Insider Secrets: Texture Paste

Design Team member Jaine Drake reviews her favourite stamping product and tells us what she loves about Golden Crackle Paste.

Sometimes I think I've become a bit like a broken record talking non-stop about texture paste. I absolutely love the stuff and I've tried many different types and ways to use it, but recently I gave Golden Crackle Paste a try which I am just so in love with.

I've had crackle paste before which was very thick and heavy, drying to a brittle finish which needed a thick layer before it would crack. However, with Golden Crackle Paste I was pleasantly surprised to find that firstly, it’s so light I can use it on a journal page without it being heavy or distorting the page. Secondly, I discovered it doesn't flake if the page is bent as it’s fairly flexible. 

The cracks really come out when it’s painted or inked over. My favourite method of colouring at the moment is to use Inka Gold rubbed all over it. The cracks stand out under the antique looking shine. Stamping over it also brings out the texture but a light touch is needed for this.

On this journal cover which I made recently for a DT project for 'A Sprinkle of Imagination', I covered the card base with the paste. Once that was dry I added some more paste on top through a stencil. I left this to dry overnight naturally as it’s really not a good idea to use a heat gun to try and speed things up.

In the beginning the cracks weren't obvious but once I’d added ink on top they really popped out. I stamped using a text stamp in a couple of places over the texture. It’s possible to stamp lightly enough so that only the surface of the texture catches the stamping. This looks fantastic with background stamps but when adding the big ethnic stamp I didn't want to risk distorting the image. For this one I stamped onto kitchen tissue, cut around it and glued it down with gel medium. The tissue melts onto the page and only the image can be seen. The tissue does become a little delicate so I had to work with care but the result is so cool. The texture paste can clearly be seen underneath and adds a whole new dimension to the image.

I deliberately chose to use this ethnic stamp as the whole feel of the finished artwork was a bit earthy and made me think of dry and parched earth somewhere hot. 

In my second project, while the stencil was still over the paste, I tried adding seed beads into the paste to see if they held. I love this idea just to add even more dimension and texture to it. Once it was dry I coloured the paste with Distress Stain which really brought out the cracks.

To see more of Jaine's work visit: craftydrake.blogspot.co.uk

Golden Crackle Paste is manufactured by Golden Artist Colors www.goldenpaints.com