Easy Painting with Folk Art Multi Surface

Handpainted Wooden Articles for the home

        Hi friends, Dr Sonia here donning my Designer cap for  Crafters Corner once again and reviewing a product I have fallen thoroughly in love with and going gaga all over!! Yes I have a tendency to do that for all my product reviews don't I.......but do you know why that is.........its because for my DT posts Shalini actually lets me choose what I find the most attractive from all the amazing range of products in her shop! 

             I am sure all of you at one point or the other have wielded a brush , dipped it into some yummy paint and let the inborn artist in you have fun!
            Painting  must have given you the most enjoyment in childhood as at that point we didn't have to worry about which paint, what surface , will it work and what not!!
            Now there are so many different paints for different surfaces that for an average person it gets soooo confusing and the down side is that if you get it wrong all your hard work just literally flakes off !

             I was so excited about FolkArt Multi-Surface Acrylic Paints ,brought to us from PLAID [the manufacturers of amazing products such as Modpodge] because as the name suggests it is just that....a wonderful one stop solution...you can use it to paint on multiple surfaces such as:-

• Glass
• Ceramic
• Terracotta
• Plaster
• Thermocol[styrofoam]
• Clay
• Tiles
• WallS
• Wood
• Silk
• Fabric
• Canvas
• Plastic
• Concrete 

Yes that is a huuuge list!

And have a look at the amazing comparison chart from the PLAID website. All those little black dots above a paint's name show what the paint can be used for .

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Key Features of Folk Art Multi Surface Paints 

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

1. We all love to use paints that come in ready to use colors thus avoiding the trouble of mixing colors to get shades! These paints  are available in an amazing 40 colors ...in different variations such as bright ,soothing pastel and even chalky colors
2. They are absolutely non toxic hence ideal for use by crafters
3. They come in lightweight plastic bottles ---yes no cases of broken bottles if you knock over your paint!
4. The lid design of the bottle is a clever flip open type and yes that means easy replacing the lid and no hunting for lids ...makes it so much easier if you are a "in rush" and messy crafter like me! And as you know acrylic paints dry out fast and this type of lid design is a distinct advantage! 
5. The lid has a nozzle which is just the right size to allow you to squeeze out drops  of paint onto your palette. I found this a distinct advantage over the wide mouth usual paint bottles .
6. Since these paints can be used for multiple surfaces if you want to make matching items for your home eg if you want to paint a matching ceramic vase, wooden tray , paper mache box....you don't have to shop for different types of paints but just pick up the versatile Folk Art Multi Surface Paint   !

How to Prepare your surface for painting

Though we all like to jump right into painting here are a few tips to prepare your surface to get the best results [ From Plaid Website]

• Wood: Sand smooth with fine grit sandpaper, wipe away sawdust.
• Tin: Wash with soap and water; wipe with white vinegar dampened cloth, then rinse with water and let dry completely.
• Glass/Ceramic: Wash with soap and water; wipe with rubbing alcohol dampened cloth.
• Terra Cotta: Wipe clean; seal pot interior with paint or two coats of FolkArt Waterbase Sealer. If terra cotta will not be used as a planter, simply paint.
• Canvas: Wipe primed canvas clean; if unprimed, apply a couple coats of FolkArt Gesso Primer.
• Rigid Plastic: Wipe clean with damp cloth.
• Paper Mache: Wipe clean with damp cloth.
• Plaster: Wipe clean with damp cloth.
• Concrete: Coat with white vinegar, let dry, rinse, and dry thoroughly.
• Fabric: pre-wash in soap and water, dry thoroughly without fabric softener or dryer sheet.

Painting on Wood 

Wooden Hanger

        For some time I wanted  an extra  cloth hanger for my bedroom but wanted something unique and not the run of the mill store bought stuff. I had this wooden cloth hanger I had bought thinking I would decoupage it but felt lazy on thinking of decoupaging all those curved parts! When Shalini discussed  Folk Art Multi Surface Paints...I jumped at the chance to use it on my wooden cloth hanger!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Beginner's Painting Tip : If like me you plan to use white and other colors on a project ...finish off the other colors first as unless you are an especially clean and meticulous painter you will splatter colors on your white!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Once I painted to wood and metal parts in white and the most gorgeous chalky pink I used a sanding tool to gently sand and smoothen the blotchy less than perfect areas

Buying Tip : There is a really cute and handy Mod-podge Tool Kit available at Crafter's Corner with a useful Distressing and Sanding tool[awesome for card making and scrapbooking too], Squeegee[ super useful in decoupage], 3/4 inch flat brush [ perfect for painting large surfaces]apart from 2 handy scissors and a scale all neatly packed in a plastic see through pouch!

