WOYWW 277: Polyfilla, a texture paste alternative

Creating textures with sequin waste for mixed media projects

Wednesday has arrived, so it's time for another desk hop over on The Stamping Ground! My work surface is still clear from my weekend clean up. We had guests, so I had no other choice but to pile everything into boxes, which are now scattered around the house. As you can imagine, I can't find anything, which is very frustrating! I did manage to excavate a few bits and pieces though to do some experiments.

Today I'm experimenting with texture paste for my mixed media projects. I love creating 3D textures with stencils. Traditionally, you would use a kind of modelling paste or texture paste to do this. I watched a mixed media video on YouTube a while ago and I noticed they used a DIY polyfiller product instead of texture paste. As I've been struggling to get good results with my modelling paste, I've decided to try this alternative. I stole a tube of Polycell Polyfilla from my husband's stash in the garage. He thinks I just borrowed it, but there's no way I'm gonna give it back to him! The results were astounding! Here are five reasons why I choose Polyfilla over any modelling/texture paste:

1. Modelling paste always manages to seep under my stencils, no matter how careful I am using it. This never happens with Polyfilla as it is a lot denser. The patterns are always crisp and well defined.
2. Polyfiller takes a matter of minutes to dry. Seriously, most of my textures are bone dry within 2 minutes! Modelling paste takes ages to dry properly, at least an hour ! (Because Polyfilla dries so quickly, always make sure you wash your stencils and tools immediately, or if that's not possible, submerge them in water until you're ready to clean them.  Also,  recap the tube of polyfilla immediately, otherwise it will dry out.)
3. When I use wet media on top of modelling paste it tends to go soft again. The other day I used spray inks and my texture went mushy and eroded completely. Once it's dry, you can put your polyfilla textures under the tap if you want, it will still hold strong !
4. Polyfilla is quite gritty, and I prefer that to the smoothness of the modelling paste.
5. Polyfilla is much cheaper than any modelling paste. You can get it from DIY stores or online from Amazon.

But don't take my word for it! Take a look at my results below. I used regular black cardstock and some pieces of punchinella (sequin waste) to create these textures with both Polyfilla and a modelling paste to demonstrate the differences. I think the results speak for themselves! I realize that not all modelling pastes were created equal, but Polyfilla works so well, I don't need to experiment any further with anything else. It suits my purposes perfectly for now.

If you would like to see some of my completed projects where I used Polyfilla textures please check these links: Mixed Media Birthday Card and Mixed Media Scrapbook Layout.

Texture using punchinella and modelling paste

Texture using punchinella and Polyfilla