Hey y’all! I found a barrel while thrifting and made a top for it on a recent live. Click here for the blog post and video!
Today I decided to give the top and the barrel a chippy, crackle finish. I love how it turned out!

Here’s what I used:
Debi’s Design Diary DIY Paint: Prom Queen and Aviary, The Lab Barn Red
Dollar Tree: School glue (for crackle effect)
Amazon: Scraper, (Amazon has a heat tool), sanding sponge (This is an Amazon affiliate link and I may receive a small compensation for items purchased from this link.)
Stash: Palette knife
Other: sawdust (You might try sand instead)

These are the finished pieces, now let’s see how it all came together!



I was inspired by this piece. You can see the red and green underneath the cream. I decided to use blue instead of the cream.

I started with a scattered coat of the barn red, working on just a small section at a time, from top to bottom.
Next I added some green in the same manner, just spotchy patches between the red.
While the paint was still wet, I used my scraper to remove any excess.
I then dried the section with my heat tool.

Not even kidding, y’all, this is Dollar Tree school glue! Just put it on like you see here, then use a paint brush to cover the section with glue.
In the last image, I’m putting sawdust over the glue. Mine is super fine sawdust, because that’s what I had, but more coarse is better to create a nice texture.
Once the sawdust is on, just pat it into the glue.
Dry with a heat tool.

We now have the following layers:
Red, green, glue, sawdust…. let’s add some blue!
I’m using the palette knife to apply this last layer.

Here’s the section before scraping some of the blue off.

Gently scraping reveals the other layers and adds more interest to the finish!

Drying with my heat tool, and I’m loving this result!

Here’s the lid I finished earlier today. I used the same method, and it aged the wood perfectly!

Continue all around the barrel, remembering to work a section at a time.

If you have paint on the metal, just use a sanding sponge to remove it.

Any excess buildup of paint can be removed with the scraper.

Y’all. This is exactly what I was going for! I’m in love with this project!

Let me know in the comments what you think of this technique! It’s always nice to read your comments!
Thank you for stopping by,
XOXO-Erin
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