Printing with Gelli Arts®

Addicted to Gelli printing? You're not alone! In fact, we've heard that from so many of you, we created a badge so you can share your passion for Gelli printing with the world!

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Copy this code!

We hope you like our badge and, of course, we hope to see it in action on your blog :) We'd love to highlight some of the blogs who showcase the Addicted to Gelli Arts badge so let us know if that's you!

And now ...

Another exciting technique for your Gelli printing!

Watch what happens when you roll a layer of thick paint over a thin one ... for a unique way to create a layered multi-color Gelli print in one pull!

If you're fascinated with unpredictable paint interactions — you'll want to explore this FUN technique!

The principle for this process is simple:

A layer of thin paint is rolled on the plate ... you must have areas with NO PAINT.
Quickly, load your brayer with thick paint and roll it over the thin wet paint.
The thick paint will adhere to the plate in the bare areas — and is repelled by the thin wet layer underneath!
Wet paint is rolled over wet paint ... so it's FAST and FREEand FUN!!!

This is also known as "Viscosity Printing". The key to this technique is using paint layers of very different viscosities.

So, in case you're wondering ...

High viscosity paints are thick

— like heavy-body acrylics.

Low viscosity paints are thin and flow easily

— like acrylic inks.

Golden Artist Colors has a brand new line of paints called High Flow — and they're great low viscosity paints for this technique!

Here's the step-by-step process:

Printing Thick Over Thin

1. Roll a layer of thin paint onto your Gelli plate.

NOTE: If the paint beads up on your plate, try washing it with dish soap (I use Dawn) — then rinse and pat dry.

2. Remove some paint using a paintbrush ... or cotton swab ... or comb ... or your favorite texture tools ... and create a design.

3. Apply thick paint to a palette and roll out to load your brayer.

4. Carefully roll the thick paint over your first layer of thin paint on the Gelli plate. The thick paint will adhere to the bare areas — while it's repelled by the thin wet paint.

NOTE: There's an element of "touch" involved in this step. As you experiment, you'll get a feel for how much paint to load on the brayer ... and how much pressure to use when rolling the brayer on your plate. You can "kiss" the surface with a light touch ... or use a heavier hand and lay down more paint. The results can vary accordingly, so be prepared to play a bit :)

5. Cover the plate with paper, rub to transfer the paint — and pull your print!

The paints will interact with interesting and unpredictable results — giving you a multi-color print in one pull!

NOTE: The brayer will pick up the pattern from the plate as you roll the second (thick) layer ... so have a piece of paper ready to roll off your brayer and capture these unique images :)

Brayer picks up the pattern from the painted plate!

Roll the brayer on a piece of paper for an offset print!

The painted brayers will repeat the pattern as they roll — like a ghost print

TIPS:

Keep a sketchbook handy for rolling your brayer and create fabulous pages with various offset prints! You'll quickly have a collection of great pages!
Have fun combining "Thick and Thin" printing with stencils and masks.
Use metallic paints! They're available in thick and thin viscosities.
Roll out more than one color in each thick and thin layer.

Combs make wonderful marks and create fabulous effects in viscosity prints!

Try the new Catalyst Contour tools by Princeton Artist Brush Co. for creative mark-making!

Empty Montana markers filled with High Flow!

Golden High Flow acrylics have the consistency of ink ... so they're liquid.

Which means they're ideal for using with a pen or brush!

Following a recommendation by Golden, you can load High Flow acrylic paint into refillable markers— great for working back into prints!

Printing with different viscosities is fun and adventurous ... not to mention ... addicting!!! Give it a try — you'll create some amazing effects!

Check out our fabulous GIVEAWAY!!!

Our INCREDIBLE PRIZE will have you printing in the "Thick and Thin" of it ... and includes:

1 (One) —6"x6" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
3 (Three) — 4 oz Golden High Flow acrylic colors
3 (Three) — 4 oz Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Colors
4 (Four) — Catalyst Contour tools

To be entered to win, you MUST leave a comment here on the blog (not on facebook... please leave comment HERE on the blog!)

Entries (via comments on the blog) will be accepted until 5pm EST on Tuesday, August 20th. A winner will be chosen at random and announced Wednesday morning, August 21st, here on the Gelli Arts blog and on our Facebook page!

And while you're feeling the Gelli love ...

Remember to grab the new Gelli badge to post it on YOUR blog! Let us know if you do ... we will be looking to highlight blogs with the badge on our Gelli Arts Facebook page :)

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

In this video you'll see the 12" x 14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate in action! Printing on fabric with acrylic and metallic fabric paints, using MagicStamps™ — with plenty of tips and techniques!

Many monoprinting techniques work just as well on fabric as they do on paper. Watch this video and see how fun and easy it is to make your own printed fabric!

Love using fabric in your art? Try printing your own unique designs!

Gelli printing on various types of fabric

Fabrics with a tight weave, like muslin and PFD cottons, are excellent choices.

Sheer fabrics, like organza and silk Habotai can be monoprinted and used in layered works to great effect!

NOTE: PFD fabrics means "Prepared for Dyeing"

Dharma Trading Co. is an excellent source for various PFD fabrics — as well as printable scarves and garments.

The process and techniques for monoprinting on fabric are the same as printing on paper.

Instead of pulling a print on paper ... place your fabric on a painted Gelli plate, rub to transfer the paint — and pull your print. It's as simple as that!

Monoprinted fabric

It can be helpful to iron your fabric first to remove any wrinkles, but not necessary.

You also might want to stabilize your fabric before printing on it.

To do this, simply iron the WRONG side of the fabric to the SHINY (plastic) side of a piece of freezer paper.

The fabric will temporarily bond to the freezer paper.

To release, just pull the fabric off the backing — so
easy!

NOTE: If the fabric surface has bubbles when ironed onto freezer paper, iron on the fabric side and smooth them out.

Monoprinting on stabilized fabric feels a lot like printing on paper.

You may find it easier to stamp, draw or paint directly on your fabric when it's backed with freezer paper.

Stabilizing fabric is completely optional — a personal preference!

You may not feel the need to take the extra step to stabilize muslin or sturdier fabrics, but I do recommend stabilizing sheer fabrics.

Stabilizing makes sheers much easier to handle in the printing process. Also, it keeps the paint that bleeds through the sheer fabric off your hands :)

Silk Habotai 5mm — so sheer and lightweight — with a lustrous finish

Sheer fabrics, like silk Habotai, are wonderful for layering and collage.

This is a monoprinted piece of silk Habotai 5mm.

It's draped over a sheet of printed paper to show how translucent and lightweight it is!

Try fusing your printed sheer fabric over text for a muted, layered effect! Lovely and ethereal.

