When using the 2 part crackle paints, choose brown undercoat to go with either the Colony Cream or Harvest Gold top coats and Gold undercoat when using the Black top coat.
The Vase (small and large) when assembled has a straw which passes through the centre running from the top to the bottom of the vase. Before attaching the vase to the hexagonal base, pass a piece of string through this straw from the top and out from the bottom of the vase. Tie a large knot in the string at the bottom of the vase, so that the string cannot pass back through the straw. It is best to choose a dry and slightly warm day as the paint will dry quicker. Take the other end of the string and tie it up high so that the vase hangs from it and is far enough away from any objects that you do not wish to paint. I would recommend highly that you do this outside and not indoors! Make sure that the string that the vase is hanging from is long enough for you to twirl so that the vase spins gently around.
Shake the aerosol can containing the undercoat (Gold or Brown) vigorously for about 3 minutes. Putting on a lively piece of music for you to 'jig' to often helps. Hold the nozzle of the aerosol about 10-12 inches away and pointing off to one side of the vase. Whilst spinning the vase around, gently spray from side to side of the vase making your way from the top to the bottom. Be sure to spray underneath the top neck & lip. try to spray fairly sparingly to avoid runs. You do not need to put on a heavy coat, a light coat will do, as you will spray a second or third coat once dry. Don't forget to spray into the top of the vase as you may see some of this once fully decorated with flowers. The paint should be dry within 15-20 minutes. Once dry, spray a second coat of undercoat repeating the instructions above. Leave the second coat to dry for about five minutes until tacky (Do not wait for the second coat to fully dry) then after shaking the aerosol containing your choice of top coat thoroughly for 3 minutes, spray over the tacky undercoat repeating the above instructions. Cover the vase well with the top coat. Only one coat of the top coat should be applied. As soon as you have finished spraying the top coat, just stand and watch the crackles appear almost instantly. The top coat should be fully dry in 15-20 minutes.
