Crafting science...

Hi there craft happy people!

Over at http://scrapsofcolor.ning.com/ there is a discussion entitled "What are you lovin' on right now?"  One of the ladies there mentioned that she loved using modeling paste or texture paste.  She also said that although she buys many different brands of the mixture, she makes her own.  Now that caught my attention immediately! I tend to be very cheap when it comes to buying craft supplies.  I want more bang for my buck.  And spending between $8.00 and $12.00 for a little jar of modeling paste seems out of my league you could say.  I asked for her recipe and she generously provided the YouTube link that she used to create the mixture.

Now....laugh at me now, get it all out of your system.....ready?

I didn't have talcum powder in the house.  I didn't have a new box of baking soda in the house.  Aaaah, but I did have oatmeal bath treatment in the house!  It's powdery right? And so I decided, what the heck? Can't hurt to try!  So while I'm sitting here at my desk, cutting a homemade brick stencil to try using (cause I'm also too dang cheap to buy one of those too!) and listening to a strange sound that I can't figure out....I turn the tv down, I'm crawling on my hands and knees around the room, I keep going over to the windows and listening, and then I head for the dog....Yup, it's him. He's SNORING!  Anyway, I digress ..... out comes the  white acrylic paint, ModPodge, a mini plastic storage container, popsicle stick, newspaper, and yes, the oatmeal bath treatment.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, I didn't bother - as usual - with pesky measurements.  I figured that I was only testing it, so there was no need to make a big batch of it. And so I mixed the paint, ModPodge, and oatmeal bath treatment...stirred....mmm, too grey looking....in goes more white acrylic paint, mmmm....too thin....more oatmeal bath treatment....Eureka! The perfect consistency. Not too thick, not too thin.  Of course, depending upon the amounts of liquid that you use will determine how thick or thin it will  become.

This is the result:

Homemade modeling/textured paste

I like that it dries rather quickly. And because of this, you definitely have to keep it in a container that has a lid.  It doesn't flake off when rubbed. It does have good flexibility too.  It didn't crack when I bent the card stock this way and that.  And there's a very fine grittyness to the feel of it.  And I figure that you can definitely add whatever color acrylic paint color that you like; like greens for leaves of flowers and trees, and adding different tones of brown and tan for bricks. So many possibilities!

It's been about three hours since my little science experiment. I just checked the container to see if it's dried out. So far, so good.  Will check again in the morning to see if it retains its moisture and smoothness.

Thank you QP for your help....this is going to be one of those things that I'm lovin' on right now!

P.S.....here's a link for making your own modeling/texture paste: http://youtu.be/BX9XRhcw6ao. Plus, there are several other homemade versions on YouTube using household products.

Now, are you still laughing?

Thanks for checking in with me. Leave me a comment and let me know if you try it!

Bye for now,
Hugs+Kisses
Renee