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Stitching & Crafting Room:  Questions about Folk Art Paint  |
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Autumn
Farmgirl in Training
44 Posts
Holly
Ontario
Canada
44 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 08 2014 : 09:45:08 AM
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I've been getting back into my crafting niche but I'm really struggling with craft paint. I haven't used craft paint in probably seven to ten years. Things have certainly changed it seems. Only Michaels carries craft paint, no other place in my city does, not even Walmart which I know it did during the 90's. All I could choose between was Folk Art, Martha Stewart, and Apple Barrel. I've used Apple before and was really disappointed with it, it was too translucent and the colours were garish, so I chose to buy Folk Art instead. I'm really struggling with it. I've noticed that now the caps have a wider hole for pouring paint, so I end up using more paint than I want to use. I also noticed that even though I purchased all the same kind of craft paint some colours are thicker than others. The black and white paint is super thick whereas my red and orange paints are thin and runny. I've tried to thin the thicker paints with a blender which has helped a little. My problem is that the thin paints, although they look vibrant in the bottle, need multiple coats to show up on top of other paints.
I'm sure many of the members here know the name Donna Dewberry and her one-stroke technique, well these paints are so thin/translucent there's no way they can be used for that technique. I've had to build up coats and when I do it just ends up getting this nasty gummy texture of built up paint. It almost looks like dried crusty toothpaste. I've had to start my projects over multiple times, I just don't know what to do with these thin paints! It was never a problem when I was younger, what did they do to them, change the recipe?! Does anyone know what I can do? Am I supposed to add something to the paint or am I just not supposed to layer paints over top of one another any more?
Thanks!
*AUTUMN* |
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kysheeplady
True Blue Farmgirl
1291 Posts
Teri
KY
USA
1291 Posts |
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Autumn
Farmgirl in Training
44 Posts
Holly
Ontario
Canada
44 Posts |
Posted - Aug 08 2014 : 5:57:56 PM
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Hi Teri!
That is the craft paint I'm using. I can imagine it would work alright on fabric because fabric absorbs the paint. I'll be using it on a fabric in the future so I'm glad it at least works for that. I'm trying to use it on surfaces like wood and papier mache and it's just not working out. I noticed many reviewers through Amazon have complained about the same things I have, the consistency seems to be lacking, some colours are thin and some are too thick. I found my white paint looked clumpy, I'm hoping it's not drying out like some people have experienced. I was told not to mix water with the paint when using it on wood/paper, which is why I purchased the blender. One gentleman said he used Gesso to thicken the paint up but the only Gesso I can buy is white and will lighten any colour I mix it with. It's really frustrating how gummy this paint can get. I find I'm spending all my time doing multiple coats just to get the saturation I require. Maybe in the future I'll have to do things backward and start with light colours adding dark overtop, but for what I want to use it for that method is kind of a pain. Hopefully I'll find something soon. |
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kysheeplady
True Blue Farmgirl
1291 Posts
Teri
KY
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2014 : 04:39:44 AM
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Autumn,
What paint does Donna Dewberry use in the one stroke instruction?
I could see that paper mache would be hard to cover anyway. I think it would absorb most all of th paint anyway.
Are you or can you use oil paint?
Teri
"There are black sheep in every flock"
www.whitesheepfarm.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/whitesheepprimitive |
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Autumn
Farmgirl in Training
44 Posts
Holly
Ontario
Canada
44 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2014 : 10:07:01 AM
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Hi Teri,
Donna Dewberry uses Folk Art brand craft paint, which is why it surprises me that this doesn't work well for her one-stroke technique. There also isn't much support for Folk Art brand paint, all I've been able to find is similar complaints made by customers and a lot of tutorials from people using it for very different purposes (like airbrush/nail art). I don't really want to use oil paint because it takes too long to dry and it's kind of messy, but I might opt for a more expensive fine art acrylic paint just because they tend to be thicker. It's just way more money than I'd like to be spending for a craft project. It's too bad craft paint has changed so much in recent years, I really enjoyed using them in my craft making when I was younger. Even my mom was very dependent on the Folk Art and Americana paints for making her crafts. |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2014 : 5:29:15 PM
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Huh. I've used Folk Art craft paints for years and have always found them to be very good. Never noticed a difference in consistency from one color to the next. I wonder if there's a bad batch out there, or maybe they've started making some of the paints in different areas (China?) or something like that. I sure would complain to the store.
Now that a lot of paint stores offer little sample jars of wall paints for a couple of dollars, maybe that's a way to go. Just spoon out what you need onto a paper plate, or dip your brush right into the can/jar. Home Deport will even custom mix sample cans (I think they are 4 ounces) in all the colors and different finishes they sell, so you could get quite a nice little collection for very little money. Just an idea. I haven't tried it, just makes sense. |
Edited by - Rosemary on Aug 09 2014 5:32:09 PM |
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Autumn
Farmgirl in Training
44 Posts
Holly
Ontario
Canada
44 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2014 : 6:56:31 PM
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| That's a good idea Rosemary, I know Habitat carries small cans of paint sometimes too. I'm not sure why these Folk Art paints are so thin. Some are and some aren't. People complain that it's usually the bright colours that are too thin, maybe it has to do with how they're mixed? Two of my paints are labelled mutli-surface and they're pretty runny. A dark brown that I picked up is really runny too. I'm wondering if it is a manufacturing issue. I've seen people complaining that they'll get the paint home and find it's all clumpy, which might mean it's getting too much air and drying out. I was checking the labels and noticed some were produced in 2012 or 2013, a few from 2009 and one says 1997! I bought these two months ago. I imagine they have some shelf life but for one to come from Oct of '97 is a little worrisome, I'm hoping it's a typo. |
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kysheeplady
True Blue Farmgirl
1291 Posts
Teri
KY
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2014 : 05:13:30 AM
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Autumn,
That is what I was going to say ... maybe they are old. I do know that I had a brown that squeezed out like toothpaste and then I had a leaf green color, even after I shook it up it had an oil like substance come out ... really weird. But I use more darker colors so when I add water to them for the fabric it does thin a lighten them up. Could be a bad batch. I love the folk art paint they have great colors.
Teri
"There are black sheep in every flock"
www.whitesheepfarm.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/whitesheepprimitive |
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Autumn
Farmgirl in Training
44 Posts
Holly
Ontario
Canada
44 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2014 : 05:57:04 AM
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Hey Teri,
It's possible the thicker paints have too much air and they are from a bad batch, but if that's the case then that means there could be a lot of bad paint sitting on store shelves. The oil you're describing happens when the paint separates after a period of being unused, I've had that before too. I'm still surprised the one bottle of paint came from 1997. I'm going to contact the company and see what they say. |
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kysheeplady
True Blue Farmgirl
1291 Posts
Teri
KY
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2014 : 06:09:47 AM
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I would too ... I think it doesn't sell fats enough at the stores so they just forget about it.
I hope they will (they should) do something for you. I would be interested to hear what they say.
Good luck.
Teri
"There are black sheep in every flock"
www.whitesheepfarm.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/whitesheepprimitive |
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Stitching & Crafting Room: Questions about Folk Art Paint |
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Questions about Folk Art Paint