Mistyfuse is ideal for fusing sheer fabrics!

When printing on fabric, you have many choices for paint. Acrylic paints, fabric paints and water-based screen-printing inks are all good.

Assorted fabric paints

Various brands of fabric medium are available — and can turn any acrylic paint into fabric paint!

Golden's GAC 900 is an excellent fabric medium.

Add GAC 900 to any acrylic paint. The paint will print with a softer hand — and once heat-set, the printed fabric will have improved launderability.

IMPORTANT: Follow the specific directions for the brand of fabric medium you use.

If you don't intend to wash the fabric after it's printed — there's no need to add fabric medium to your paint.

You may need to use a bit more paint when printing on fabric than when printing on paper. But be careful not to use too much ... it can absorb right through to the back — or create blobs when you print it!

Try using less paint when printing on sheer fabrics.

NOTE: It can take some experimenting to discover how different paints act on different fabrics. Same applies to learning how much paint to use!

Jacquard's Lumiere fabric paints offer a great selection of rich metallic colors.

Lumiere is positively dazzling when printed on black fabric! I find it works best with a fairly heavy layer of paint on the Gelli plate.

These printed fabrics are way more metallic and luminous in person than these photos depict.

When printing on fabric, use combs, stencils, masks, rubbing plates ... and your favorite texture tools for making marks!

MagicStamps™ are among my favorite fabric design tools.

For complete step-by-step information on using these heat-moldable foam blocks, please take a look at the blog post, "When Gelli Meets MagicStamps™" (Jan. 16, 2012)

Gelli printed fabric created with MagicStamps

NOTE: There's also a video slideshow at the end of that post showing samples of Gelli printed fabric — created with MagicStamps. It's not a tutorial ... just printed examples :)

After you've printed your fabric ...

Have fun adding writing — or your personal marks — to your monoprinted fabric!

Stained by Sharpie— Brush Tip Fabric Markers — are so perfect for this!

The brush tips allow for a range of marks — and these fabric markers won't bleed on fabric the way regular Sharpies can.

Another fabulous pen is Pentel's Gel Roller for Fabric.

This 1.0mm pigment ink pen goes on so smooth! And it's permanent.

Wonderful for fine lines and handwriting!

Handprinted fabric can add an exciting and personal touch to quilts, sewing projects, art dolls, mixed media pieces, collage, art journals, handmade books, cards, scrapbooks, and jewelry. If you haven't monoprinted on fabric ... go for it! ... and add an element of unique textiles to your artwork!

And now ...

We have a UNBELIEVABLE GIVEAWAYto get you

super-excited about Gelli printing on fabric!!!

Our AMAZING PRIZE includes:

One (1) — LARGE 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate!
One (1) — MagicStamp package (8 stamp blocks)
Four (4) — MagicStamps (molded from my designs - ready to use!)
Six (6) — Lumiere Fabric Paints
One (1) — 8-color set of Stained by Sharpie - Brush Tip Fabric Markers
One (1) — Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric (black)
One (1) — Golden GAC 900 (Fabric Painting Medium) — 8 fl. oz

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

All you need to do to be entered to win is:

Post a comment HERE on our blog - easy!
If you don't already, please subscribe to our Gelli Arts blog. (Note - subscribing is NOT a requirement to win the giveaway!).

Entries (via comments on this blog) will be accepted until 5pm EST on Tuesday, September 24th!

One lucky winner will be chosen at random and announced no later than 10:00am on Wednesday, September 25th. The winner will be announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page!

This Contest is officially CLOSED.

If you liked this tutorial we hope that you will share with others via your Pinterest page, blog or Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment!

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

There's something universally appealing about the round shape and all it symbolizes. Take a look at this video and see the beauty of printing on the NEW 8” Round Gelli Plate.

It's inspiring to work on a circular plate surface! In an instant, ideas come to mind: the sun, the moon, our planet Earth, infinity, wholeness, unity, the cycle of life, mandalas, the wheel, bubbles, Venn diagrams. And that's just for starters!

With no beginning and no end — the circle shape signifies eternity. All there is. Endless possibilities!

The round plate provides new opportunities to explore themes. And before you know it — you may find yourself working on a series inspired simply by the shape of the plate!

When you work on a Gelli printed series, one print informs the next. And one quick way to start working on a series is to use a mask or masks — and repeat images.

The most interesting masked prints are often the ghost prints— after the mask has been removed.

For in-depth information on using masks, please take a look at the blog post:

"Who Was That Masked Man?

The stencil and masks used in this video are from Green Pepper Press, designed by Michelle Ward.

Green Pepper Press Stencil & Masks set. From The Frond Collection

Not only do you get the wonderful stencil ... you get the cut-outs as well!

So you also get a set of masks!

GPP stencil and mask sets are so perfect for Gelli printing!

Double the fun!!!

Instead of a series of individual prints — consider overlapping circular prints on a larger piece of paper to create a unified piece.

Detail from 11'x14" Gelli Print

To create this piece:

The 8" round imprints are overlapped on a piece of 11"x14"Strathmore Bristol.

The paint is Golden OPEN Acrylic! It easily rolls out in a thin layer and is perfect for printing highly detailed images with masks!

The Golden OPEN Acrylics palette used includes:

Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold Quinacridone Magenta

Manganese Blue Hue

These vibrant pigments mix cleanly and have wonderful transparency. So when the printed images overlap, they produce beautiful new colors!

Since these masks are part of a matching stencil set, you can go back into the prints using the stencils — using sprays, stamp inks applied with blending tools and stipple brushes, colored pencils, and so on.

You can also create interesting prints by layering different colors and slightly moving the masks for each layer. That'll give you an interesting out-of-registration print like this :)

Multi-layered, masked print on deli paper.

So get inspired! Experience the joy of printing on the NEW Round Gelli Plate!!!

And now…

This Contest is officially CLOSED

WE HAVE A WINNER! Our random generator chose #604 which belongs to
(blogger name) "Kristi Matta Heather Kromer" from Standish Maine!!

The Giveaway includes the following items!
One (1) — 8" Round Gelli Printing Plate
Three (3) — Green Paper Press Stencil & Mask Sets
Three (3) — 4oz Jars of GOLDEN Open Acrylic paint
One (1) — 11"x14" pad of Strathmore Bristol paper

All you need to do to be entered to win is:
Post a comment HERE on our blog - easy!
If you don't already, please subscribe to our Gelli Arts blog. (Note - subscribing is NOT a requirement to win the giveaway!).

Entries (via comments on this blog) will be accepted until 5pm EDT, Tuesday, Oct 22nd!

One lucky winner will be chosen at random and announced no later than 10am Wednesday October 23rd. The winner will be announced here on the blog (in the comments section of this blog post) and on our Facebook page!

