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Dollhouse Minis: http://joannesminis.blogspot.com


18” Dolls: http://joannes18dolls.blogspot.com/


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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Paints I Use for Miniatures


It seems like I am getting more questions about the paints I use lately than about anything else. My feeling has always been that for every person that asks a question there are several more people with the same or a very similar question that don't ask it. So from time to time when I start to get a lot of questions on a given topic you will find a blog post and a video where I try to cover the things I have been asked.

The topic of paint is so wide that today I am basically just going to try to explain some of the basics about the three types I use the most.

Number one paint in my supplies has to be the basic craft paint. I love this stuff and use it in all kinds of crafting. It is cheap has easy clean-up (as long as you get to it while it is still wet) and comes in a multitude of colors. I like being able to know that when I use a specific color on a project I can use the very same color later. That is almost impossible when you are mixing colors for each project. I admit freely that my preferred brand of craft paint is Deco-Art Ceramcoat. I know it costs a few cents more but I find I can usually get by with only a coat or two of it as opposed to some of the other brands that require more coats. I also find the colors it comes in more attractive personally and therefore fit into my projects better. Now don't get me wrong I own a lot of brands of craft paint, I buy what I can when I can when I am need of different colors. I am also guilty of picking up interesting colors when I find them on sale (hence the fact that I have drawers of paint as opposed to a drawer of paint) Craft paint is really easy to find, at least here where I live it is. I can pick up more paint at almost any store that has even a small aisle of craft supplies. I do know some miniaturists that think that craft paint is beneath their abilities and insist on mixing a higher quality paint for every project. Personally I find a lot of inspiration in seeing all the colors in front of me and I love to look at the colors.

Next up in the video is glass stain paint. My favorite is still Gallery Glass, I know that in some places it is getting harder to come by but so far I have been lucky in that regard. Just keep in mind that the paint in the bottle really looks very little like it will when it dries. I always do a sample each time I am going to a project just to make sure how the color will look.

The last paint in the video was the Scribbles fabric paint. This is a 3-D fabric paint and again it comes in many colors. I use it a lot for sauces on my mini polymer clay foods. I love that it dries with a bit of shine so it looks like a sauce without having to be coated with a finish.

I have been using all three of these products with baked polymer clay for many years and have never had a problem. That being said if the polymer clay companies re-formulate their clays again you never know. For this reason I do recommend testing any products you plan to use together before you tackle a large project.

All of these paints that I talked about today are soap and water clean up while they are still wet. Once they dry it is a totally different matter especially with the craft paint and the Scribbles, those will pretty much bond permanently to whatever they are painted on once dry and will be next to impossible to remove. Be sure to immediately wash out any brushes you use and clean up any spills too. 


 

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