Spooky Castle Craft with Crackle Paint Medium  

By: Renee

Been wondering how to use crackle with acrylic paint? Here’s an easy crackle paint Halloween craft idea for adults.

This castle did not start out as a spooky craft for Halloween.

Nope. 

It was designed to be a pretty, cheerful princess castle. When I took it home along with a stack of other cutouts, I had a definite picture in my head of what it would look like. 

In fact, I had even stocked up on peach paint, coral paint, and rose gold metallic markers.

So how did it turn into this deliciously creepy Halloween craft, with a crackle paint effect?

Here’s what happened: 

It was May. I had all these new cutouts in my house, waiting to be crafted. I had lots of exciting supplies. I did not have time. So the cutouts sat there unfinished, waiting. 

Finally, in June, I went on a crafting spree. I was going all out, trying out a bunch of new techniques and mediums. When I got to trying the crackle medium, I had a brainwave: the castle would make a perfect crackle craft! Now, not all my outlandish ideas turn out looking the way they did in my head. But this time I was right. 

The crackle paint effect worked beyond my wildest imagination. I discovered a new, quicker crackle medium, and the poor castle got spookied instead of prettied! 

Turns out, the pretty princess castle can also be a really fun, easy Halloween craft.

Here’s how to get that crackle paint effect:

1. Paint the cutout

Paint the whole surface including the edges with dark gray acrylic paint, and let it dry completely.

2. Apply the medium

Apply a thick layer of DecoArt one-step crackle medium with a paintbrush. The thicker the layer, the more it crackles, so use more than you think necessary!

3. Watch it crackle

While it dries, stand and watch the paint crack, and crackle, and age before your very eyes. It’s pretty magical!

4. Add a touch

After it dries, use a paper towel to rub a very little bit of light gray paint over the castle, and into the wood. Then gently wipe off whatever’s on the top surface so it only settles in the cracks, and makes them pop more.

It’s that easy. 

Our photographer drew doors and windows – you can add or leave out embellishments as you like. Oh – and in case you were feeling bad for the creepified castle, not to worry. We painted a cute version also.

Want more creepy Halloween craft ideas?

These are some of our creep-iest wood crafts for Halloween:

12″ Wood Castle Cutout

$5.23

10″ Wooden Pumpkin Cutout

$3.14

Wood Halloween Ghost Cutout 

$8.47

Wood Halloween Skull Cutout, Large

$12.16

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