A couple of people have emailed asking about instructions for testing your creative muscles with a simple project, so I’ve included instructions for something like the House of Love.

First pick a project piece. Anything made of wood or paper mache will be good. You will also need paint in your color choices. Note: You don’t need much unless your project is really big.

For the House of Love I used: 3 oz bottles of Apple Barrel paint and sealer [also a 3 oz bottle] and a bottle of stuff called crackle. My project required the use of two brushes; one was like a sponge on a stick about ¾ inch wide and an inch long. The other was a small fine bristle brush about ½ inches in size.

You will need a place to pour out your paints. My favorite tool for this is a small paper plate like the left over cake plates from a birthday party.
Something to hold water in to clean the brushes between color changes.
And for me lots of paper towels. I am very clumsy. If you are I would recommend getting newspaper or something to place on the work area to keep the paint from staining it.

Once you have everything you need you are ready to begin.

First give your project a base coat. I use white paint for mine; I find it works better that the topcoat sealers. Let it dry until it’s not tacky and then give it a second coat. Let it sit for at least an hour before you start to paint with the colors of your choice. Always use a second coat and remember to let the paint dry well before you put the next coat.

With the sponge brush follow the directions on the back of the bottle of crackle. Each brand is different. Let dry over night and your project is complete. If you run into any problems or have questions let me know!