A special thanks to Michelle Ward for generously providing the Stencil & Mask Sets from Green Pepper Press!

Please feel free to spread the word about the NEW Round Gelli Plate with others via Pinterest (just hover over the blog images to see the 'pin it' button!), your blog or share from our Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment!

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

Masking fluid provides unique and creative possibilities for Gelli printing. Watch this video to see how it works!

Masks are used as a barrier between the paint on the gel plate and the printing paper. The purpose is to block the transfer of paint from the plate to the paper in selective areas.

It's easy to cut a paper mask to the shape you want to block out on your print — or use a found object or stencil as a mask. (See previous blog tutorial for more information on using paper masks!)

But what if you want to mask handwriting, or a gestural line, or drawn symbols, or small random marks?

That's when using masking fluid is the way to go!

Gelli print with masked marks

Masking fluid (also called liquid frisket) is a fluid solution that dries to a rubbery film. It creates a barrier — and paint applied over it is easily removed by peeling it off.

Watercolorists use masking fluid for preserving selective areas of the white of the paper — or for preserving areas in a layer of color that will be painted over.

Good news! Masking fluid can be used for Gelli printing too!

You can apply masking fluid directly to your unprinted paper.

Masking fluid preserves areas of the white of the paper in a Gelli print

When applied onto a printed layer — masking fluid will preserve the color under it.

Masking fluid applied over a printed layer preserves the color of that layer

These steps explain the process:

1. Pull a print to add color to the paper. (This is the color you'll see when the mask is removed)

2. When the print is completely dry, apply the masking fluid to the paper.

Masking fluid applied over a Gelli print

3. Allow the masking fluid to dry completely! Thin areas dry quickly, but thick areas or blobs can take a while.

4. When the mask is completely dry — you can print on the paper as usual.

Dry masking fluid on Gelli print

5. You can print multiple layers over the masking fluid! The mask can be removed even when there's quite a bit of paint covering it!

Several layers printed over dry masking fluid

IMPORTANT: The print must be completely dry before the next step.

6. When the paint is fully dry, gently rub the mask off the paper. You can use a rubber cement pick-up, or gently rub with a clean finger to remove it. The stretchy, rubbery mask will ball up and can be pulled off.

The print is dry and ready for the masking fluid to be peeled off

Important Information and Tips for Using Masking Fluid:

Do NOT use a good brush to apply the masking fluid. It will ruin your brush.

A disposable brush is recommended.

If using a brush, dip it in soapy water to help it flow.

An eyedropper is easy and fun to use — but it isn't good for controlling fine lines. And it tends to leave blobs (which can be artful!).
You can keep adding different layers of masking fluid as you build up layers on your print. Just remember you'll need to let the mask dry and the paint dry completely each time.
It's best to peel off the masking soon after your print is completely dry.
As with any new art material, it's best to experiment before applying it to an important piece.

For success with masking fluid ... always keep in mind:

The masking fluid must be completely dry before you print over it.

The print must be completely dry before you remove the masking fluid.

Gelli print (after masking fluid is removed)

And one more fun thing… after you pull a print, the relief from the dry masking fluid can sometimes leaves a nice imprint in the paint left on the gel plate. Quickly pull that ghost print for another cool image! And the ghost is right-reading! (See previous blog tutorial for more information on Ghost Printing!)

Ghost print

Have fun exploring the creative possibilities using masking fluid with Gelli printing. Consider it another great tool for making your mark!

And now we have a SPECIAL GIVEAWAY to get you excited about using masking fluid ... on our NEW 8'' ROUND GELLI PLATE!!!

Our fabulous prize includes the following:

One (1) — NEW! 8" Round Gelli Plate
One (1) — 4" Soft Rubber Speedball Brayer (Pop-In)
One (1) — Dr. Ph. Martin's Frisket Liquid Mask
One (1) — Rubber Cement Pickup

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment here on the blog. Comments will be accepted until this WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27th at 5:00pm EST!! Leave your comment now!

One lucky winner will be selected at random and announced no later than Thursday morning, Nov 28th at 10am. (Yes - Thanksgiving morning!!) The winner will be announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page!

Good luck ... and Happy Printing!

Gelli prints make great tags, cards and ATC's! Watch this video demonstration for ideas on creating fun small prints!

When you print on paper that's smaller than the painted gel plate, you're creating a bleed print. That means the printed image is the entire paper, right up to and including the edges ... no borders.

Making a bleed print — or in this case, printing tags — couldn't be easier:

Place your tags on the painted gel plate
Place a cover sheet over the plate
Rub to transfer the paint
Remove the cover sheet
Pull your printed tags

The cover sheet picks up the paint from the areas on the plate that weren't covered by the tag. In fact, the cover sheet is a masked print of the negative space around the tags.

Also — use the cover sheets to pick up the ghost image after the tags are removed ... and you'll see how interesting cover sheets can become!

Cover sheets make great beginnings, so keep using them over and over.

And here's a fun technique for adding rubber stamped images to Gelli printed tags!

This technique calls for some unprinted areas on your tags. You can achieve this simply with torn paper masks. Follow these easy steps for fun results!

Apply acrylic paint to the plate and roll out with a brayer.
Place torn pieces of paper (masks) onto the painted plate, which will create unprinted areas in your print.
Leave masks on the plate and place the tags onto the painted plate.
Cover the plate with a sheet of paper that's larger than the plate.
Rub the paper to transfer the paint — and remove the cover sheet. (keep using the cover sheet as long as the paint is dry)
Remove the tags and let the paint dry completely.

TIP: Acrylic paint acts as a resist. It must be completely dry before continuing to the next step.

Ink a stamp with a dye stamp pad (such as Distress or Adirondack— both by Ranger) — and stamp onto the masked area on your tag. The stamped image can overlap onto painted areas.

With a damp paper towel, wipe stamped ink off the acrylic paint. Acrylic paint resists the stamp pad ink, and the stamped image will remain only in the masked area.

Note: The stamp ink may smear or blend into the unpainted paper, giving it color! The stamp image remains.

It's fun to continue embellishing the stamp images with colored pencils or markers. But for special glittery effects, try the Wink of Stella brush pens by Zig! They add a subtle touch of superfine glitter ... and offer the easiest way to add some sparkle to your print! With no mess! The brush tip allows for delicate lines as well as broader coverage. They can lend a touch of magic to a small print, like a tag!

Want to give it a try? Our extra-fun giveaway will have you making sparkly tags in no time!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

We have a winner! The random generator picked Vicki Romaine! Congrats to Vicki and a huge THANKS to all who commented and shared their fun artwork with us over the past few days on our FB page. Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season!

