Project of the Week ~ Stamping With Gesso

Hello everyone!

It’s my turn to share a project of the week with you from The House That Stamps Built and this week I’d like to encourage you to stretch your stamping mediums beyond inks. For my example this week, I thought I would show you how I used Gesso as my “inking” medium and the fun results I got from it.

The supplies you’ll need for this project are:

Gesso (I used Claudine Hellmeth’s Studio Gesso)
Sponge paint brush
A palette knife or some other tool (even a table knife) to scoop some Gesso out of the jar.
Rubber stamp and card stock
Non-stick craft sheet
Using your knife, scoop a tiny bit of Gesso from the jar and place it on your craft sheet. You will have to work quickly because Gesso is an acrylic paint and it often has a short drying time.

Next, you will want to “paint” your stamp with the Gesso - use it sparingly, you can always add more if you don’t think you have enough. Once you’re happy with the amount of Gesso on the stamp, begin stamping it on your card stock base. Continue “stamping” in this manner until you’re satisfied with the image (s) on your card base.

Once you have finished with your stamping, and as quickly as possible, before the paint dries on the stamp, it’s very important to clean your stamps in warm soapy water - and you may even need a toothbrush or small bristled brush to aid in the cleaning between the tiny lines. Your stamps will clean up perfectly if you do this step quickly enough.

(Hint) It’s good to have a small bowl next to your work area with warm water and soap in it so you can quickly drop your stamps in it and keep working on your project.

If you would like to add glitter to your image (as I did in my first card), you must add the glitter before the Gesso is dry.

Stamps Used RI #1609-J “Winter Tree” and RI #1113-D “Birthday”
This card was recently published for the WIW sketch challenge HERE

To add color with inks or pens you will want to set the image aside to dry (this will only take about 15 - 20 minutes) or if you’re impatient, you can use a heat gun, but make sure the image is completely dry before adding any color.

For this card, I let the Gesso dry completely and lightly sponged ink on each image before using glitter pens to highlight in areas.

Stamps Used RI #102-F “Dragonfly” and RI #4405-K “Dragonfly Deco”

I hope you’ll give this technique a try and stretch your stamps and your creativity a bit.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a super creative week!

Cheri