April's Review	Andrea's Review	Chris' Review	Penny's Review	Karen's Review

Review by April

I have always loved the look of crackle paint, however I don't use it very often because the process always seems complicated and takes to long. When I found out Ranger Industries had created a new Distress Crackle Paint that only involved one step, I knew I had to try it!

For this review, I received 5 Distress Crackle Paint jars in an amazing variety of colors.
*Broken China (a beautiful aqua/teal color)
*Worn Lipstick (a very vibrant pink)
*Milled lavender (a pale light lavender)
*Aged Mahogany (a deep mauve like red)
*Fired Brick (a deep vibrant red)

Each of the Crackle Paints were in 1.1 fl.oz bottles, and came with their own brush cap applicator. The absolute coolest thing about this product is the fact that it only requires one-step! It starts to crackle while it's drying, and because the applicator is in the cap, there's no mess. For fine cracks you simply apply a medium coat, and for larger cracks you apply a heavy coat. Although I found that the drying time was really quite short, you do have the option of speeding the process up by heating it after the first cracks appear. Each of the new Distress Crackle Paint colors also coordinate with Ranger's 24 Distress Inks, and embossing powders. The bottle said you could use it on cardstock, chipboard, paper mache, canvas, wood, and more...so of course I tried to experiment on as many surfaces as I could!

I wanted to use the crackle paint on a set of butterfly wings for my first project! I drew a set of wings on some white cardstock with a charcoal pencil, then painted the inside of them with Aged Mahogany Distress Crackle Paint. After drying, I colored around them with a brown twistable, cut them out and adhered them next to my photo. I also painted the chipboard crown and edges of my cardstock with the crackle paint. I added rub-ons, a jeweled brad, and glitter pen doodling to complete the layout.

Title: You are...
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: White Prismatic)
Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger: in Aged Mahogany)
Pens (American Crafts & Sakura)
Twistables (Crayola in brown)
Brad (Karen Foster)
Rub-ons (October Afternoon, Junkitz)
Chipboard (7gypsies)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I used the Fired Brick Distress Crackle Paint to cover the front of a chipboard binder for my second project. I used two coats to achieve the crackle look I desired and then used my fingers to rub ink from a Distress Ink pad in the same Fired Brick color, all over the cover. This made the cracks stand out more and really had an interesting affect! I used Ranger alcohol inks to color the jeweled brads. I decorated the cover with ribbon, flowers, chipboard, dymo labels, and plastic letters. I'm going to use this binder as a reference for all the different medium colors I have.

Title: Color Play Mini Album
Products used:
Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger: in Fired Brick)
Distress Ink pad (Ranger: in Fired Brick)
Alcohol Ink (Ranger: Adirondack Alcohol Ink in Stream, Red Pepper, Meadow, & Lettuce)
Flowers (Prima)
Brads (Imaginisce, & Making Memories)
Ribbon (Tie One on Ribbon Club, & personal stash)
Letters (Heidi Swapp)
Chipboard (Scenic Route)
Dymo Labels (Brother P-Touch)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

After using the crackle paints on cardstock, chipboard, and a couple of other surfaces, I decided to paint a wooden plaque for my third project. I applied two coats each of Milled Lavender, Worn Lipstick, and Broken China to the wooden plaques. I then applied matching distress ink over the blue and pink plaque and a darker shade of purple distress ink over the milled lavender board. I added rub-ons, a little bling, some Stickles glitter glue, sequin flowers, and ribbon to complete the project.

Title: Creativity Plaque
Products used:
Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger: in Broken China, Worn Lipstick, & Milled Lavender)
Distress Ink Pad (Ranger: in Broken China, Worn Lipstick, & Milled Lavender)
Stickles (Ranger: in Lavender)
Rub-ons (Autumn Leaves)
Sequins (Queen & Company)
Rhinestones (Heidi Swapp)
Brads (Karen Foster)
Ribbon (personal stash)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Pop Dots)

I was very impressed with the new Distress Crackle Paint! I see a lot more crackle painting in my future since it's only a one step process and it dries so quickly. Even though the paint was very thick and I applied more than 1 coat on some of the projects, I still have plenty left in each bottle to cover several more projects. The paint colors are fun, eye catching, and coordinate with a variety of other colors. I would recommend this product to all crafters. It's an easy way to add a unique finish to a variety of surfaces. Seriously...what's not to love!

