IT’S A SPECIAL DAY! 🎉 We’re celebrating Marsha Valk’s 100TH TUTORIAL on the Gelli Arts® Blog!!!! 💯
🚨FREE STENCIL ALERT: From 12/3-12/15 – Receive a FREE Hellebore Stencil (designed by Marsha) – when you purchase a Gelli Arts® Journal Kit! 🛒Shop here: https://www.gelliarts.com/collections/diy-printing-kits/products/its-new-gelli-arts-diy-journal-kit
Hi there! Marsha here today, sharing a simple and fun gel printing technique that’s suitable for all ages. Use it to create a set of colorful cards, perfect for giving to loved ones as a holiday gift!
These cards were made with only one texture tool: the humble wet wipe.Â
You’d be surprised how many patterns and marks you can make on the Gelli® plate with just a baby wipe, water wipe or a damp cloth!
Use a wet wipe or a damp cloth to remove paint from the plate. The goal is to create lots of ‘open spaces’ that let the white of the paper show.Â
Paint will seep through the wet wipe and can stain your fingers. My Tips: Cut a finger from a disposable glove and use it to protect your index finger from staining. You can also wrap the wet wipe around the end of a pencil or brush instead.
To prevent paint smudges on the backs of your note cards, after you’ve placed your cards on the plate, use scrap paper to cover any remaining wet paint before rubbing.
If your paint dries too quickly to pull a print, add a drop of slow-drying medium.
Or pick up the dry paint with a new layer of (gel) medium. Because the medium is transparent, you will still be able to achieve a similar effect to the cards made in the video.
Keep adding patches of pattern until all the cards are covered and you’re happy with the result. Use scrap paper to protect parts of the card you wish to keep unchanged along the way.
Once the cards are fully filled with pattern and you feel they’re lacking something, you can try taking them one step further by adding a layer of black paint.
In the video, I’m using a heavy body translucent black paint because that’s what I had on hand.Â
Heavy body paint, however, doesn’t spread very easily on the gel plate, so I wouldn’t recommend it. If you happen to have a soft to medium body translucent black, use that instead!
So what do you think? Would you try this with or without a black layer? Share in the comments!
Happy Gel Printing! – Marsha
Material List:
Other:
Acrylic paint in transparent colors (Process Yellow, Process Cyan, Quinacridone Magenta, Bone Black)
2″ brayer
Water wipes (plastic-free) or a damp cloth
Folded note cards
Scrap paper
Optional:
Disposable glove
Pencil or brush
(Gel) Medium
