Coffee or Tea?

What Is Your Secret??????
Most "prim" artists, by now, know how to age their creations using common household products like tea, coffee or cinnamon. Over the years I have read numerous methods they use when applying these products.....they go from spraying, dipping, sponging and painting. Drying the creation also varies in process and some of these are quite extraordinary ranging from baking in an oven to hanging creations on a clothes line during a sunny day. Funny what we, as artists, will do to get that desired look we want, isn't it? I love trying new things and discovering what works best for me. I'm not much of a "follower" when it comes taking classes or reading instructions from someone else, I like to experiment....maybe I was a "mad" scientist in another life, lol, interesting thought! I have my own mixture of coffee that I use. I've tried many different variations but always come back to my own concoction of instant coffee, vanilla and sugar...sounds like a Starbucks drink huh? Also I have found that painting this mixture onto the fabric works best for me and using a blow dryer to dry the fabric limits the blotches, though some artists like blotches, I'm not one of them. The primitive and aged look is truly one of my favorites though I'm not a real big fan of the "extreme primitive" look, I like the more whimsical look and using my method of drying keeps the blotches down to a minimum all the while giving the creation a nice aged look and feel. I not only paint the body with my coffee concoction but I also paint the clothing once the character is

dressed. This gives the clothing a stiff and crumbled look which is often perfect for something that is used and old. Using ground cinnamon in all the nooks and crannies of you character also helps enhance the lines in your characters face or just to make it look worn. Primitive doll making is fun and almost fool proof. I've even found using common everyday inexpensive hairspray to seal the cinnamon on the surface of your doll works fantastic with little or no harmful fumes and it's a blast to use when making hair dos with roving! Time to mix up another batch of my "primitive glop" and get to work!