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Review by Andrea

The pinnacle of distress is when the look of something is old, worn and just plain beat up. The advent of Ranger's Distress Crackle Paint takes time out of the natural aging process by making the object look old WAY before it's time. A modern spin of adding vibrant color to the process makes the on-looker really ponder the conundrum of something aged naturally or prematurely by the addition of external effects. Hmmmm, pretty interesting I say!

We received 5 of the 24 different Distress Crackle colors, all coordinating with the Distress Ink and Embossing Powders. Ranger is SO good at making their mediums match! The plastic bottles are 2 1/4" in height and contain 1.1 fluid ounces of crackle paint. Labels colored the same as the paint inside the bottle wrap around the outside for easy identification and direction reading. The lids screw off to reveal a brush attached to the inside of the lid, reminding me of the old rubber cement bottles we had in grammar school! The consistency of the paint is like thick pancake batter - solid in color, creamy and smooth.

The absolute BEST part of this new invention is that it is a ONE STEP crackle process! Ever wanted quick crackle aging on a project? It never will happen with traditional crackle products - enter Ranger with Distress Crackle. Pretty amazing stuff actually and great for crafting away from home with no extra tools required. AND in 24 colors!

I HAD to try this product out on a page with a photo of Tim Holtz himself, taken at a recent CKU event. The paint went on the photo well with the included brush. It was quickly clear that thin layers would dry fast with small cracks and "lumpier" layers would reveal larger cracks. What is also an interesting observation is that the color from underneath is not revealed as clearly as traditional multi-step crackle paint. Since I was looking for more of a color differentiation, I sanded the dried paint. Parts of the cracked surface plus top layer of the photo came off in places, adding a great distressed and worn look. Stippling some ink around the edges of the page and some stamping was all the page needed beyond the photo distressing.

Title: "heart" Tim Holtz
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: Intense Pink)
Patterned Paper (Urban Lily)
Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger: Peeled Paint)
Distress Ink (Ranger: Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick, Black Soot)
Stamps (Inque Boutique and Autumn Leaves)
Ghost Shapes and Chipboard Letters (Heidi Swapp)
Overlay (Luxe Designs)
Bling (Prima)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

The next project was using a porous surface, chipboard. The raw chipboard brackets were painted with the light purple Crackle Paint to accent the stamped images in the center mosaic portion. Since the paint was a little light for the card, I used a "direct to paper" technique to apply a darker purple Distress Ink on top of the dried crackle. This handy tip was on the bottle! It changed the overall color to a deeper shade while filling in the cracks to show more detail - CLEVER!

Title: Butterfly "HI" Card
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: Classic Purple, Butter Cream, White)
Patterned Paper (BasicGrey LilyKate)
Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger: Milled Lavender)
Distress Ink (Ranger: Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender)
Embossing Powder (Sparkle n' Sprinkle: Grape Glory; Ranger: Clear)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

My last project was for a home decor piece that came as a dark blue colored wooden sign. I applied the pink crackle to every surface. This close-up really shows the difference of a thickly painted area (larger cracks) to a thinner layer (small cracks) after drying. The entire piece was inked with Faded Jeans Distress Ink to tone down the pink and to fill in the cracks with a similar tone to the base wood color.

The flowers were stamped with StazOn ink onto the cracked surface as a final touch. With some of the handling, the crackle chipped off to reveal the darker base coat. I love the final result! I did find that long, deep cracks did not occur as might with traditional multi-step crackle. I found that chipping some of the Distress Crackle off revealed the underlying paint layer which basically provided the same color differentiation result, minus the big cracks.

Title: "Wish" Home Decor Sign
Products used: Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger: Worn Lipstick)
Distress Ink (Ranger: Faded Jeans)
Stamp (Autumn Leaves)
Ink (Tsukineko StazOn)
Ribbon and Fabric (Tie One On Ribbon)
"WISH" Wooden Sign (The Rag Shop)

I really enjoyed working with this product and can't wait to try every color! I can just imagine the different color effects that can be achieved by layering paint and ink - practically limitless! The simple one-step application is tremendously easy. I did have a little trouble with the inside of the cap coming loose and sticking to the top of the bottle, but a little nudging back into the cap resolved the problem. I found that the application of the Distress Crackle Paint was not as directional as classic crackle - meaning if the crackle was applied left to right, the brush strokes did not seem to "guide" the cracks as much as with a multi-step process. On the other hand, I felt I had more control over the crackle performance.

Overall, this is a good distressing product and I can see lots of applications for it in crafting. It's easy and straightforward to use to get yet another aged and worn result. Try some out when you get the chance!

