Gelli Arts® + Spellbinders® : Gel Printed Zine by Martice Smith

Hello, creatives! Martice here for this week’s Gelli Arts®️ + Spellbinders® collaboration! And of course, the lovely Jane Davenport’s whimsically designed products for Spellbinders® are featured in this quick + easy project.

If you’re a gel printing enthusiast like me (+ my fellow Gelli Arts®️ team members), you have a TON of painted gel prints laying around your studio, just waiting to be used in a project. 

I’m in the process of decluttering my paper stash, so I decided to give my gel prints a fresh breath of life by creating an 8-page zine!

The zines I’ll show you today have luscious colors, bold, tribal patterns, bright colors + grungy textures. A visual feast for the eyes, right?!

The process is quite simple! Here’s a step-by-step on how I made this colorful zine…

Let’s get started!

1. Tear big strips of gel printed papers (I used my 8×10” Gelli Arts printing plate to create these gorgeous, textured prints.)

2. Glue the pieces to cardstock with all-purpose glue or matte medium. (Cardstock will serve as a sturdy base for lightweight papers such as deli papers or regular printer paper.)

TIP! Allow the papers to remain under the heavy stack of books overnight. This will train the paper to lay flat instead of puckering or curling along the edges. 

3. Add shimmery details in random areas on the page with the gold Licensed to Quill pen.

Check out this close up shot of the shimmer! Ooo la la!

 

4. Next, I added doodles using the Storytime Paint Pens. (I LOVE how opaque these are! The colors are nicely saturated + the paint flow is smooth like butter.)

 

5. To make the pages of my zine, I folded the paper in half on the long side, then folded in half along the shorter edge. Finally, each side was folding to meet the center fold line. (I used the handle end of my paintbrush to get the folds nice + flat.)

Here are my finished collaged papers!

FRONT: 

BACK: 

6. Next, I cut an opening across the line in the center.

7. Once again, the paper is folded + creased to make the zine. Ta-daaaa! My zine is finally complete.

Materials list:

• 8”x10” Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate 

• Stack of gel printed papers

• 8 ½”x11” cardstock paper

• All-purpose glue (matte medium works great, too)

• Paintbrush (for applying glue)

• Scissors

• Craft knife

• Jane Davenport Licensed to Quill Pen (Gold)

• Jane Davenport Storytime Paint Pens 

Wanna watch me flip thru the pages of my zines? Twirl on over to Instagram + follow me @MarticeSmithArt. (Also, be sure to follow all of the other incredible artists @GelliArts while you’re there!)

Please share your #GelliArtsMade creations with us by tagging @GelliArts. 

High-five to Spellbinders, for a super fun + awesome collaboration!