Sanding

Now let me confess I am not an artist in any sense of the word but I am sharing a few steps of how a total novice like myself  could achieve a lovely painted article!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

       I thought flowers were a good project for a beginner ! Love how cleverly the  bottle is designed and its easy to squeeze out just a drop or two of paint. The Folk Art Multi Surface Paints have a creamy consistency and are not running or too thick....just perfect for a beginner!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Many of you may be familiar with the famous One stroke Painting technique by Donna Dewberry if not do google and you will find amazing works and tutorials!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

I will not say my flowers and leaves are exactly the one stroke technique as mine are too amateur and simple. Double loaded an angular brush with 2 shades of paint and blended them by brushing on paper. You can use a flat brush you have.

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Since I was quite new to this type of thing I practised a few flowers on paper first and you can see how funny some of my trials look!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  Practise

Well in the end I managed to paint passable flowers!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

And it didnt look too bad against the white background !

Hand painting

Added a few leaves and it even started to look beautiful !

Handpainted wooden Hanger

         My husband usually is rather meagre with appreciative words on my creations but this simple handpainted project elicited a "wow" from him and yeah that made by day!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint

I painted a few "buds" on the edges of the hanger and added simple leaves.

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

The whole project was so simple and gratifying to do!!

Painted wooden Hanger

I was so happy at the success of my first handpainted project I ventured to make a matching accessory for my wooden hanger!

Wooden Basket

Decided to alter the wooden basket shown above in the same way

Modpodge kit

I used the brush from the Modpodge kit to paint my wooden basket white

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Now I was faster so my florals took less time

Handpainted Basket

          Shalini knows my obsession with adhesives so she sent me this wonderful glue from Modpodge called "wonder glue" in my DT kit !

Wonder Glue

It was perfect to add some heavy bling to my wooden basket!

wooden basket

Lined the sides of my basket with a pearl mat and also wound a string of pearls around the  top arch!

Wooden Basket

It was tricky to paint 5 petal flowers on the arch so I just swirled my brush and made "buds"

Wooden Basket

I also added swirled buds on the edges of the basket!

Handpainted Basket

Painting on Plastic

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

I am sure everyone will have some or the other plastic item at home just begging to be altered! Well I went to work with some plain takeaway containers

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Doesnt it look sweet!!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

         When trying Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  on plastic I found that it took on the colors well but if you really wanted an opaque covering you needed to use more paint if you are using the pastel shades.

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Painting on Metal

Metal Tin

I had this gorgeous heart shaped metal tin just waiting to be altered!

Stencil

Since Folk Art Multi Surface Paint work beautifully with stencils I tried using it with a Memory Box stencil I had

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

I used a stencil brush and Folk Art Multi Surface Paints to create a lacy design on the metal tin

stencil art

Though there was something charming about the lacy design I got I didnt quite like it !

Stencil Art

           Now here is what I really loved about the Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  .....they are easily washable! If you are not happy with what you painted...you can easily wipe it away or wash it off while it is still wet!

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

So after I washed the whole thing off I thought I would go the floral way again!

Double loaded my paint brush with vintage white and baby pink to paint simple daisies on the lid of the tin.

Simple daisies

        I didn't use brush strokes but rather just dabbed on the paint using the edge of the brush and I love the slightly textured look that left on the metal surface!

Handpainted Daisies

For an amateur handpainted project I feel rather happy about it!

Handpainted Tin

What do you think my friends?

Handpainted Tin

The Folk Art Multi Surface Paints are so popular in crafting circuits and they come in such beautiful color shades that they are fast selling out ! 

Here are the links to the list of supplies used :
Supplies Used

Mod Podge Tool Kit

Folk Art Multi Surface Paint  

Mod Podge Wonder Glue

Pollen