I made a mess and had fun doing it. =) I've been wanting to try "Liquify" in Photoshop's filters for a while.
1. I chose a blurry phone pic of a closed pine cone. Blurry works best for me.
2. I used the swirly tool in Liquify until I was satisfied. Had to use the warp tool to cover the bare spots where the swirls pulled away from the edge.
3. Ran it through Oil Paint in Pixel Bender.
4. Ran it though Texturizer with Craquelure.
Wallah - my mess! I was like a child with finger painting.
