Texture Paste for PaperArtsy!

I've been pondering what to do for the current PaperArtsy Grunge Paste challenge.  Alas, I do not have any of this fine product - yet!  However, I love using texture paste through stencils, to get an almost sculptural feel as in these recent projects:

as seen here   .............................. and here, but given all the wonderful examples Leandra showed in the video, this one technique did not seem to do justice to an exploration of the topic.

I was especially taken with "the wall tile guy" Chris Gryder's work, but knew I did not have the time or talent to attempt some sort of replication. I did, however, want a lot of texture.

While wandering a local branch of a national craft store chain, in which I always get lost looking for the die-cutting supplies, I ended up walking down the cake and pastry decoration aisles, in which I have NO interest being gluten free, low carb and not much of a baker in any event.

However, a large display of Wilton icing tips and their magical ability to transform frosting into a beautiful flower, leaf or decorative touch.......hmmmmm.

I reasoned that texture paste seems pretty close to bakery frosting in feel.  And as a fairly extensive set of tips was on sale for the Easter holiday, I jumped in with two feet - the set of tips, disposable icing bags, several additional couplers (whatever they do - just thought I might need them), and Wilton's Frosting for Beginners 101 Course booklet.  I also grabbed a large jar of Liquitex Modeling Paste and several 5 inch x 5 inch gesso boards, as I wanted a firm surface.

Once home, having figured out from the all-wise You-Tube what the couplers do (they help you change tips if using the same bag, which I would be doing), I loaded up a disposable bag and tried a few tips out on my craft sheet.

Not too bad, and not too hard....though I'll never win a decorating contest, lol!!  But fun, and I soon had my little gesso board covered with texture paste doodling.....

Due to the thickness of the paste, I let this dry overnight (in fact well into the next evening).  And then how to color?  I like the white, but wanted some more contrast on the interesting textures.

 I tested out Perfect Pearls Copper spray on one of my test runs, and Tarnished Brass Distress Spray  on the other, trying to discern whether less pigment or more was desirable.

I decided for this project that I liked the more delicate look of the Perfect Pearls, and sprayed  away on my little board.

Here are some close-ups:

And so there you have it...... something like a mini-pasta display :-)  But quite fun, and I do love the textures.  If I want to do this on a page, however, I will purchase the FLEXIBLE modeling paste, as what I used is quite brittle (just like icing, lol!)

I am posting this at  PaperArtsy, and later this week at Brenda's Visual Journey #15.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please do leave a comment. Always love hearing from you, and what you think!