Bloom

My current creative craze has to do with embossing pastes, a medium I adore working with.  I have a number of them – I won’t say just how many other than to admit that it’s a lot – and it’s time to start using them up before they dry into crusty unspreadable rocks.  I’ve had to re-hydrate a few of these rocks, a process which takes about three days before they become soft enough to work with again.  So I’ve begun experimenting with Heavy Gesso in the meantime . . .

Heavy Gesso can be used for a variety of techniques and I recommend Googling to learn about some of them.  I don’t know if stenciling with it was the main objective of the inventor.  But oh boy, is it ever wonderful for that purpose.  It’s affordable, dries very strong and even takes less time to dry than many stencil pastes.  It comes in sizes ranging from small to gallon and is either a pure white or black.

As with any gesso, you can color over it with almost any medium.  Here I used Distress stains after the stenciled gesso had dried.  If I want the white gesso to stay white, I would color the background first and then stencil with the gesso.  Waterproof inks must be used for this or the wet gesso will wick up the color.  It makes a neat effect, but that may not be what you’re after.

Stay tuned for more fun with gesso, pastes, and stenciling!

 

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Burnt Umber, Nicole Premiere #140

Watercolor, Manila tag    

Stamps:        Time to Stamp Grunge set Crackle, Judikins Celtic

Background

Inks:               Distress Stains Pumice Stone, Brushed Corduroy,

Tarnished Brass, Gina K Charcoal Brown

Dies:              Spellbinders Anemone Flower Topper, InLoveArtShop          

English Letters: Bloom

Stencil:          Tim Holtz Tinsel

Doo Dads:    Finnabair Heavy Gesso White, American Craft ribbon

Blue, Charm