Shaving Cream Background Technique

Another beautiful background technique!!! I've always wanted to try this one, but it took a 'kick in the butt' from Trish to get me to DO IT!! Here are the some of the results of my shaving cream backgrounds; I actually have 16 different pieces of background from this one experiment. I kept adding different colors of reinkers to the shave cream after making 2 pieces so I now have lots of wonderful color combinations. Trish suggested using hair mousse, but I found shaving cream to be cheaper, so that is what I used. And the added bonus with this technique is the velvety feel of the paper!!! I love the result of this technique, and I think the next time I may try less reinkers to see how they look with more cardstock showing through.

Textured Gesso Background

Another cool background technique was posted by Trish....the textured gesso. This is a great one and I'm so glad I'm journaling these as I know that I'll forget about some as time passes. The next time I try this I want thicken my black gesso a bit to get more texture. And I think it would be great to add some pigment powders to the acrylic paint before it dries. I only tried silver and gold metallic acrylics and blue and pink pearl acrylics, but the options are endless!

Distressed Scraps Background

The latest Background Noise Challenge put out by Trish is the Distressed Scraps technique. First you tear up scraps of cardstock and paper and then glue them down on a sheet of cardstock. Second you paint a mixture of gesso and water across the entire sheet. This is what my sheet looked like at that point in the process. The sheet needs to completely dry before moving on to the next step, which involves applying color. I cut this sheet up into 6 pieces and experimented with various coloring methods.

The first thing I tried was some walnut ink sprays. I haven't used them much and need some practice with spraying so I thought I'd give them a try. I have 4 different colors so I sprayed 2 of the colors on each of the 2 pieces to the left. I liked the way they looked, but after a minute or two I decided to blot up some of the spray with a paper towel. I do like them better now.

I used my 'homemade' color mists on this piece. My mists are pretty light colors once sprayed, even though they look quite dark in the bottles. This turned out okay, but not my favorite. I may decide to add something else later on.

Now to try some ink pads. I used Eggplant Adirondack ink. When it didn't look as good as I'd like I decided to spray a little water on and blot with a paper towel. It worked well on the previous pieces with walnut ink sprays, so why not try it again! I think that gave it a better look.

On this piece I used Olive Pastel Chalk inks to cover the scraps. I liked the way it initially looked, but since the previous piece looked so much better once I sprayed some water and blotted with a paper towel, I did the same to this piece. And I do like it better. In fact, this may be my favorite of the entire group.

This piece was covered with Mahogoney Distress Ink. Again, because I didn't care for the way the ink covered, I sprayed a little water on the piece and then blotted with a paper towel.

Background Noise - Paint Scrapping

The latest Background Noise Challenge is Paint Scrapping. Trish gave us 2 techniques to try, and try I did! I've cut a small piece of each and documented them in my Background Noise Journal. But I've also shown the larger samples below to get a better look at what I did. I think I need more practice. The object was to use acrylic paints and spread them onto the cardstock using a credit card. I tend to like the lighter colors more, I think because I would want to stamp over them.

Rainbow Paint Scrapping Technique

Here are my 2 experiments for this technique. I almost created a muddy mess with the piece on the left. In an effort to cover up all the empty card space I was criss-crossing the application with the credit card. I used blue, magenta, green, and purple, pretty bold colors.For the piece on the right I tried lighter colors: green yellow, purple and pink. I think I like this one better.

Random Paint Scrapping Technique

Here are the 2 experiments I did for this technique. I think I like the results of this more than the rainbow paint scrapping. For the piece on the left I used blues and pinks, and for the piece on the right I used greens and pinks.

The samples I made of the glue resist techniques are now documented in my Background Noise Journal!!! At this rate I'll be running out of pages in my journal and need to start another...oh well!!!

Ready for the next technique from Trish!!!!

This is another twist on the glue resist technique. Rather than spread glue across the entire piece of cardstock, glue was applied in random swirls and dips. Once again the glue was left to dry overnight and then the ink was applied.
Inks used on the piece to the left: Brilliance - pearlescent rust and pearlescent ivy

Inks used on this piece to the right: Brilliance - pearlescent crimson and pearlescent ivy

Inks used for this piece to the left: Brilliance - crimson copper and cosmic copper; Color Box - sapphire silk.

The latest Background Noise techniques are Glue Backgrounds. This is the glue resist technique. I cut up a credit card to create a texture tool first. After applying a large puddle of pva glue onto the cardstock, I spread it across the entire piece using the newly created texture tool. The pieces dried overnight and then..


This piece was created with chalk inks: olive pastel, burnt sienna, and chestnut roan.










For this piece to the left I used chalk inks: dark peony and blue iris.
















For this piece to the right I used Distress Inks: fired brick, pine needles, and vintage photo








For this piece to the left I used chalk inks: prussian blue, warm green, and dark brown.

And here is the first entry in my Background Noise book...

This is the Shining Stones Technique. Pictures don't do it justice! It is a technique that uses dye ink and perfect pearls.

I received this beautiful journal from Margaret Rogers in the Twelve Days of Christmas gift swap (CCSwaps group). I found the perfect use for it.....I'm going to use it for the Background Noise exercises we are doing on the Next Generations Group!!!! So here we go .......