This fabulous prize package includes:

One (1) — 6" x 6" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
One (1) — Speedball 4" Soft Rubber Pop-In Brayer
One (1) — set of three (3) Wink of Stella Brush Markers
One (1) — set of four (4) clear stamps by Inkadinkadoo
One (1) — Distress Ink Pad
Two (2) — Rubbing Plates by Cedar Canyon
Twenty (20) — Blank Manilla Tags

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment HERE ON THE BLOG!!

Comments (as your entry!) will be accepted until 12pm (noon) EST Monday, December 23rd. Leave your comment NOW!!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

We have a winner! The random generator picked Vicki Romaine! Congrats to Vicki and a huge THANKS to all who commented and shared their fun artwork with us over the past few days on our FB page.

One lucky winner will be selected AT RANDOM and announced no later than 5pm EST on Monday, December 23rd. The winner will be announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page!

For more wonderful examples of Gelli printed Tags or ATC's, check out our Pinterest Boards loaded with thousands of examples from Gelli printers who live all over the world. Please share your Gelli printed Tags or ATC's with us on Facebook too!

Good luck ... and Happy Printing!

Swap out your brayer for some paintbrushes and create a painterly layered Gelli print! To see how easy and fun it is ... watch this video!!

The painterly approach to monotypes can range from loose and spontaneous to structured and carefully planned ... and everything in between. In other words — this technique is for everyone!!

From abstract to representational, the painterly print provides unlimited possibilities for creating an image by building layers of brushstrokes and textures.

Here's how!

Start by applying paint to your Gelli Arts gel printing plate with a brush. A thin layer is best — thick areas of paint will print as blobs! For this technique, you want the beauty of the brushstrokes to come through.
Then, simply keep building on the image. Apply paint to select areas of the plate and pull your print. Keep doing this with additional layers on the same print until you're satisfied with the image.
The residual paint on the gel plate serves as a guide for the next paint application. It should be pretty easy to see where you may want to add color and texture in each subsequent layer.

Tips:

For vibrant colors, allow the print to dry between layers. That will help keep the colors from mixing and getting muddy.

When using cotton swabs to wipe out lines, shapes or dots on the plate ... it’s easier to remove paint if the swab is dampened first with water.

You can apply paint to select areas of the gel plate for each layer. There's no need to cover the entire surface of the plate on each layer.

To register your print, it helps when the gel plate is sitting on a piece of paper the same size as your printing paper. That way, you can visually align the printing paper with the paper under the plate. It's not precise, but it's usually close enough.

It's a good idea to mark the top of the back of your printing paper with a pencil mark. That way, you won't have to figure out the correct orientation of the paper as you print each layer.

Consider the transparency and opacity of the paints you're using, as that will greatly impact the appearance of colors as they print over one another.

This painterly technique gives you the opportunity to be very deliberate in applying each layer. When looking at your print and deciding what you want to add in the next layer, keep in mind that what you paint on the gel plate will print reversed (mirror image).

If you want to develop your image slowly — use a slow drying paint, like Golden Open Acrylics. Adding Golden Open Medium to acrylic paint will extend the working time of the paint.

FYI ... Materials used in the video:

The paints used in the video are Golden Heavy Body Acrylics with Open Fluid Medium (Matte) added to them. The paints used in the background/negative space are Golden Open Acrylics.
The print in the video is on 11"x14"Strathmore Bristol (vellum surface) ... and printed on a 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate.
The brushes used in the video are Princeton Catalyst Polytip Bristle Brushes.

Painting directly on the gel plate with paintbrushes has a wonderful 'feel'. Try layering painterly images and brushstrokes and see for yourself!

AND … we have a very "BIG" GIVEAWAY!!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

One (1) — 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate!
One (1) — Gelli Arts Apron printed with the official "Addicted to Gelli" badge!
Four (4!!!) — Princeton Catalyst Polytip Bristle Brushes!

How To Enter Our Random Drawing for this Giveaway!

Leave a comment below on this blog post! Helpful hints:

Click in the comment box to leave a comment (scroll to the bottom of the comments to find the box!)
Or, click on the "# of comments" next to "published by Joan Bess" to make the comment box appear!
Leave your comment now :)

Comments will be accepted until Monday, Jan 20th at 12:00 noon EST.
One comment per person — please!
Not required... but PLEASE share your passion for Gelli printing by tweeting, posting and pinning this fabulous tutorial and giveaway! We appreciate it all!

One lucky winner will be chosen by random drawing on Monday, Jan 20th after 12pm EST and announced here on the blog AND on our facebook page no later than Monday, Jan 20th at 5pm, EST.

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Thanks to Princeton Brush and Willow Wolfe for supplying the fabulous brushes for our giveaway! Good luck ... and Happy Printing!!

Pressing a handmade layered texture plate into a painted Gelli plate is a fabulous way to create a unique image! Watch this video for a demonstration of this easy technique.

You can make texture plates to match the size of your Gelli plate, or make smaller plates that can be used as stamps. This technique is especially fun for making custom texture plates designed speciﬁcally for your Round Gelli Plate.

Texture plates can be made from many different materials. The material used in the video is...heavyweight fusible stabilizer. It's perfect for making quick layered texture plates that are ready to use right away.

I use Peltex 71F(by Pellon) — a heavyweight stabilizer with fusible adhesive on one side. It's a stiff non-woven polyester material about 1/16" thick. And so easy to cut!

Those of you who quilt or sew may be familiar with this stabilizer for creating fabric bowls, bags, postcards, ATC's, etc.

What makes Peltex so interesting for making layered texture plates is its dimensional quality. As you build the layers, you're creating a deep relief pattern.

When the texture plate is pressed into a painted Gelli plate and removed — a 'halo' effect

remains around the shapes. In other words, the surface of the texture plate removes some of the paint ... but there will be a line, or shadow, around the shapes. This can make wonderful printed images — with an almost 3-D effect!

Here's how to make the texture plate:

Cut a piece of Peltex to the desired size to use as the substrate for your texture plate.
Place the cut substrate on a piece of parchment paper (on top of ironing surface)
Cut pieces of Peltex into desired shapes.
Arrange the pieces on the substrate with the fusible side down. (Layer some cut pieces on top of others to create dimension on the plate)
Cover with parchment paper and press with a hot iron to fuse the layers together. (Follow manufacturer's instructions for fusing)
Remove the parchment paper and trim along the edge of the texture plate.

So fast and easy! Now your layered texture plate is ready to use!

Printing with these plates is like using a stamp.

Apply paint to the Gelli plate and roll into a smooth layer with a brayer
Press the texture plate firmly into the wet paint and remove
Place the printing paper on the painted Gelli plate
Rub to transfer paint
Pull your print

For a dynamic effect with layered texture plates — try printing on black paper with opaque white or metallic paint!