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Review by Chris

The chemists at Ranger are like magicians – they create magical product that does amazing things when applied to paper. The newest thing in their bag of tricks is Distress Crackle Paint. This one-step water-based paint cracks as it dries, resulting in “decades of distress” in just a few minutes. I had heard about this paint a few months ago and could not wait for it to hit the market. When I found out that ScrapFriends was reviewing it, I was very excited, and even more excited when I learned I would be a part of the review.

The paint comes in the same colors as the 24 colors of distress inks and distress embossing powders, enhancing perfectly Ranger’s distress line of products. It is packed in 1.1 oz bottles with an applicator brush that is part of the screw-off cap. The amount of cracking achieved when the paint dries depends on the thickness of the application: a medium coat will yield fine cracks whereas a thick coat will give you heavier cracks.

I first tried the paint on a piece of chipboard. After applying the paint, I waited for the cracks to appear. This paint does take some time to dry and at first I was worried that I had done something wrong, because I couldn’t see anything happening. So, remembering past experiences of watching for something to happen, I left the room to do some laundry. I returned in about 10 minutes and the magic had happened!!! My chipboard had a crackled surface. I definitely noticed that in those areas where I had applied more paint, the cracks were further apart. This paint is very thick and while I was applying it, I worried about brush marks, which were very hard to avoid given the paint’s thickness. However, my worry was needless, because as the paint dried the brush marks completely disappeared and the cracks revealed themselves.

Here is a close-up of my first attempt. To highlight the cracks I applied aged mahogany distress ink over the painted surface. The ink did alter the color of the painted area as well as accentuate the cracking.

I further embellished the chipboard piece using a technique by Robin Beam as shown on her blog. She calls this the Bandana Technique, which is perfectly named as the combination of the colored background with the black stamp and the white pen accents looks just like a bandana!

Spooky card
Products used: Paint (Ranger, Distress Crackle Paint, Spiced Marmalade)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink, Aged Mahogany; Stewart Superior, Memories, Black)
Stamp (Kolette Hall for Studio G)
Rub-ons (Making Memories)
Patterned paper (Tim Coffey for K&Co.)
Chipboard (Powder Keg)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Tape Runner)

I painted a second piece of chipboard, this time using the frame of a chipboard letter. As I was rubbing the distress ink into the cracks using a piece of Cut N’ Dry foam, I noticed that small pieces of the paint were coming off. I actually liked this effect, as it made the piece look even more distressed. But a word of caution, don’t rub too hard if you don’t want this to happen. The patterned paper on this layout was created using watercolor paper and distress inks, in a monoprinting technique.

Sunset layout
Products used: Paint (Ranger Distress Crackle Paint, Spiced Marmalade)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade; Tsukineko, Versamark; Stewart Superior, Memories, black)
Cardstock (Prism, Prismatics, Nautical Blue Medium, Black)
Watercolor paper (Canson)
Stamps (Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz, Scratches; Autumn Leaves, Flourishes)
Chipboard (Powder Keg)
Rub-ons (Making Memories)
Corner rounder (EK Success)
Rhinestones (Westrim)
Pen (Uniball Signo, white)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Tape Runner)

The crackle look created by this paint reminds me of the crazing that occurs on old pottery. I decided this would be a perfect look for a Spellbinders die set I recently received. I wondered how the crackle paint, applied to cardstock, would stand up when die cut. I painted a medium layer of shabby shutters Distress Crackle Paint to a piece of white cardstock. After it dried, I rubbed it with weathered wood Distress Ink. The ink accentuated the cracks without altering significantly the color of the crackle paint. Perfect! Now, to see what would happen when I die cut it. My first attempt was a little disappointing – come of the crackle paint came off the finer parts of the die cut piece. I realized that perhaps my paint was not totally dry, so I tried again after waiting over night, and the second attempt was perfect! I was able to cut out the tiny tea cup with a very finely detailed handle and absolutely none of the crackle paint came off the piece.!

For the finished card, I applied Ranger Glossy Accents to the tea pot and cups and now they look just like miniature antique porcelain pieces. I love this look!

La Dolce Vita card
Products used: Paint (Ranger Distress Crackle Paint, Shabby Shutters, Brushed Corduroy)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink, Weathered Wood; Stewart Superior, Memories, Artprint Brown)
Stamp (Rubber Romance)
Patterned paper (All My Memories)
Ribbon (Maya Road)
Adhesive (Ranger, Glossy Accents; Adhesive Tech, Permanent Tape Runner)
Lace Handkerchief; staples

One-step crackle paint is a fantastic invention. I love the fact that now there is a distress paint to coordinate with the other Ranger Distress products and that it is water-based with its own integral applicator. I can see many uses for this paint and it is absolutely a product that you will want to put on your must-have list!!

