Beautiful Image Transfers on Gelli® Printed Backgrounds!

Hello everyone! My name isBirgit Koopsenand I feel
honored to be guest blogging here on the Gelli Arts blog!

Today I will show you how to use your
Gelli® printed backgrounds for beautiful, colorful image transfers. 

Watch my video to get started — written instructions are below!

We start by printing a bunch of
backgrounds using an 8×10 Gelli® printing plate. 

First, pick your colors.

If you want bright and vibrant colors
(like on my prints) then stay away from dark colors like black, dark blue, dark
green and so on. Add in one or 2 neon colors for extra vibrancy.

Then, decide which tools you want to
use to create marks, patterns and texture.

I went to the DIY store and got myself
one of those fluffy paint rollers, big enough to hold the tube of a toilet
paper roll. Then I covered toilet roll tubes with bubble wrap, punchanella and
pieces of self-adhesive craft foam. These are perfect to create ongoing
patterns on the Gelli® plate and so much fun to make! I also used the inside of
a chocolate box and I just love the square grid that it creates on my prints.
In addition to these, I used stencils and a texture plate from CarabelleStudio.

Now you are ready to start printing,
and you know how it is when you start Gelli® printing, right?! It is impossible
to make just one print so make sure you have a nice stack of paper on hand ☺

I’m using 200gr. cold press watercolor paper which I think is the perfect paper to do image transfers on.

Just create a bunch of random colorful
backgrounds, start with color only, no patterns yet. I usually start with
covering my backgrounds with 2 or 3 light colors like yellow, pink and orange
and then later add patterns in darker colors, this way you will keep the light
colors vibrant.

If you would, for instance, print a
translucent yellow on top of a darker blue or green then it will lose the
vibrancy. Then, once I have a nice stack of printed papers, I move on to doing
patterns, marks, and texture, but I make sure to leave some spaces open for the
image transfers. Especially when you do portraits — it is not always nice to
have bold patterns in the face.

The pictures below show the fun results
of using the handmade texture rolls and the chocolate box:

I love using stencils on my prints, but
in general not in the first layer of print. To create the look on the picture
below I add paint to the Gelli® plate, put a stencil on top and then make a
print (usually on scrap paper) to remove most of the paint that is in the open
spaces of the stencil, but not all of it. Then I remove the stencil and pull
the final print on my background.

To create the image transfer you need
laser prints or photo copies (inkjet does not work well with this technique),
gel medium (I prefer Liquitex Matte Medium because it is so fluid and smooth
and easy to work with), a soft brush, a bank or gift card, paper towels, baby
wipes, a bowl of water and of course your beautiful Gelli® prints.

Steps for Image Transfer:

1. Pick one of your favorite backgrounds.
2. Cut out the picture you want to use.
3. Apply a thin layer of matte medium to both the
   background and the right side of the picture
4. Place the picture, right side down on the
   background.
5. Use the bank card to remove any excess matte
   medium and air bubbles from the picture
6. Let it dry….. (patience!)
7. Once the background is dry, use water and your
   fingers to rub away all the paper
8. Finally, cover the image with a thin layer of
   matte medium

Watch the video again to see the process, it
is really not that complicated!

When the image transfer is done, you
can work on your page as on any other art journal page. You can stamp, paint,
draw and write on it. The transfer is water resistant so you can use whatever
medium you like.

I finished my page using stamps from
the “Round and Round” set that I designed for Carabelle Studio, splattering and some handwritten text.

I stamped the circles on a separate
Gelli® print and cut them out, then glued them to my page.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

Our Winner is T. Dickson!

Check out our fabulous giveaway! 

One lucky winner will win all the following supplies 

to try this technique on their own!

• (1) 8×10 Gelli Printing Plate
• (1) Speedball 4″ soft rubber brayer
• (1) Jar of Liquitex Matte Medium
• (1) Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylics, Set of 24 20ML 
• (1) Carabelle Round on Round Stamp designed by Birgit Koopsen
• (1) Carabelle Triangle Mesh Mask designed by Birgit Koopsen
• (1) Carabelle Texture Plate
• (1) Carabelle Circles Mask

To enter the giveaway, click on the red “ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE” button below! (This will ensure that we can contact the winner and that entries are limited to one per person. One winner will be selected from all the entries via a random number generator to receive this very special giveaway!) Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, May 24th at noon EST. Our lucky winner will be contacted by email and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than Wednesday, May 25th at noon EST. 

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

Thank you so much for stopping by! I
really hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I would love to see what you create!

Birgit x

PS: Please—share your prints with us on our Facebook page, or on Instagram using the hashtag #gelliprint #gelliarts and #gelliplate. Tag us with @gelliarts on Instagram and Twitter too! We love to see what you’re creating!!

Remember, we now have Gelli partners all over the world, so it’s easier than ever to find a Gelli retailer near you!

Happy Printing from all of us at Gelli Arts!