Peltex is available at fabric stores, like JoAnn Fabrics...and many online sources.

When cutting a full-size texture plate for your Gelli plate, add a half inch or so to the overall dimensions — for easy handling.

To apply a layer of paint to the round plate with a brayer — start from the center and roll out to the edge.

Press the texture plate firmly into the wet paint. Avoid moving the texture plate while you press it into the Gelli plate, as that can blur the image.

If you don't have Peltex, try making texture plates from sticky-back craft felt. You can find it at craft stores.

Adhesive-backed craft felt can be cut into shapes and layered. Simply peel the backing off and stick the pieces together.

Craft felt produces a slightly different image ... not quite as hard-edged as Peltex. If the felt plate becomes saturated with paint, stamping the felt plate on paper will give you a relief print of the image.

When making multiple prints from the same texture plate, wet paint from the previous print may transfer to the next painted Gelli plate image. This is a wonderful way to create multi-color images! So, it’s important to consider the sequence of colors used. It's easy for the prints to get muddy as you switch from one color to another.

Using colors with a high contrast against the paper color creates very dynamic images. Likewise, dark colors on white paper make exciting prints!

For those of you who scan your prints and enhance them in photo-editing software — this technique lends itself to very interesting digital prints.

FYI: Materials used in this video:

8" Round Gelli Plate
Deco Arts Multi-Surface SATIN™acrylic paint
Strathmore Bristol (vellum surface)
Strathmore Artagain (coal black)
Speedball 4" Soft Rubber Pop-In Brayer
Peltex 71F
Scissors
Parchment Paper
Iron and ironing surface

And here's our awesome Giveaway to get you excited about making texture plates for Gelli printing on the NEW 8" Round Gelli Plate!

1 - 8" Round Gelli Printing Plate
12 - Deco Arts Multi-Surface SATIN acrylic paints (2 oz. bottles)
1 - Pad (24 sheets) Strathmore Bristol (9"x12")
1 - Pad (24 sheets) Strathmore Artagain® coal black (9"x12")
1 - Speedball 4" Soft Rubber Pop-In Brayer
4 - Pieces of Peltex 71F (9"x12")

To enter to win, all you need to do is leave a comment here on the blog. Comments will be accepted until Tuesday, Feb. 25th at 12 noon EST. One lucky winner will be selected at random on Feb. 25th and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than Feb. 25th at 5 p.m. EST.

And a special thanks to our friends at Deco Artand Strathmore Papers for their generous support for this giveaway!

Good luck...and Happy Printing!

Draw with wax crayons on your printing paper before you pull a Gelli print! Sound like fun? Watch this video and see how this simple resist technique works!

Who doesn’t like crayons? Bring a free spirit to this simple resist technique and create colorful drawings, doodles, lines and color blocks on your blank printing paper. A heavy application of crayon will work best since you want to apply a fairly solid layer of wax. This is not the time for a light touch.

If you don’t want to draw freehand, you can use stencils and fill in their patterns with crayon. Or try a rubbing over a textured item placed under your printing paper. Just be sure to rub hard enough to leave enough wax on the paper to create a resist.

And how about combining these techniques! Place a texture under your printing paper ... then lay a stencil on top of your printing paper. Rub a crayon in the stencil opening to pick up the texture that's under the paper — so cool!

Once you’ve prepared your waxy marks on your paper, you’re ready to print. This fun technique will work nicely with any size Gelli plate. Using the round plate adds its own design element to your final print!

Here’s how to print for this resist technique:

Apply acrylic paint to your Gelli plate and roll into a thin layer with a brayer.
Add designs, if desired, in the wet paint with texture tools.
Cover the painted gel plate with your crayoned printing paper.
Rub the paper to transfer the paint and pull your print.
Allow the print to dry completely.
After the print is completely dry, use a palette knife to scrape the crayon off the paper. The paint covering the crayon marks comes off as you scrape down to the waxy layer. And the crayon color is revealed!

What’s left behind is a colorful image of whatever crayon marks you made on the paper. The crayon resist areas have a nice waxy, shiny feel!

TIPS:

This resist technique works beautifully with oil pastels and wax-based colored pencils, and the process is the same as for crayons. The tips here refer to crayon, but the same information applies.
Your crayon color choices show in the final print. Create good contrast between your paint color and your crayon color for more vibrant prints.
Metallic crayons are great for this technique!
Use white crayons to leave white marks.
Use a white candle or clear wax crayon when you want to preserve the color of the original printing paper.
You can print more than one layer on your paper, just like any Gelli print.
This technique works best on paper with a smooth surface.
Be patient and allow the paint to dry completely before scraping it off. It's easier to gouge the paper if the paint has not fully dried.
If you accidentally gouge the paper, it easy to touch up with additional paint.
You can use a lint roller on your print to remove crayon 'crumbs'.
Try to avoid getting crayon crumbs and debris on your Gelli plate. If you find any stuck on your plate, remove with a piece of tape or a lint roller.
After the wax resist is scraped away, if you want to reduce the remaining shine — simply zap the waxy areas quickly with a heat gun. The crayon residue will sink into the paper and appear more matte.
Oil pastels lay down a quick, creamy layer of color. It's fast and easy to apply, and produces vibrant color

FYI: Materials used in the video:

8” Round Gelli Plate
Speedball 4” Soft Rubber Pop-In Brayer
Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylic Paint
Blick palette knife
Strathmore Bristol
Crayola Crayons
Neocolor 1 Wax Crayons
Ranger Archival Ink (stamp pad ink)
Stencil
Plastic mesh circles (texture used as rubbing plate)
Found’ texture (packing foam material)

This super-fun technique can give you amazing results. So go ahead … get out those crayons and tap your inner child!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And now, we have a fabulous giveaway

so you can give this fun technique a try!

1 - 8” Round Gelli Plate
1 - Blick Palette Knife
1 - Speedball 4” Soft Rubber Pop-In Brayer
1 - Caran d'Ache Neocolor 1 Wax Crayons (10 colors)
1 - Crayola Crayons (24 colors)
1 - Crayola Metallic FX Crayons (16 colors)
1 - Cray-Pas Expressionist Extra Fine Quality Oil Pastels (16 colors)
1 - Niji Metallic Colors Oil Pastels (6 colors)
2 - Plastic mesh circles (for texture)

To enter to win, all you need to do is leave a comment here on the blog. Comments will be accepted until Monday, March 24th, 2014 at 5 p.m. EST. One lucky winner will be selected at random on March 24th and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook pageno later than Tuesday, March 25th at 12 noon EST.