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Review by Penny

I've been waiting for months to get my hands on the new Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint and it was well worth the wait!

The Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint is a one-step distressing process available in 24 different colors that coordinate with the Distress Inks and Distress Embossing Powders. I received five of the paint colors: scattered straw, old paper, peeled paint, spiced marmalade and brushed corduroy. The jars retail for around $4.50 each.

To use, simply open the 1.1 oz. jar and paint on a thick or thin coating to your cardstock, chipboard and more with the attached applicator brush. A thick coating will provide some deeper cracking while a thin coat will provide fine cracks. The paint dries in about 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the application. The thickness of the paint surprised me. It is similar to an all-purpose liquid glue, much thicker than acrylic paints. The brush makes the application completely mess free and super easy!

I altered a wood frame for my first project. I primed the frame with one coat of acrylic paint. Once that had dried, I applied two thick coats of Distress Crackle Paint letting each coat dry after it was applied. I wasn't sure how far the paint would go, but I was happy to see that I still have plenty left over for other projects.

Title: Altered Frame
Supplies:
Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger in "Scattered Straw")
Wood Frame (Provo Craft)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink)
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics "Island Mist Dark")
Diamond Dust (The Scrapbooking Society)
Chalk (Craf-T)
Gloss Glaze (Making Memories)
Adhesive (Ad Tech "A Fine Line...Finishing Touch")
Transparency overlay (Hambly)

I applied one layer of crackle paint to two different pieces of chipboard for my next project.

Title: Goal Setter

Crackle Paint Detail
Supplies:
Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger in "Brushed Corduroy" and "Peeled Paint")
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics "Island Mist Dark")
Patterned Paper, Tags, Die Cut Alphabet, Flowers, and Stickers (BasicGrey-Infuse and Urban Couture Collections)
Chipboard (Fancy Pants, Magistical Memories)
Chalk (Craf-T)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Zig 2-Way Glue)
Marker (Stampin' Up!)
Bird Patterns (Scrapbooks Etc.--August/September 2007)

If you enjoy any kind of distressing on your projects you need to give the Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint a try! It's the coolest thing since the introduction of the Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers and now I want to collect them all!

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Review by Karen

I must say that I am very excited to be reviewing the Ranger product called “Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint.” There are 24 paints each matching one of the 24 Distressing Inks and embossing powders. For my review, I received 5 of the colors; Milled Lavender, China Blue, Antique Linen, Shabby Shutters, and Frayed Burlap.

Each of the bottles is 1.1 fluid ounce and has a brush attached to the lid. The directions on the bottle say that the paint can be used on “cardstock, chipboard, paper mache and more”. I got very excited about being able to use the paint on cardstock, since 75% of the things I create are scrapbook pages. I started both layouts by painting cardstock with two different colors of paint.

My first page uses the Milled Lavender paint. I started with a cream colored cardstock and painted a large section with the paint. I made sure that the paint was thin in some places and thicker in others. I really love how the paint cracked without having to paint a base, then a crackle medium and then the top coat. This is a one step paint. I then used punches to cut out shapes. On the heart the crackle painted cardstock is the mat with the same cream paper on the top.

Title: Kissed by Angels
Products used:
Cardstock Butter Cream (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (BasicGrey)
Paint (Distress Crackle Paint, Ranger)
Letter stickers (American Crafts)
Punches (EK Success)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

My second page started with me painting a large stripe with the China Blue paint. I love this color! It really works well with the Prism Nautical Blue light paper. The paint itself was very easy to use. It’s a fairly thick paint that spreads easily using the brush from the lid.

Title: ice cream
Products used:
Cardstock Nautical Blue Light(Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (American Crafts)
Letter stickers (American Crafts)
Punches (EK Success)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I am very impressed with this paint. For the first time ever, watching paint dry was fun! The range of colors of paint is wonderful and I love that they match the inks. This will make matching a crackle paint background to a stamped image so easy. The only problem that I encountered was my cardstock curled. I’m sure that this won’t happen with chipboard or paper mache.

If you love the Distress Inks, then you are going to need these paint! Ranger has taken a process that used to be long with many steps and turned it into a one step process. I love how easy these are to use and I am sure that you will too!

For more information visit Ranger