Thursday 30 May 2019

Eat Sleep Craft Repeat 2019

I've been at a wonderful week long crafty retreat with (from left to right) Me, Trina, Susan, Darnell, Colleen, Loll, Bonnie, Nancy and Linda in Crescent Beach just outside Vancouver. What an amazing group of women these are both talented and fun to spend time with.



Here's one of the technique I showed everyone at the Retreat - using gesso to watercolour on washi tape, I think everyone had fun trying it out.

The washi tape background which was kindly donated by Darnell, it's the extra wide washi tape. We adhered it to a large piece of card stock and primed it with white Gesso. The Gesso allows the surface to take water colour which without the Gesso watecolour would just bead and wipe off.

The image is one of the new Paper Artsy releases and a stamp set given to me by my sweet friend Nancy S. 😊


You can see the texture of the gesso on the washi tape. By the way you can use gesso on designer paper to mute the colours and give a subtle background.










Card Recipe
Stamps: Paper Artsy
Paper: 110lb White, Black
Ink: Ranger Archival Black
Accessories: Watercolours, Washi tape
Techniques: Gesso, Watercolouring

24 comments:

Loll said...

This is adorable Christine. The image is so perfect to go with the background of washi tape with gesso. What fun we had doing this technique at the retreat. Thank you for sharing. It was also one of the most fun times we had as we were all laughing so hard at Dolly's interpretation of the washi tape design! :) xx

Darnell said...

Oh, my, did we ever have fun with that tape! I think this was the most eye-opening technique for me this year. Thank you for showing me how to use Gesso to turn something I thought was unusable into awesome cards! Your design here with that sweet Baboo is cute as can be! Miss you!! Hugs, Dolly

Linda Hott said...

Pretty, pretty card! Love your washi tape background with the gesso! Cute elephant! :)

Robyn Oliver said...

This card is so cute Christine and a cool technique idea to add to our 'to do' list

Susan said...

The elephant is so sweet - really tugs at the heartstrings! Love the washi tape with the gesso - great way to mute it down and add the watercolouring.

Colleen said...

I am so happy to see this...you know Darnell tried to sneak a roll into my bag...I discovered it and kept it, now I can use your card for ideas about what to do with the many yards she gave me!! Awesome to meet you in person Christine, thank you for sharing your talents and crafty ideas and projects! I had so much fun and came home with a wealth of materials to make into cards! Heart hugs, Colleen

Bonnie said...

This technique ended up giving me two of my favorite pieces. Can't wait to do more! Who would have thought that Washi tape would yield such wonderful results as well as lots of laughs! It was such fun meeting you in person and getting to know you better.

Mac Mable said...

You all sure looked like you had loads of fun and what a stunning card with a great technique x.

Julia Aston said...

What a fun and creative technique Christine! What a wonderful gathering you all had!

Trina P. said...

Adorable. I have a whole new respect for this Gesso stuff! 😂 I love all 3 of my fronts I made with it. Now if I can figure out the gelli print, I’ll be a happy camper! 😁😁😁 Thanks for sharing your mixed media expertise.
Thanks also for giving me a ride and all your help... it means a lot. xx

Nstiz said...

This is a totally new technique to me so thanks for describing the process! Who knew there was extra wide washi tape! That background is fabulous and I just LOVE that elephant. Great watercoloring on it and great choice of colors.

Leslie Miller said...

A whole week of crafty retreating and friendship sounds too good to be true! That must be some very wide Washi tape. What a great idea for a way to use it as a background. Adorable stamp!

nancy littrell said...

I loved your techniques you shared, Christine at our 2019 Retreat! Your neutral color combos and card designs are just stunning. I had so much fun ordering from Magenta with products you were using. I just got my order today:-) I still can not believe how many card fronts and/or finished cards we all made. A very productive year at our retreat. Fun having play time in the Crescent Beach/ White Rock area too. I am already thinking about next year. Thank you for sharing your many products with all of us out of BC girls.

Miss you my friend..Love and Hugs...Nancy

Barb Ghig said...

Looks like you girls had a blast on your retreat :) I love the effects of Gesso and watercoloring on this wide Washi...subtle, yet perfect, and your cute little elephant is just darling! Really sweet card, Christine!

Linda said...

Christine, I am sorry we missed this technique and all of the laughs that went with it. I can just imagine. It was so great crafting with you and enjoyed making the little ornaments on wood.

Cornelia (fun stamping) said...

What a fab idea! You must have had a blast all together! I am getting craft friend envy....Perhaps one day I can join in?

aussie aNNie said...

Gorgeous post, love the photo of you and now I can 'see' you when I comment. Looks like you all have had a fabulous time.xxx

nwilliams6 said...

The retreat sounds and looks awesome. So fun and you are so lucky to have great friends and a great place to meet. Love your card and how fun Nancy gave you the image. Love all the techniques (saw them on Nancy's blog scrapbook). Fun stuff. Hugz

Pat said...

Looks like you had the best time on the retreat Christine and with great crafty company, and I love your gessoed washi tape with the sweet PA elephant...so cute! x

Papercraft Boutique said...

So glad to hear that you had a wonderful time at the retreat with your crafty friends, Christine! The beautiful smiles in the photo tell everything. :-)
Thank you for sharing the new gesso + washi tape technique! The elephant card is so sweet (his facial expression is so cute).
I have lots of DSP which I hardly ever use anymore, so I'll try coating with them with gesso to mute the colors.
Hideko xx

Brenda in IN said...

I wish I had been a fly on the wall for that retreat! It sounds like so much fun and so many things to learn. I just bought a jar of gesso yesterday at Tuesday Morning and now I know what to do with it. Thank you, but I won't have near as much fun using mine as you guys did! This made a soft background and the elephant is adorable.

I Card Everyone said...

Christine, with a little help from your friends, I've become intrigued by your use of Gesso! Bonnie made a card using it as a resist technique you shared... how about another tutorial? thanks!
LOve your wonderful cards!
=]

Christine Alexander said...

yes, Michelle I'll do a little tutorial on using Gesso on cards :)

BożenA said...

Your meetings are always a great event and so much fun. And thanks to them we can take advantage of the effects of your meetings. I love how you used a wide washi tape. The elephant looks so sweet.
Hugs.
BozenA