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good luck and Happy Printing!

... good things happen. (including a giveaway!)

Maybe you've already discovered some of the amazing things you can do with MagicStamp™ moldable foam stamps. Such great stuff! But if you haven't explored the design potential in these versatile blocks — you’re in for a ton of fun using them to create your own unique patterned Gelli prints!

These foam blocks are heat-moldable, which means when you warm the surface of the foam with a heat gun and quickly press into a textured object, the block will mold to that texture and retain the impression. Voila! Instant stamp!

Don't like the impression you got? No problem! Just reheat the block and the foam will return to it's original smooth surface. You can use a block over and over — or decide, like I often do, that a block is a keeper. I have favorite patterned foam blocks I've been using for years! Here's a few of my faves .... I love them!

Potential stamp textures are all around us! Things like burlap, lace, buttons, doilies, cheesecloth, feathers, leaves, shells, cut crystal, paper clips, string, rubber bands, rubber stamps and stencils can create great MagicStamp images.

The foam surface is quite sensitive and will hold surprising detail. Relatively shallow textures will work best.

You'll find your favorite stamp textures. Here's mine:

I like to draw patterns with a hot glue gun to be used as a mold. Many of my hot glue designs are drawn onto coffee filters or medium-weight Pellon interfacing. I began using these porous substrates years ago as a way of making molds for creating deeply debossed handmade paper. But that's another story :)

The point being, I have a collection of original, durable, dimensional patterns drawn with hot glue. Perfect for making into stamp images!

To create the glue design, simply draw with hot glue on a substrate, such as paper, cardstock or chipboard.

If you'd rather not draw freehand, or like to plan ahead, you can start with a line drawing on paper or chipboard, and follow that as your guide while using the hot glue gun.

Let the glue COOL before the next step!

Using a heat gun, heat the surface of the MagicStamp for about 30 seconds. Immediately press the foam block firmly into the glue pattern and hold for around 20 seconds.

That's it! Easy peasy. A new custom stamp! Very cool. Especially for those of you who want a new stamp ... and want it NOW.

Here's where the real fun begins! The gel printing plate and foam stamps are perfect partners.

Simply follow this easy printing process:

Apply a thin layer of acrylic paint to your gel plate with a brayer.
Press your stamp(s) into the wet paint. (Stamping will remove paint and reveal a negative of the image.)
Cover the painted Gelli plate with paper. Gently smooth your hands over the paper to transfer the paint.
Pull your print off the plate. That’s it!

Keep in mind, the recessed areas of your MagicStamp are what will become the printed image!

And remember — while you have wet paint on your foam block — this IS a stamp :). Have a piece of paper or fabric handy to stamp the paint off! I often use deli paper for this purpose (dry waxed paper). This is also where I roll excess paint off my brayer. By the end of the printing session, I have a few more fabulous and colorful complex printed pieces!

Keep layering images: Use multiple colors, combine your Magicstamps with other texture tools on the same plate, include masks! Build up your printed images. Go anywhere your imagination takes you. It's so much fun!!!

Images from hot glue patterns are perfect for additional embellishment.

Add stitching, writing, doodling, collage, beads, etc. to your Gelli prints!

(These doodles were done with Sharpie Water-Based Paint Pens — which write smoothly over acrylic paint!)

And then there's clean up.

While printing, you can toss your paint-covered stamps in a container of water and wipe them off later with paper towels. The manufacturer suggests washing them with soap and water.

Honestly, I don't usually bother with that. After I've stamped the wet paint off onto paper, I toss them aside and clean later with a dollop of gel hand sanitizer. They clean up just fine.

True confessions ... sometimes ‘later’ is after I’ve used the stamps over many printing sessions — without cleaning them. Then, at some point, when the stamps are caked with dried paint, I get out the Purell and gently scrub with a paper towel or soft toothbrush until they're practically good as new.

Looking for MagicStamp foam? Can't wait to try it? You'll find it at numerous sources on the Internet, including Dharma Trading Co., Artistcellar, and Joggles— to name a few.

But WAIT!!!!!!!

I'm excited to announce … we have a GIVEAWAY!!!

Gelli has three packages of MagicStamps to give away!

Each package has 8 stamp blocks waiting for you to, well, — do your magic!!!

All you need to do is comment here on the blog and you'll be entered to win! Please describe in your comment what you might like to "impress" into a MagicStamp to create your own unique stamp!

We'll announce our 3 winners here on this blog and on our Facebook page next Monday, January 22nd!

Happy stamping! And please share your images using the stamps that YOU cook up!!! We love to see what you're creating, so please, go ahead and post your prints on our Facebook page!!!

Show me yours ... I'll show you mine! You can see them in the following slideshow, which features MagicStamp images on fabric! The vibrant paint is BioColor — thank you, Jane Lafazio, for telling us about it!!!

Enjoy! Thanks for watching!

As always, your comments are appreciated!!!

Chine collé is a printmaking technique where lightweight paper is adhered to heavier paper as it's passed through a press with an inked plate. The result is a print on a collage. Watch this video to see how this process can be adapted for Gelli printing!

If you'd like to print on fragile vintage papers, brittle book pages, or thin, delicate papers that may tear — this is your technique!

Here's the basic process:

1. Prepare a collage of your lightweight paper by adhering thin papers to a piece of heavy paper with matte medium, PVA, or your favorite paper adhesive. When the collage is dry, you're ready for printing.

2. Roll paint into a thin layer onto the Gelli plate with a brayer, then add textures and marks in the wet paint.

3. Place your collaged paper onto the gel plate, rub to transfer the paint, and pull your print.

Tips:

• The papers need to have a good bond, so glue stick is not recommended as it doesn't always hold.

• Smooth paper, such as bristol, hot press watercolor paper and mixed media sketchbook

pages will all do a great job here. Printmaking papers, such a Stonehenge or Rives BFK, are excellent choices.

• Masks and stencils are particularly effective, as they create a barrier between the paint and paper, preserving areas of the collage from being covered with paint. Ghost prints pulled on collaged paper can make beautiful prints.

• Use transparent paints where you want the collaged papers to show through.

• Opaque paints can be used to block out areas of the collaged paper, giving the print a very different look.

• You can print multiple layers and build up colors and complexity in your print.

Try this:

For great results, try this process using stencils and two (or more) colors of slow-drying paint. The objective is to print the ghost image on the collage paper:

1. Roll a thin layer of slow-drying paint onto the gel plate with a brayer.

2. Cover the plate with a stencil.

3. Cover with thin paper, such as deli paper or copy paper. Press into the holes and pull the print.

4. With the stencil still in place on the gel plate, roll a contrasting color of slow-drying acrylic paint over the stencil with a brayer.

