DIY Modeling Paste Art Play

I've been seeing all kinds of artwork using modeling paste.  Remember that I'm trying not to buy every new supply I see,  I've been resisting the urge to notify my friends at Amazon that I need some pronto.   Then I came across a recipe for making modeling paste at Creative Vintage Studio - YIPPEE.  No new supplies needed - I had the three ingredients I needed in my stash:

This is a simple recipe :

1 part Mod Podge

1 part talcum powder

1/2 part white acrylic paint

Combine the ingredients in an airtight container.  I didn't actually measure this - I just eyeballed it.  I added more talcum as the mixture seemed too runny ( maybe measuring would have been a good idea!).   The paste needs to be firm enough not to ooze under the stencil - think soft frosting or whipped cream .

Linda at Creative Vintage Studio left hers white and painted the design once it had dried.   Since the paste dries to the texture of heavy embossing, I thought painting all this would be too difficult so decided to color the paste instead.

Now the fun begins - coloring the paste.  I shave off small amounts of Gelato crayons.   Confession - I also used the much cheaper Crayola version:

I find that the Crayola ones are often smoother and blend better than Gelatos, plus they are less expensive - five crayons are $4.99 on  Amazon.  

Very thin slivers of the crayons are easier to blend into the paste - you really have to mash it around to incorporate the color.   I ended up adding a few drops of liquid acrylic  to the yellow as the crayon color was just too light.  You could obviously use colored  acrylic paint to color the paste, instead of using white paint.  Pretty sure you could color it with a few drops of ink, too.   

Spread the paste over your stencil onto your paper with a painting knife/ spatula.  I found this Bob Ross paint knife at Michael's   I was going to buy a cheapo plastic one, but this beauty on clearance was only $3.00.   Because of the moisture in the paste, a heavier paper is in order.   I used the flat side of watercolor paper.

Lift off the stencil carefully.

There are some dark spots where the Gelato didn't mix in all that well, but I like the effect.

Then I used my what was left of the paste and did more mixing of the colors over the stencil.

I like this variegated look even better.

Allow the paste to air-dry for several hours.  You could probably dry it with a heat gun, but I didn't want to risk any bubbling.

And of course I couldn't let all the paste on the stencil go to waste, so I flipped the stencil over and laid it on a new piece of paper.  Think this abstract print will make an interesting background.

Be sure to wash off your stencil and tools as soon as you are finished so the paste doesn't harden on them.

I think I'm going to cut the designs to use as journal covers.  I'm also going to see how the paste works with Perfect Pearls - or glitter (think Christmas stars) .   So many possibilities.