Modeling Paste, Gesso, Stencils

Prior to Stampotique's Designer's Challenge last week I had created a stack of backgrounds utilizing stencils, modeling paste, and gesso. 
I have a heavier gesso that worked well with a stencil, the lighter gesso was preferred to prime my paper surface.  While the heavier gesso works well with stencils, I slightly prefer the modeling paste for this application.

For this background: I scraped some gesso on cardstock with an old credit card.  Shades of green and blue green acrylic paint were also applied with the card. In the area behind the cat family  I masked an section to create a block image with antique border  and allowed to dry.  Modeling paste was applied through a portion of a chevron stencil.  I used  Liqutex modeling paste in a tube with a flip lid.  It's a simple motion to squeeze some paste onto the stencil and scrape.  I can flip the top back without stopping to cap a container to prevent my product from drying out.  This may not sound like a big deal, but when you are working with mixed media and accumulate a mess in the process, it is easy to neglect capping something and ruin your product.

I softened the antique border images with a light scraping of gesso.  A bit of Dylusions was sprayed on the modeling paste and wiped away. 

During this experiment session I used gesso and or modeling paste with either acrylics, spray inks, or a combination of both. My sheets were quite warped, so I used a book press to flatten them before adding them to my stash. This was not one of my favorite backgrounds but I decided to challenge myself to give it some life.

Bird in a cage and the cat family image were stamped with StazOn and embossed. Watercolor pencils were used to color the stamped images.

The rest of the piece is assembled with my usual scraps and scribbles.

I'm more of a dog person, so Carol Fox, this one is for you.