Gel Printing With Masks + The Gelli Arts® Perfect Borders Set by Marsha Valk

Hi there! It’s Marsha here today, sharing how I create multi-layered gel prints using different types of masks.

In the video, I’m gel printing with one of the two brand new Gelli Arts® Perfect Borders sets.

I chose the one with the fabulous new 4″x6″ gel printing plate and the new .5″ Mini Placement Tool.

This combo is perfect for creating 5″x7″ cards or prints with a nice .5″ border.

Masking is basically blocking paint transfer by covering parts of the gel plate or the paper.

It’s a super versatile technique that will work not only with masks and stencils but any thin, flat item.

Think of die-cuts, cut-outs, punched paper, paper or acetate strips, lace or trim, fruit and vegetable nets, rubber bands, thread, twine, yarn, string, feathers, botanicals, (washi) tape, stickers, punchinella, gauze or fabric and last but not least: masking fluid.

Because masking exposes the underlying layer, I like to start with gel printing a foundation of solid color. You can also choose to print on colored paper.

One of my absolute favorite masking methods is masking fluid. It gives me the option of gel printing detailed writing or hand-drawn elements as well as more abstract and expressive marks.

The masking fluid I used in this video is very runny and comes with a fine-tip applicator. If your bottle doesn’t have a fine tip, I recommend using a rubber tip tool to draw or write with instead.

Masking fluid must be fully dry before gel printing on top.

Whatever color you print on top will determine the visibility of your design. You can make it pop by choosing a contrasting color. Or you can make it ton-sur-ton by selecting a color closer to the base layer.

Masking fluid resists the paint on the plate, creating fun ghost images!

You can remove the masking fluid once you want to see what the print looks like without it. I like to use a glue eraser for this task.

After you’ve removed the masking fluid, you can assess each print. As you can see in the video, there is no such thing as a perfect gel print.

If you ever feel underwhelmed with the result after a pull, it just means the print isn’t done yet. A gel print is never a total loss. So keep working on it until you’re happy.

You can gel print as many layers as you want. And with the help of the Mini Placement Tool, you can easily print each layer in precisely the same spot on the paper!