How to Customize Backgrounds and Embellishments Using Gesso, Mists, and Paste by Nicole Doiron

My Creative Scrapbook design team member Nicole Doiron is up today with a tutorial featuring our November Main Kit!

Here's Nicole:

Anyone who visits my blog regularly know that I'm a big fan of the shabby chic style and I love to dabble in mixed media projects on a regular basis.  Playing with the Main kit this month, I absolutely wanted to show how versatile all kits from My Creative Scrapbook can be.  Starting with a white cardstock background and using different mediums like gesso, mists and paste on this background and on the various elements included in the kit, I was able to create a layout with a shabby chic look.

I first used a white piece of cardstock for my background.  The main thing to remember when working with mixed media products is that you're never quite sure what the final results will be.  You just have to have fun and not be afraid of experimenting.

I then used molding paste and a busy stencil design (you can use any you own).

Using a plastic spatula, I put a heavy coat of molding paste and smoothed it out evenly.

I did this stenciling work in all four corners of my background.

I then dried it with my heat gun.

I then added a pink shade of mist.

I removed the excess mist by dabbing a scrunched up paper towel on the mist splatter.

I mixed dark chocolate Liquid Pearls and Molding Paste.

Using a Script stencil, I added the mixture onto my background, then dried with a heat gun.

Since the mixture was a bit too liquid, the 'script' pattern didn't come out quite as clearly as I would have wanted.

I therefore put white acrylic paint on a sponge and whitewashed the script making it blend a bit more with my background.

This is what my background looked like so far.

A closer look...

Next, I decided to try to add some more texture with clear gesso.

I just squeezed some fairly large blobs of gesso onto my background and lightly scraped it around.

Again, I dried this layer with my heat gun.

Now was time to add some stamped dots to my background.

I pressed the stamp all over the page, using dark brown ink.

Next, I thought of adding even more texture, but this time, with white gesso.

 

While drying the gesso with my heat gun, I made sure to put the gun real close to my paper so as to make the gesso bubble up.

I wanted to add a little more color and I thought blue mist  would be nice.

 At that point, I considered my background to be done.

It was then time to modify the embellishments I had decided to use on my layout.  I started off by covered them with white gesso, drying it, and then spread molding paste unevenly unto each piece and dried it again with my heat gun.

Adding the cream ribbon and some of the kit's flowers, I then added a few layers of red mist until I attained the shade of reddish pink I wanted (red mixed with the white medium).

After my embellishments were all dried, I then proceeded on adding them onto my layout along with the rest of the elements, using the My Creative Sketches as inspiration.

Next, to soften my page, I then dabbed some white gesso all over my background, papers and embellishments.  It was then time to add the finishing touches like stitching, title and twine.

And there you go, shabby chic goodness!

To see more of my creations, visit my blog @ http://scrap-utopia.blogspot.com

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Be sure to take a look at Nicole's beautiful work in our Design Team Gallery!

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer. To purchase a kit, please visit our website, here.