Layered Gel Printing Tutorial!

Hi friends!  We are hunkering down for the upcoming storm tomorrow! They have already cancelled school for tomorrow for the kids. They are calling for 12+ inches of snow and high winds so we might lose power. When we lose power our internet goes out (we are lucky, we have a generator but it still knocks the internet out) so I am blogging this project tonight in case I lose internet access:) I am planning to film a painting tutorial tonight before the storm in case I have no power on Friday for the live stream. Wish me luck:)

Tonight I want to share a fun gel (aka gelatin) printing workshop. I will show you how cool it looks when you layer gel prints. It can be discouraging to see beautiful gel printed paper papers and then when you go to try they don’t look as interesting as others you have seen. It’s not anything you are doing wrong, you just need more layers. There is no limit to the amount of layers you can add to a print, you just go until you are happy with it! In today’s video you will get to see how the prints look in progress layer upon layer (hot mess stage and all!) I hope you enjoy it and give it a try!

Sponsored by Smart Art!  get a box of full-sized art supplies delivered to your door every month. The December box had supplies from Gelli Arts including a 5″x7″ plate, brayer, acrylic paint and blank cards to print on. You can sign up for a subscription to get a surprise project sent to you every month or check out some of their past boxes. You get everything you need for a particular lesson in each box and you can use supplies from several boxes together as your collection grows.

 

There are many hand supplies you can use in gel printing. You can even make most of your supplies. Below I will list some suggestions!

•  Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate or homemade gelatin plate-Tutorial here.
• Blank greeting cards or cardstock (you can print on ANY paper though!)
• Acrylic Paint: I prefer inexpensive craft acrylic paint for this
• Soft Rubber Brayer
• Soft silicone tools and silicone spatulas with notches cut in it.
• Embossed cardstock (use any embossing folders you have and emboss scrap cardstock to use as texture plates)
• Stencils, gear masks, gear stencils, patterns,
• Foam Stamps
• Fun foam cut with deco-edge scissors to make texture combs
• Hair combs

*Feel free to use any textured items you have around the house that you don’t mind getting painty like: Mesh produce bags, bubble wrap, string, burlap, plastic bags, leaves, lace, ribbon, feathers, rubber bands, sponges, rubber shelf liner, plastic canvas, mesh, gauze etc.

Tips:

1. wash your brayer well with soap and water after printing because dried paint can leave bumps on the surface and it can prevent the brayer from rolling well if the axle gets cakes with paint. The brayer in the kit pops out of the handle for easy cleaning.

2. Use craft paint that comes in bottles rather than thicker artists acrylic, it works better and it cheaper too!

3. If at first you don’t succeed, layer, layer layer! Since you are using acrylics you can keep layering until you are happy with it.

4. Have fun!

If you are in the path of the storm stay safe and warm and hopefully I will be online friday with a live stream and if not hopefully I will have something prerecorded:) Take care and til next time happy crafting!