I promised I would tell you something about Gesso and I guess now is the time. Gesso is a primer. It’s used by painters for ages.. mostly to prepare the canvas for painting. Gesso found it’s way into scrapbooking lately and boy the things you can do with it! I really really LOVE playing with Gesso.

I decided to have a few pics taken while I was working with Gesso so you could see what I was doing. Since DH is sick.. my dad had to help me out. So.. here are a few shots of the process. First, before I start I like to cover my working space with newspapers since I am a messy worker. There is Gesso there, cardstock, some acrylic paints and I like to use a small sponge (cut into small pieces) since it’s not too expensive and works just fine. I dipped the sponge into the gesso and apply it on the cardstock. I use a lot of gesso so you get a thick layer to play. I covered the complete cardstock but you can also choose to just cover a part or the center piece like I did on "Tandenleed". Once it’s covered apply ( different colors) acrylic paint. You can just apply one.. or use a few different colors.. just as you like. You should keep in mind that the gesso is white .. so when you mix it while still wet, the colors do tend to get a bit lighter then normal. Then.. what I like to do is just use my fingers to mix it.. draw circles and just create my background like this. You could also use brushes or the piece of sponge if you don’t like to get tons of paint on your hands Using sponges or brushes will however create a different effect. You can apply more colors in layers or use more gesso if you think it’s turning out to dark.
Voilà! Your background is ready. I hope this inspires you to go and try  playing with gesso too =)

I made the background of this doorhanger to Amber’s room with Gesso too. Combined with pictures and patterned paper it looks like this  

Of course there are much more fun ways to play with gesso.. but that’s a different story

Happy Scrappin’

Mireille