Crafting With Paint Inlays

Lately, I've been very into trying new crafting techniques.

I finally bought myself some yarn and a hook to learn how to crochet.

I've been playing with glass paints and this week, I make a beautiful sign with paint inlays.

It's a relatively new way to get a hand painted look without stenciling or using furniture transfers.

And as soon as I saw them, I was smitten.

They come in lots of patterns and colors so I had a difficult time choosing a set.

• There's this holiday black and white pack that I purchased
• There's this mix of color and black and white holiday pack
• There's this colorful floral pack
• These beautifully colored birds
• And these lovely spring patterns with roses and bunnies

However, when I saw this video on Instagram, those pumpkins jumped into my cart.

Of course, they weren't cheap so I wanted to do some research before I started crafting...which led me to this page.

After watching both, I thought I was set so I dug in...but I still made a lot of mistakes along the way. 

It's definitely not my normal quick and easy DIY.

At least, not yet...for me, anyway.


So today is going to be a bit of a different kind of craft post. Since someone else already made this lovely sign and I just took up their invitation to try it, I'm not going to post all my steps. 

You can see the full process on that Instagram link I shared above.

Instead, I'm going to show you the basics and what I experienced along the way, so you can know exactly what you're getting yourself into, if you try it.

And sidestep the bumps I encountered.

I started with this unpainted wooden arch. It was great and I'll definitely be making more signs with these.


Then I painted it with chalk paint...you must use chalk or mineral paint...and let it dry thoroughly.


The inlays are applied using a combination of paint and water.

So essentially you chose the parts of the pattern you want, damped the back of them, paint the surface again with chalk or mineral paint, place the inlay pattern face down in wet paint.

And let it dry completely.

I did all that and then I used water again, misted on the paper, to release it from the dry paint and peel it away.
And here's where my trouble began.

Number 1...You must make sure you work in small sections and that the painted area is wet enough to grab the inlay. If you don't you'll have spots where the pattern is missing. 

Like I did. 

Number 2...If you use too much paint, you will end up with globs of it that dry up around the edges of the paper leaving a mark that will have to be sanded away.

And that will potentially upset your design.


Number 3...Regardless of how much paint you use, the texture of the paint that was under the paper will be different than the original brush or roller strokes. Just keep that in mind.

It can be slightly mitigated by really trimming your paper tight to the pattern, but you will see a difference up close.

Number 4...Sealing the inlay was not a super easy process for me. Spray sealer is the best way to lock in your design, because the paint inlays are water activated.


That means anytime the get wet, until they are sealed, the inlay paint will run.

A lesson I learned the hard way.
You see, I couldn't use the spray sealer with my tricky lungs and I wasn't patient enough to wait for my husband to use it for me.

So I read a few reviews that said if I waited for the inlays to dry long enough, I could use a water based poly sealer with a brush. Well, clearly that didn't work.

That's when I watched a few more videos and learned that a very tight, foam roller might work with that same water Dixie Belle Satin Sealer.


Which it did...too bad I had those brush smudges though. 

Oh well, crafting isn't always perfect, so I just moved on, since there wasn't any way to repair them.

Number 5...Painting went along nicely. That was a happy surprise. I used acrylic paint, but again, my lungs do not like any kind of odors, so I thinned my paint Dixie Belle Satin Sealer instead of the Liquitex they recommended.

It worked very well. Mod Podge can be used, as well.  

Number 6...I had to address those blank spots. For that, I used a small Sharpie to fill in parts of the pattern that were missing from my poor application.


It was a simple fix.

Then when everything was dry, I coated it with more sealer and I was done.

To be honest, even with all those hiccups, I was really very pleased with my results.


Not bad for my first time around with a brand new medium.

Is it my favorite, hmmm, not yet.

At the moment, I think I still prefer transfers.

Much easier.

But with a little more experience, you never know.

😉

Have you tried paint inlays?

Happy Crafting, Friends!