How to Print in Your Art Journal with Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plates

Hi there! It’s
Marsha here today! I’m going to show you how you can print directly into your
art journal with Gelli Arts® gel printing plates.

Gel printing
directly into a bound journal is easy! All you need is an acrylic block
slightly larger than your Gelli Arts® gel printing plate.

Gel printing in
your journal is all about taking your plate to the page instead of your page to
the plate!

Preparations

Take your first Gelli
Arts® gel printing plate and place it on an acrylic block.

For my art journal I started out with the 5”x5″ Student Plate before I
proceeded to the 3” x 5” and the round and hexagon mini plates.

Make sure the pages
of your journal lay flat before you begin. Use clips to hold the pages down if
needed.

Sometimes the
gutter of a journal is too deep to access with a gel
printing plate. You can avoid a white stripe in the middle of your spread by
painting the gutter before you start printing.

Limit your color
palette to two or three colors plus black and white. If the chosen
colors mix well, there is no need to clean your plate in between prints.

Stamping

Roll a drop of
paint out on the Gelli Arts® gel printing plate. Use your
favorite texture plates, foam stamps, combs, and other tools to make marks.

Lift the acrylic
block up and place it down on the page just like
stamping!

Stamp off any
excess paint on the page. This creates texture and interest, and it’s a good
way to repeat elements and colors across the spread.

A fully covered
Gelli Arts®gel
printingplate will create
distinct borders on the page. For a softer result, wipe paint off the edges of
the plate before placing it down on the paper.

Stenciling

If you want to use
a mask or a stencil it’s best to position the stencil on the page first.

Roll paint out on
your gel printing plate, lift the plate up, and place it paint side
down over the stencil.

If the paint didn’t
transfer to all of the stencil openings, just stamp your plate again until
you are satisfied with the result.

Crayon Resist

Use an oil pastel
or a crayon to draw a design on a scrap of paper.

Roll a drop of
paint out on the Gelli Arts® mini gel printing plate.

Lift the acrylic
block up and place it plate and paint side down over the oil pastel drawing.

Lift it up again
and stamp the design left on the plate in your art journal.

Finish the
spread

Keep going until
you are satisfied with your spread. I always like to end with some scribbles
and paint splatter!

Happy art
journaling!

Materials:

Gelli Arts®:

3” x 5” Gelli®
Printing Plate

5” x 5″ Gelli
Arts® Student Plate

Gelli Arts® Round
Mini Kit

Gelli Arts® Hexagon
Mini Kit

Gelli Arts® 4”
roller

Gelli Arts® Premium
Acrylic Paint (Freshwater, Jet Black, Lemon Zest, Mixed Berries, Snowbound)

Other:

Acrylic blocks

Traveler’s Notebook
insert

Handmade stencils
and foam stamps

Adhesive numbers

Letter stencils

Oil pastel

China marker

Paint marker

Optional:

Clips

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All rights reserved.