Resin is great because it holds a lot of detail from your moulds, but it can be a tricky substrate to cover with something other than acrylics.

I love acrylics, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I want a softer look for my moulds. I've been experimenting with a type of casting plaster that would readily accept watercolors, but I'm not happy with the strength of the moulds yet. I'm going to have to play around with the ratios a bit more. In the meantime, I'm still using resin casts. 

But what if I want that softer look of watercolors on my resin moulds? Those of you deeply embedded in the world of mixed media may already know the answer to this. For those mixed media newbies, the answer is simple: white gesso.

Gesso is a medium that has "tooth" in it. That means it has some texture to it that helps it stick to even surfaces such as resin, and holds any other mediums you apply on top of it really well. Simply paint your resin casts with white gesso, let them dry, and then add on your watercolors. 

For that shabby chic watercolor look, I make sure the resin moulds are a little wet before adding paint. I let the paint pool in the recesses, and if necessary, wipe the excess paint off the raised areas before it dries to bring back the highlights. 

I did this very technique with my resin casts of Finnabair's Flocking Birds Moulds. I used two shades of pink watercolors to shade the birds, wiped off the excess paint, and then after that layer dried, added little hints of a metallic watercolor for a little bit of shine. 

I layered these moulds over some of my signature mixed media techniques. I turned a square canvas 90 degrees for a different look. I added Modeling Paste through the Victorian Tiles Stencil on half of the canvas, then colored the background with Distress Spray Stain in Victorian Velvet and Tattered Rose, as well as Distress Oxide Spray in Victorian Velvet. 

These sprays were the perfect match for the floral pattern side of the My Treasure paper from Prima's Avec Amour collection, which I tore and used on the other half of the canvas, glueing it down with Soft Gloss Gel. I added two layers of a white pearlescent embossing powder to a Reneabouquets Doily Heart Frame, die cut some Spellbinders Autumn Leaves from the same pattern as the background from the 6x6 pad, and then layered all of my embellishments up onto the canvas with Heavy Body Gel.

I even tucked in some tattered cheesecloth and a nest of sisal fibers to represent bird nests. The birds were the final touch, getting adhered with a small amount of heavy body gel. I loved getting back to my roots with my usual watercolor-inspired mixed media background. The moulds of the birds painted with watercolors are such a nice touch to this project. They have such great detail and there are so many different birds of varying sizes it makes it so easy to create a pretty project!

Until next time, happy crafting!

Adrienne

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