Gel Printing Workshop & Stamp Giveaway!

Announcement: Contest is closed, congrats to Lee Kendel who won this contest!

Hi freinds! Today I have an indepth gel printing and cardmaking workshop for you! I will also give away the rubber stamps I am using from ArtNeko to one lucky reader so make sure to leave a comment for a chance to win. This contest is open worldwide.

I love making gelatin prints and I really like the synthetic options on the market today as they are vegan and durable and need no refrigeration. You can make your own though and I have a tutorial here on how to do that. I also have a tutorial on making a permanent one but after you buy the gelatin and glycerin for that recipe it might be cheaper to buy one. The main reason I don’t make prints more often is that I end up with a bunch of prints that I don’t know what to do with so they sit in a folder and get forgotten. Today though, we will print on 5″x7″ cards and envelopes. then we will finish them off with some stamping and embellishing so when we are done we have 6 finished cards ready to send and no stack of unused prints to be forgotten. Win Win!

Watch the video to see how!

Tutorial sponsored by Art Neko  *Save 10% off your next order of any size or get free shipping on orders over $50 (whichever discount is greater you get!) just by mentioning thefrugalcrafter! *Visit my blog and enter to win the rubber stamps I used from ArtNeko!

Supplies:

• Stamp sets (artneko.com) Dragonfly Moon, Steampunk Dragonfly & Gears, Shells
• Gelli Arts (TM) Plate and Strathmore Printmaking Cards Value Pack
• *Individual Gel printing plates
• *Individual 5″x7″ card packs (these are thinner but still fun to use!)
• Acrylic Craft Paint
• Silicone Tipped Tools
• Stencils
• **Embossing folders $2 at Consumer Crafts Through 5/30/17 *Big thanks to Consumer Crafts for extending the sale because my video was late! I didn’t want you guys to miss out:)
• Soft Rubber Brayer
• Foam Stamps
• Craft foam (funfoam)
• Deco scissors (To make scraper tools with fun foam)
• Embossing paste
• Metal Wave Stencil *I used this with texture paste
• ATG adhesive
• Hot Glue gun and sticks
• NIJI pearl watercolor set at Consumer crafts or Amazon
• Mizuhiki Cord
• Brads 
• Gelatos  or GEl sticks
• Versamark in pad
• Pearl ex pigment powder *OR Perfect Pearls and this comes with a mini versamark pad
• Ranger Archival Black ink pad
• Hairspray or fixative
• Copper tape (stained glass supply)

Please note that you do not need all of these supplies, they are just the things I used:)

Directions:
1. Place your Gel printing plate on a piece of paper, this will keep your table clean. Squirt a couple dabs of acrylic paint on the pate and spread out with a brayer.

2. There are many ways to make an impression on the plate: You can press a stencil on the plate, you can press an embossed piece of paper on the plate, you can use found objects like mesh bags, leaves or string to make a cool impression too. I like to pull one print with the objects still on the plate and another after you have removed the stencil. You can also draw on the plate with foam and silicon tools. Just be sure not to use sharp objects as they can scratch the plate.

3. Press paper on the plate, rub the back of the paper to ensure the paper completely contacts the plate and remove and set aside to dry.

You can layer as many prints as you like for intersting effects!

4. When you are done be sure to clean your gelli plate, brayer and other tools with soapy water and let dry before storing. I recommend you save the packaging that comes with your Gelli Arts (TM) printing plate for storage.

Embellish your printed cards as desired! I hope you enjoyed this productive workshop. I love to make prints but I don’t like having a bunch of leftover prints I don’t know what to do with, that is why I love to print directly on card bases. This would also be a great way to use up bulk packs of cards, they are often not as thick as we would like but they still would make great notecards if they had a cool print plus the layers of paint will add a bit of thickness to them. Let me know what you think of this project and workshop style videos in the comments below and don’t forget to comment to win the rubber stamps I used from ArtNeko! The other links in this post are affiliate links and I earn a small commission on any sales generated through the links without costing you anything extra, it is a way to support the free tutorials on my blog as you shop and I thank you for your support. Good luck in the contest, I will pick a winner at random in one week, and til next time happy crafting!