G is for Gesso Off

This is another technique from the Technique Junkie Newsletter.
Brush on a thin layer of gesso over a piece of colored card stock.
Quickly, as the gesso is still wet, press a stamp firmly into the gesso a lift off and wipe the gesso off the stamp between each time used to press into the gesso. Do not allow the gesso to dry on your stamps. Let dry.

Piece on the left was done on light green card stock and the one on the right was done on red card stock. You can leave the backgrounds like this or

you can color the gesso with dye ink.

I like the technique both ways.

Decided to try this technique with black gesso over grey card stock. Even though I pressed firmly the stamp did not pick up enough of the gesso to reveal the card stock underneath.

Rubbed blue Metallic Rub-On over the surface to reveal the image in the texture. I like this foggy appearance:

G is for textured Gesso Background

This technique was one of Trish's Background Noise Challenges

a few years back. I didn't have the black gesso then and I found I was too heavy handed using gold paint. So I'm happy to give it another go.

Thickly spread black gesso on card stock and create patterns with a plastic tool. Let dry.

Instead of using metal paint, I used Metallic Rub-Ons over the pieces. Gold to the piece on the right, and a mixture of blue, purple and silver to the one on the left.

Close up of the one on the left.

Close up of the gold piece:

Glad I tried this technique again.

Book Study - Friendly Plastic

We are continuing with our study of Bernie's book "Artist Trading Card Workshop" on NGS group. This week is making ATCs out of friendly plastic, sounds intriguing.
Bernie says to place a card template over a Teflon craft sheet and lay down cut pieces of friendly plastic. I had some left over mixed and friendly plastic sheets (from a project I no longer remember) and used some of this in my project.
Use a heat gun to heat the plastic and fuse it together, I let it cool somewhat and pushed in the cute strips so the edges would not be completely straight.

Bernie mentions that you can fill in gaps with small pieces of friendly plastic and reheat. I wanted to add some thickness and more color, so layered on more bits of my flatten friendly plastic and reheated. When the plastic is cool enough to handle, use scissors to trip off any extra plastic.

If you want to add stamped images, reheat the plastic and impress with stamp inked with Pigment ink. Leave stamp in the plastic until it cools and stamp easily releases from the plastic. Reheat before each time stamping.

If the plastic curls up while it is cooling, use the heat tool to reheat and bend it flat.

You can also press eyelets or other embellishments into the plastic when you heat it.

Here's my finished ATC:

You can achieve lots of different looks depending on the colors and number of different pieces of friendly plastic you use, whether you stamp or add embellishments or whatever you choose to do. Fun! Several gorgeous samples in Bernie's book.

G is for Gesso Resist

As I'm playing with "G" techniques, it's time to play with one of my favorites "Gesso Resist". So today, I'm playing with different papers and applicators.
First, using stamps to apply the gesso on to white and buff colored mat card stocks and let dry.
Then cover the surface with dye inks and wipe off excess with a paper towel. With the fine line stamped images this technique is fairly subtle.

Next used a sea sponge to generously apply gesso onto buff and white mat card stocks and let dry.

Then cover with dye ink and remove excess with a paper towel.

Next, stamped on gesso with a thicker image on to black mat card stock.

Used dye ink.

Then sponged gesso over sequin waste on to black mat card stock.

Dye inks

Then scraped on gesso with a plastic tool on to black glossy card stock.

Sprayed on color washes.

Last, stamped on gesso to black glossy card stock.

WARNING: if you don't let the gesso dry completely and you go to wipe off the excess ink or color spray you will wipe off the gesso as I did to the one on the left.

Now I have lots of pieces to play with!!!

G is for Glue & Mica Powders

When making the Glue & Chalks/Pastels background in the post below, I wondered what it would be like using Mica powders instead of Chalks/Pastels. Made a large stripe of pva glue on a plastic sheet and sprinkled on some Mica powders.

Used a piece of hard plastic to mix up the mica powders into the glue, then pulled this mixture over a piece of matte card stock.

To create texture, pressed the plastic sheet down on the glue mixture while it was still wet and pulled it up.

That is the one on the left. The one of the right was a piece of manilla folder pressed down on the left over glue & mica powder.

Did another one using metallic mica powders:

The one on the left was made with pulling a piece of hard plastic over matte card stock and the one on the right was pressed down into the left over glue & mica powder.

G is for Glued Chalk/Pastels

This technique was in the Technique Junkie Newsletter a couple of years ago.
Make a strip of pva glue on a plastic surface and scrape off some colors of chalk or pastels onto the glue.
Use an old credit card or other firm plastic (I used a piece of packaging material) and pull the chalk laden glue over matte card stock. The amount of coverage will depend on the amount of glue used.

Here is my first sample.

Used more glue on the second one:

One on the left is with pulling a piece of firm plastic over the card. The one on the right was made by laying the card over the left over glue and chalk:

G is for textured Glue Resist

This is another technique from Trish's blog, I don't think I've played with this one before.
Add small amount of glue to mat card stock and spread around, having more card than glue. While glue is still wet, quickly blast glue with heat gun. Glue will bubble up where it is thick. Let glue dry.

Use black ink to stamp on an image. Trish used Memories ink, which stayed on the glue. I used VersaFine, which you'll see, did not stay on the glue. Make sure ink is dry before continuing.

Cover the card with pigment ink. Use a paper towel to wipe ink off of glue.

Also tried this technique on a manilla folder with a small amount of glue and heated it up. Stamped image with dark brown StazOn ink. This ink also does not adhere to the glue.

Used Brilliance and StazOn ink to color the card, and wiped off the excess ink with a paper towel.

This technique makes a very distressed look.