Dried Crackle Paste
The problem with crackle paste is that you never know how it’s going to turn out.
The beauty with crackle paste is that you never know how it’s going to turn out.
Two sides of the same coin and I’m likely not going to stop using the stuff anytime soon just BECAUSE of its unpredictability. However. I must admit that I generally apply it to a much stronger (read: inflexible) substrate than ancient book pages so it really was a leap of faith in applying it to Seth’s book Contexture. As you can see from the above, still a work-in-progress, photo, It crackled phenomenally. Some might say a bit TOO phenomenally. But I love it when my materials give me added grief challenges. 
So what DO you do when your crackle paste “outperforms expectations” (my Coach’s fave expression!)?? You slosh on some acrylic washes, damp dry using your heat gun, put a piece of non-water permeable paper in between the pages and weight down. Those lifted crackle pieces uncurl and lie flat and behave themselves. Once all the top “stuff” has been added, being sure to weight down overnight when not working on it, I also coat liberally with gel medium. I’ve found that it’s pretty good at acting as a sort of flexible finish coat. I hope!
Cathy Horner
Jenny
Sue in SC
Crackle paste looks like something I need to try… Seth’s book is looking fabulous…Roxanne
Crackle Paste is da bomb, Roxanne. Pricey but worth it!
Jen…take it from me…whatever you did…by plan or not…your pages in my book are beyond description. Truly, truly amazing!! And still attached too boot. Thank you!
You are too kind Seth.
MMMMmmmmmm! Seth’s book is looking SO interesting!
Hope all is well down the road from me.
Thanks Lani!
Getting tired of the rollercoaster weather … but hey! we DO live in Nova Scotia!
I actually really like how it’s come out, it’s quite organic looking to me.
However, if it’s not what you had in mind I’m sure that you will be able to use your creative genius and pull it back to something that you are more happy with.
I have never used crackle paste before but it look like it would be something that I would love to have a play about with.
Oh. I love how it lifted all crackly and such, Sonya. Problem is, it’s in a book and I was afraid that when the pages were pressed together, the lifty pieces would break, so I had to have it a bit more flat. If it’d been on a piece of wood or stand alone? I’d SO be about that particular texture!