5. Again, cover with thin paper, such as copy paper or deli paper. Press lightly and pull the print.

6. Remove the stencil.

7. Place your collaged paper on the plate, rub and pull the print. This is a chine collé print!

Experiment with layers of paint and stencils and see the different and interesting results you can achieve when printing on collaged paper! So much fun!!

For more examples, please take a look at this older blog post: "Something Borrowed", and
check out the slideshow video of faux chine collé prints. There's no tutorial there, just prints. And hopefully, a little inspiration!!

FYI: Materials used in this video:

Golden Soft Gel Medium (Matte)

Golden OPEN Acrylic Paints

Stonehenge Paper

Colour Shaper tool (for applying gel medium)

Stencils and Masks ( The Crafter's Workshop, Stencil Girl, Green Pepper Press, Tim Holtz). The 'bee' mask was cut from Graphix Edge Stencil Film on a Silhouette Cameo — from a clip art design)

Vintage book text, newspaper, maps, sheet music

Various 'found' textures

This Contest is officially CLOSED
This months Gelli Arts blog giveaway winner (random number generator 179) is Anne Siciliano! I felt like I was the winner when I found her facebook page.... gorgeous artwork! Congrats to Anne and we hope she shares her good fortune with us by sharing her Gelli artwork!
And now for our fabulous giveaway - a kit with materials especially selected for experimenting with this technique!

The fabulous giveaway includes:

1 - 8"x10" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
1 - Speedball 4" soft rubber Pop-in Brayer
1 - 4 oz. jar of Golden OPEN Acrylic paint - Quinacridone/ Nickel Azo Gold
1 - 4 oz. jar of Golden OPEN Acrylic paint - Quinacridone Magenta
1 - 4 oz. jar of Golden OPEN Acrylic paint - Ultramarine Blue
1 - 8 oz. jar of Golden Soft Gel Medium (matte)
1 - Stonehenge Pad - 9”x12” - 15 sheets - 100% Cotton - 250 GSM

To enter to win, all you need to do is leave a comment here on the blog. Comments will be accepted until Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 at 12noon EST. One lucky winner will be selected at random on April 22nd and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than April 22nd at 5 pm EST.

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Smooth surfaces are wonderful for making highly detailed monoprints. But what if... you print on a textured substrate? Take a look at this video and see how fabulous the results can be!

This isn't about printing on commercial textured paper, like a cold-press or rough watercolor surface. What we're doing here is preparing an intentionally textured substrate designed to be an integral part of the print.

Because the Gelli plate has 'give', you can press a lumpy-bumpy textured paper into the plate and still get good paint coverage on your print.

The ‘halo’ surrounding the raised areas on the paper enhances the dimensional look of the print. But if you prefer a more solid print, simply use more paint on the Gelli plate! Or keep adding more layers.

There are countless ways to create an interesting texture on a sheet of paper. But here we're focusing on building texture on your paper with dimensional paint and puff paint — thick acrylic paints that come in squeeze bottles with a small nozzle — (available at art and craft stores, with fabric paints). They’re so much fun to draw and scribble with! Experiment and play!

FYI: Puff paints require heat to achieve their full dimensional effect. A steam iron is often
recommended for ‘pufﬁng’ the paint. Follow directions for the speciﬁc brand you use.

The paper used in the examples is Staples® Card Stock, 8 1/2" x 11", White, 110 lb. The prints in this video are created on the 12"x14" Gel Printing Plate — a wonderful size plate

for creating bleed prints on these custom-textured card stock papers!

Preparing textured papers with dimensional and puff paints requires signiﬁcant drying time. It's best to prepare your sheets of textured paper at least several hours ahead. Overnight is optimal if you want to plan ahead. Make sure not to stack papers with wet or tacky paint or they'll stick together.

The printing process on textured paper is the same as pulling any Gelli print. You can use your favorite masks, stencils, and texture tools, as usual. What makes this technique different is the textured paper!

Use dimensional paint to create 3-D, raised lines by squeezing the paint onto your paper.
Simply squeeze lines, dots, squiggles, etc. on your paper. You can apply it randomly, or with a design in mind. Then, let it dry completely.

This is a layered print created over a design made with dimensional paint.

Here’s a detail from the print above showing the paint’s dimensional quality.

Also in the dimensional paint category, you'll ﬁnd puff paints. Squeeze them onto your paper, same as the regular dimensional paints. Allow to dry, then follow the instructions for heating the brand you're using, and watch your design expand and puff up! This has a higher relief than regular dimensional paint, and puffs into a unique spongy texture.

This is dry puff paint — ready to be heated to expand.

Puff paint — heated and expanded. It turns lighter in color and a bit spongy.

This print has several layers of paint printed over a puffed paint design. The areas next to the dimensional lines didn’t make contact with the painted plate, creating an interesting ‘halo’ effect. Have fun drawing, painting and doodling into these white areas! The printed dimensional and puff paints also take paint and markers nicely, so you can embellish those too!

Here’s what the print looks like after going back into it with paint markers and pens.

And a detail picture for a closer look.

As you print the same piece over and over and layer paints, the prints created with textured papers continue to get more interesting as the colors build up.

This detail picture shows how puff paint accepts layers of paint.

Printing on textured paper is similar to using any texture plate on the Gelli plate. That means the textured paper leaves an image in the paint left on the Gelli plate — and can produce exciting ghost prints!

Use dimensional and puff paints as a springboard for ideas on how to make your own textured papers for Gelli printing! Make a bunch at a time and let them dry overnight! As you experiment and come up with your own cool papers and prints, please share them with us on Facebook!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This months Gelli Arts blog giveaway winner (random number generator 297) is Robyn - also known as RedDogGirl - You can see much of Robyn's art on her Flickr site - https://www.flickr.com/photos/reddoggirl67/ Congratulations Robyn!!

Now for our GIVEAWAY

WIN ONE ... GIVE ONE!!!!

One lucky winner will be selected at random to win the fabulous kit pictured below. We will
ALSO donate one 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate to the art teacher or school of their
choice!

Our FUN giveaway kit includes:

1 - 12"x14"Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
1 - Speedball4" Soft Rubber Pop-in Brayer
1 - 4 oz. bottle of TulipMatte (Black - dimensional fabric paint)
1 - 4 oz. bottle of Tulip Puffy (Black - dimensional fabric paint)
1 - 4 oz. bottle of Tulip Metallics - (Gold - dimensional fabric paint)

AND ... we will ship a 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate to the art teacher or school selected by the winner!

To enter to win simply leave a comment here on the blog! Comments will be accepted until Tuesday, May 27th, 2014 at 12 p.m. EST. Our lucky winner will be announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than Tuesday, May 27th, 2014.

