Not Created Equal

All paints are not created equal. I discovered that fact this week when making some Gelli prints with a different kind of paint than I typically use for my ATC backgrounds.

The DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic craft paint from the dollar store has been the paint of choice up until now. The colour selection is not huge but there's enough variety for my needs and it is easy to blend colours to get a custom palette.

What I don't like about it though is the dull, grainy finish when it's dry. A coat of Mod Podge gives it a sheen and brightens the colours but then it is hard to stamp or use marker on top of it without smudging.

I picked up some Time 4 Crafts acrylic paint in tubes a while back on clearance at a discount store. There was only a few colours to choose from, but I picked up one of each one (about 5 in total).

This paint dries with a glossy finish that I like so I thought they might be good to make Gelli prints with. Which leads me back to my opening statement...All paints are not created equal.

You don't need to use as much of the Time 4 Crafts paint as you do the dollar store craft paint. I put down way too much! It spreads differently with the brayer too. By different, I don't mean good or bad, just different. My first attempts are less than favourable in my eyes. Frankly, the word 'ugly' comes to mind.

 

I think it is going to take a bit more practice with this paint before I get results that I'm happy with. Now, I have to decide what to do with these (plus three others) to rescue them from the horrible fate of getting thrown into the shredding pile.

Perhaps some stencilling will help, or a coat of white paint on top to mute the colours down a bit. What would you suggest?