you’re over your cardstock – then let go! Holding your syringe at a height over your card simply drip some down. The higher you are and the more liquid your paint is, the further it will “splat”.





THE RESULT:

 

And there you have it!  What an easy way to get some messy paint effects in your background and add a whole new dimension to your layouts!!!