Clearly Printed with Gelli®!

Joan Bess / Journals, Cards, Collage, & Tags, Mediums – Alcohol Inks, Pastels, Watercolors, Recycled Materials, Stencils, Patterns & Textures / 500 Comments

Put a twist on your monoprinting experience  — use gel medium instead of paint to create some clearly different Gelli® prints! Watch this video for a clear idea …



Gel medium is essentially acrylic paint without pigment. It goes on milky white and dries clear. We’re making a clear print, which we’ll use as a resist. This technique will work with either gloss or matte. I’m using Golden Regular Gel Gloss Medium— but use what you have and see how it prints.

Take advantage of the transparent medium and create prints on interesting paper! Like … book pages, sheet music, maps, pre-printed paper and so on. Try printing over a handwritten journal page, or your own doodles or stampings. And deli paper will give you wonderful translucent papers to use for layered collage. So many possibilities!

Here’s the process…

1.  Apply the medium to your plate — same as you would with paint — then roll out with a brayer. Create textures and patterns in the gel (just like you would with paint). 

Note:  I’m using some wonderful stencils from StencilGirl! I especially love their designs with large open areas, where I can add additional texture to individualize how the printed pattern will look. To do that, place the stencil onto the painted plate. Immediately place other texture(s) onto the stencil — press gently, then remove.


StencilGirl Stencils

Some good choices for textures to press into open areas in stencils include:  Embossed paper, plastic mesh, crumpled wax paper, cheesecloth, rubbing plates, and punchinella.



2.  Cover with paper, rub to transfer gel medium — and pull a print.

3.  Remove the stencil and quickly cover with fresh paper and pull another print. If there’s enough medium remaining on the plate, this will create an interesting clear ghost print.


The next step reveals the magic in the print! 


4.  Apply a thin wash of color to your dry prints and see what happens! The printed gel resists the wash. What fun! I especially love adding color with Ranger’s Distress Stains!


5.  Wipe the stained print with a damp paper towel. This will remove residual color from the clear areas revealing a bolder pattern with higher contrast.



You’ll find plenty of suggested ways to add color to your clear Gelli® print in the previous blog post, “Are We There Yet“.  If you haven’t read it — or are looking for inspiration — please take a look 🙂

Go ahead and try a “clear” day of printing for a different kind of Gelli® print! And please share your prints on the Gelli Arts® Facebook page!

 

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

 

Our fabulous prize package includes:  


One lucky winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday – April 22nd and announced here on the blog — and on our Facebook page.



To be entered to win, all you need to do is leave a comment here on the blog or on our Facebook page. All comments must include an email address. 



Want to double your chance to win? Simply subscribe to our YouTube channel and we’ll enter your name twice. If you’ve already subscribed, let us know 🙂



And a special thanks to MaryBeth Shaw, of StencilGirl, for supplying the wonderful stencils!!!



THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

Good luck — and Happy Printing!

500 thoughts on “Clearly Printed with Gelli®!”

  10. Anonymous

    I hope it's not too late to enter! I really want a GelliPlate, and the Stencils from Stencil Girl would be fabulous..
    RT

    Reply
  14. Anonymous

    Every technique is so cool. I have yet to see one I wouldn't want to try! sharonlind at comcast.net

    Reply
  15. Jona

    Wow! My sister has been going so crazy with her gelli plate that I have come to the conclusion that I have to have one! I would love to win this so we can gelli plate together! Thanks for the chance to win and all the inspiration! We are getting together this weekend and we are going to try this technique! moughty@gmail.com

    Reply
  20. tartanturtle

    In the process of ordering gelli plates for our studio and what a great technique and giveaway!

    Reply
  21. Brenda Livermore

    I am loving all things GELLI and to this giveaway looks amazing. Thanks for the chance to win.

    Reply
  23. Unknown

    Wow, this give~away is amazing.So many things that will take our printing to a whole other level.Such a great technique to try & I thank you for a chance at your generous give~away.P.S. I also subscribed to your you~tube channel.
    dawnsbeach13@yahoo.com
    Dawn Burnside

    Reply
  25. taru76

    Amazing results!!! Who wouldn't like to win this sweet package. I have been thinking about getting the gelli plate for a while and this is another reason why I should : )

    taru76 @ hotmail.com

    Reply
  28. Unknown

    what a great tutorial! I'm off to try it! I'm a subscriber to your FB page and your You Tube channel! my email is jessicabethsporn (at) gmail (dot) com.

    Reply
  34. Aunt Melissa

    I am absolutely floored at this technique. I called my sister to tell her about Gelli Arts printing plate and she said that she already knew . . . for awhile . . . now I can't wait to use it! LOVE IT!!

    melissa(dot)sample(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply
  38. Emerald

    Yes, please, I would certainly love to win your give-a-way! This technique is exciting and the entire gelli world is calling me!
    Thank you so very much for sharing your ideas and talent with us.
    Cheri

    Reply
  39. Unknown

    Nice technique. Traveling to a good art store in Philadelphia this weekend to pick up some stencils for some encaustic work, this will be a great use of them as well.

    We're planning a large art piece with a group of Scouts (probably a US Flag) to donate to our host school, and we'll be using a Gelli Plate for our background patterning. Great product!

    Reply
  45. Anonymous

    Have seen some of what can be done with the Gelli Plate, my friends on facebook have been posting. I have all the inks and items such as brayers but don't have a Gelli plate, (money very tight at the moment) The product as my friends have told me is awesome and can produce some fantastic creations. would love to win your very generous gift.
    gemimacat1966@hotmail.com

    Reply
  46. Tracy Lang Studio

    I've been having so much fun experimenting with my gelli. Can't wait to try this new technique!

    Reply
  47. Croms' Cubby Hole

    Loving all I'm seeing with these amazing techniques, thank you for the chance to win the means of reproducing.
    helencullum at hotmail dot co dot uk

    Reply
  49. Jane

    That is amazing! Love the stencils too! I have the distress stains and will have to give this a try. Thanks for posting techniques!!

    Reply
  50. Anonymous

    Wow Gelli's are so cool. I work in a art supply store, Plaza Artist Material and we have just gotten the memo of how cool they are. Hopefully we can bring your line in. I would love to win your giveaway and give them a try my self. Thanks for the great demos, tons of ideas to use with gellis or printing in general. Courtney J @ artandrecycling@gmail.com

    Reply

Leave a Reply to My Creative MeCancel reply

Discover more from Printing Projects

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading