Gesso Resist Technique

Hi friends! Kim here today to share a quick and easy technique for creating amazing backgrounds....Gesso Resist! Here are the materials you're going to need:



I'm using a piece of watercolor paper (you'll need a heavier cardstock for this technique), gesso (Liquitex is my fav), a sponge, and background stamp, I'm using the Typewriter Text background stamp.

Put some gesso on a non-stick craft sheet and use the sponge to apply a thin layer of gesso on to the stamp. Use a light hand to apply the gesso as too much will create a puddle of paint and will keep the edges of the design from being crisp. (You can see how the top of the stamp has a little too much paint)

Stamp onto the piece of watercolor paper. You'll see that some of the archival ink, that was on my stamp 'cause I never clean my stamp, came off with the gesso. This won't affect the results. Be sure to clean your stamp immediately after stamping as the gesso will harden and effect the use of your stamp.

Next, grab a few Distress Stains and a water bottle. Apply the Distress Stains to a non-stick craft sheet, you can see my bottles above each color, and then spritz the stains with some water. This will allow the color to freely move over the watercolor paper.

Swipe the cardstock through the ink. Be careful not to move the cardstock around too much or your colors will become muddy (well, my colors would 'cause I'm using colors on the opposite side of the color wheel! LOL!). Spritz your cardstock with more water if you want the color to move around more.

Check out these results! Ohhh...love it! The gesso resists the stains, making the background design pop out...love it! You can see how I allowed the stains to drip off of the page. I had originally intended to cut a shape out of this piece of paper, but I loved the drips so much I use the entire piece!

I finished my card by adding a flower from the Lovely Lotus stamp set, colored with Faber Castell watercolor pencils, a few dragonflies, from the same set, and a sentiment.

Hope you enjoyed today's tutorial!!