DIY Gessoed Flower Embellishments

Some time ago I discovered THIS wonderful DIY technique of creating flower embellishments by painting gesso onto die cut flower clusters.  Sussi boasted that the flowers would dry stiff and wouldn't scrunch when sandwiched between album pages because of the gesso.  Much to my SHEER DELIGHT, she was right!   I fell in love with this technique and now enjoy making my own custom colored flower embellishments, designed perfectly to fit my projects.  The best part is that this project is a scrapbuster, a perfect way to use up the bits of paper we all hoard because they are hard to part with, but never end up using.

I have modified the directions slightly.  To start, layer 6 or so die cut flowers, I used Tim Holtz Tattered Florals for these.  Pierce the center with an awl to insert a brad.  Using the brad helps keep the layers together and makes the process a cinch.  Mist the layers with a mini mister as you go.  Begin by scrunching the center layer completely up and in towards the brad, repeating with each layer.  When they are all wrinkled nicely, pull them apart to create the desired look.  Next mix a wash of watercolor with a small amount of gesso and brush the entire flower.  After this has dried, an hour or so later, go back and add any highlight colors needed with another watercolor wash.

I love the muted colors I was able to create and that the base paper shows through the color wash.  As a bonus, you can use the brad to adhere your project, so no glue!  Make darker flowers by misting the dry, previously gessoed flower again with water and rubbing it directly with a Distress Ink pad.  You can also pick up some Distress Ink with a paintbrush and brush it on the petals to get in the grooves better.  The possibilities are endless!  If you want a rich color of flower you can also just paint the entire flower with gesso and then a layer of acrylic paint, as the video suggested.

For this flower I remisted the previously gessoed flower and added Aged Mahogany Distress Inks with a paintbrush.  I didn't paint it entirely so some of the light spots could show through.

I took this process a step further and created these stemmed flowers for my office pen holder.  I cut long strips about 3/4" wide and painted them with a green gesso/watercolor wash then hotglued them as I wrapped them around to a chopstick.  At the top I glued four leaves around the stem, which opened out to create a base to glue the large flower to.  I glued more leaves to the sides to make it more realistic.

The large flowers were made with about 15 layers of the larger dies from the Tattered Florals die.  I painted, then heatset, then painted, then heatset, to create layers of color variation.  Please leave me a comment if you're inspired to make some of your own DIY Gessoed Flower Embellishments.  I'd love to see your projects, but let me warn you - these are addictive!

PS.  Don't forget to follow my Embellishment board on Pinterest HERE for may other DIY embellishment ideas.