Yet another prep day

I'm taking time away from art to spend yet another prep day.  Sometimes that's the best thing I can do when I'm sick and don't feel like making art.  Somehow I can't seem to shake this "flu-like" problem I've had for over three weeks.  I start feeling better, go grocery shopping or out to lunch, come home and get sick all over again within a few hours of being out.  But, I like to make art every day, or at least have something to show for my day.  After all, if I ever decide to sell my art, I must have the same work ethic I have in business.  And that means showing up for work.  Thankfully, showing up doesn't expose anyone else to whatever I have.

Today I'm making texture paste.  I was given two different recipes by two internet friends, so decided to use both to see which one I preferred.  Above are all the supplies I need for both of these recipes.  The recipe is out of camera range to the right.

My friend Debbie (Craftymoose) shared this recipe she found on the internet.
1/2 cup baking soda
2 T (tablespoons) white glue (cheap)
2 T white acrylic craft paint

This recipe was VERY dry.  I had trouble mixing it and had to keep at it until I finally got it completely mixed.  I definitely had to add water to the mixture, probably more than the recipe suggested.

The good news is, when it was finally mixed, it had great consistency and smoothness.   There was also no scent.

The second recipe came from Krisha, who told me to use baby powder, good white glue (Elmer's Glue All) and regular acrylic craft paint.  As for quantities, the recipes were identical.  Just replace the quantity of baking soda with baby powder.   When I poured the baby powder into my measuring cup, I thought this was going to be an even smoother paste than the one that uses baking soda.

But this one turned out harder to mix together than the first one.  In fact, when I added the correct quantity, the recipe reminded me of the first stages of pie crust.  That's where you cut the butter or shortening into the flour with a pastry blender.  The outcome looked the same, too: little bits stuck together in balls.  Even after adding water, I beat the life out of it.  I wanted to grab a whisk, but stuck with my plastic knife.  I never got all those bits and bubbles out.   And the entire time I was mixing it, the formula smelled BAD.  I obviously didn't like the scent of that baby powder I bought at Dollar Tree (a US big box store where their motto is "Everything's a Dollar").

So which recipe do I like better?  I suspect it is the first one, but it all depends on whether those are bubbles I whipped into the black texture paste, or unprocessed baby powder mixture.  Only time and use will tell.  Note that you must seal these pastes or I've been told they will harden on you.

And although this is not a tutorial, I'm adding it to my Tutorials page so you and I can find the recipe(s) easily in case we need it/them again.

Thank you yet again for your continued support of my crafting endeavors.  It means the world to me.