The Dab – Painting with Plastic Bags

What’s in the Box?
Challenge Your Creativity

Who says you need a paint brush to actually apply paint!? Alright, okay, you probably need a paint brush in most cases. However, if you’re looking for a different technique with a different finish, give plastic bags a try. In this post we’ll cover how you can use plastic bags to add depth and character to your projects. And we’ll run you through the steps using our lovely “What’s in the Box?” products of the week!

If you’re new to our fave blog series, welcome to this magic part of the internet. We like to inspire and challenge creativity and we hope you leave this blog feeling ready to tackle your projects with greater insight and possibility! “What’s in the Box?” does so by challenging you to use colors, products, techniques you would normally stray away from. Each week we post a new project, completed with 3-4 “mystery” colors, unknown to the user prior to starting said project. We like to keep things interesting around here.

Products

This week, we had a special color – Fresh Mint. Part of our new limited collection. It’s a great crisp green color perfect for baby’s room, or embellish it with some darker glazes/waxes for a more serious tone. Also used this week:

• Canadian Shield
• Navajo White
• Copper Metallix

Terracotta Painting

This week, a terracotta pot project was completed. A quick note on painting terracotta: it won’t absorb the paint quite like wood, but it does a pretty good job of adhering to the surface. Again, using light layers will provide the best coverage.

For the base coat of this project, Navajo White was used. Alright, we said a paint brush wasn’t needed, but in this case, a paint brush was used to apply the base coats. Our lovely painter didn’t want a full, perfect coverage, so only a few coats were added. If you wanted a better, complete base, feel free to add an extra layer or two.

Plastic Bags!

Now the fun part! After the base color had dried, Canadian Shield and Fresh Mint were added. They were both applied with a plastic bag! If you want to try this technique, grab a plastic bag – one from the grocery store is perfect. Scrunch it up into a ball tip then dab into the paint. Dab onto your project.

Once you’ve reached the desired effect, add your second choice color. In this case, Fresh Mint was added. The colors are similar shades and complement each other nicely!

After you are satisfied with coverage and the dimension achieved, seal as is or, in this case, add some more paint! The Copper Metallix was added to give a little extra sparkle and glitter. It was applied by dabbing as well, but also, the ridge of the pot was painted to cover the original terracotta.

Didn’t she do a fantastic job? Now it’s your turn. Give it a shot, with the What’s in the box products, or try your own! And make sure to share your projects with us for a chance to be featured here on the blog! As well as be entered into a draw to win a $100 gift box of beloved APC products.