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good Luck and Happy Printing! And Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Love creating tags, cards and ATC's? Now there are two smaller Gelli plate sizes — perfect for these small print formats – and great for so many other projects and artwork. Watch this video and see how much FUN these new sizes are to print with!

The NEW Gelli plate sizes are 3"x5" and 5"x7" ... just right for creating tags, cards, ATC's,
postcards, small ﬁne art prints or adding monoprinted images directly to larger work. The
possibilities are endless!

It's so much fun creating small printed images. Printing on tags is so fast and addicting! It takes no time at all to create interesting layers. Use your favorite texture tools, stencils, and masks — and the acrylic paint of your choice.

The hard part is stopping!

FYI — the following materials were used to make the prints shown in the video:
3"x5" Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate
5"x7" Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate
Speedball 4" Soft Rubber Pop-in Brayer

Paints:

Pebeo Studio Acrylics
Liquitex Basics
Deco Arts - Americana
Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylic

Paper:

Tags - Avery #5 and #1 (small size)
Pre-scored cards (from Michael's)
Strathmore Bristol
Deli paper (used as cover sheet while printing)

Texture Tools:

Leaf
Graﬁx Edge Stencil Film (various 'O' shapes cut on Silhouette Cameo)
Graﬁx Stencil Film - Heavyweight (punched circle masks)
Dura-Lar (masks: hand-cut with fancy-edge scissors)
Assorted commercial stencils
Embossed paper (from Spellbinders embossing folder)
Novelty yarn
Rubbing plate (Roylco)

Small prints invite free and spontaneous printing. As you can see from the list above, anything goes. Use your favorite materials and techniques! Cut your own simple masks! The small format invites experiments of all sorts. And printing on index cards is a wonderful way to try out new ideas!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

****Congratulations! Our winner for this giveaway via a random number generator drawing was Lilotte! You can see more of Lilotte's artwork here... http://lilotte.canalblog.com/

And now... Our exciting giveaway includes both of our new small Gelli plate sizes:

1 — 3"x5" Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate
1 — 5"x7" Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate

One winner will be selected at random to receive our two new small plates. To enter to win
simply leave a comment here on the blog. Comments will be accepted until Monday, June 23rd, 12noon EST. Our lucky winner will be announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than Monday, June 23rd, 5 p.m. EST.

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

The new 3"x5"Gelli plate is so versatile! Watch this video and see how easy and fun it is to use it as a stamp!

As you can see... the smallest Gelli plate doubles nicely as a monoprinting plate and a stamping surface!

All you need to do is press the 3"x5" Gelli plate onto a smooth, ﬂat plastic or acrylic surface — like an old CD case or acrylic stamping block — and you're good to go. It's that easy!

3”x5” Gelli plate on the lid of a CD case

TIP: If you're using a CD case, it's best to take it apart and use the smooth front cover by itself. Or, simply ﬂip the case open when you press it to your substrate. If not, you may ﬁnd there's a bit too much 'give' in the empty closed case when you stamp with it, and the plastic can crack if you press too hard.

3”x5” Gelli plate on a 5”x7” acrylic stamp mount

Inexpensive acrylic box frames, available at art and craft stores, are another source for excellent Gelli mounts. Here’s a 3”x5” Gelli plate on a 5”x7” acrylic box frame — ready to use!

Look for small plastic storage boxes with smooth surfaces or lids that the Gelli plate will stick to. Do not stick (or leave) the plate on a surface that has a texture or dimensional logo or pattern in the plastic, as that can imprint into the Gelli plate surface.

3”x5” Gelli plate on a lid of a small smooth plastic storage box

As an alternative, try using a piece of acrylic, plexiglass, styrene or glass that's slightly larger than your Gelli plate. To keep things safe, apply duct tape to cover the sharp edges.

Once your Gelli plate is stuck to whatever base you've selected, you're ready to use it as a

stamp! The bond created between the Gelli plate and the 'mount' is temporary. You can easily peel the plate off the mount at any time and print with it in the conventional way.

Here's how to stamp with your Gelli Plate:

Apply acrylic paint to the gel plate, roll it into a thin smooth layer with a brayer — and make your marks in the paint. Then ﬂip the whole thing over and press the plate onto the printing surface of your choice. This creates a monoprinted image that's stamped onto your substrate. It's a fun alternative method for printing with the Gelli plate. And remember, the image you create on your plate will print in reverse, like any stamp!

You can use masks and stencils in combination with the stamping technique. The easiest way is to place the mask or stencil directly on your substrate and stamp the painted Gelli plate right over it.!

Using a clear mount allows for accurate placement of your monoprinted image! Add stamped monoprints to sketchbook pages, art journals, larger works, fabric pieces and more!

The following pages are from a small art journal ﬁlled with Gelli-stamped images:

I like to roll the excess paint from my brayer onto sketchbook pages. Those pages are wonderful beginnings — and stamping additional layers over them with the 3"x5" Gelli plate is a fast and fun way to add interest to those pages.

Be experimental and try different techniques! This is the perfect opportunity to play with different color combinations!

Stamping is one more fun and easy way to use a Gelli plate... so go ahead and give it a try!!

Have fun... and Happy Printing!

Printing on a different substrate is a great way to change things up. Watch this video and get inspired to create Gelli prints on nonwoven fusible interfacing!

Nonwoven interfacing is a wonderful material for Gelli printing! It looks similar to dryer sheets, and its intended purpose is to add extra body to fabric. But it takes paint beautifully! And the heat-activated adhesive makes it so easy to incorporate printed pieces into your mixed media art.

The top piece in the next picture shows the adhesive (shiny) side. The piece underneath it is the 'right' side—the side we print on (non-shiny side). They're placed on a black and white image to show the beautiful translucent quality of this interfacing.

The samples here are all printed on Pellon® (808 Craft-Fuse®)— but any smooth nonwoven interfacing should work well. Nonwoven interfacing comes in a variety of weights. You can buy it by the yard then cut it into pieces ready for printing.

What are the advantages of printing on nonwoven interfacing, you may be wondering?

Well... the nonwoven fiber surface prints beautifully, it's super-easy to cut with scissors or a rotary cutter, the material is soft and easy to sew, doesn't fray, and adds strength when fused to paper — an especially good thing when adding stitching by hand or machine on paper. Also, it has a translucent quality making it wonderful for layering over previous prints, text or images! It's an excellent collage material for paper or fabric projects...and great for adding printed elements to painted works on canvas or board!

Begin by cutting your interfacing into pieces for printing. It makes things easy if you do this ahead of time, so you're ready for printing. I pre-cut the interfacing used in the video into 9"x12" pieces — perfect for printing on the large 12"x14" Gelli plate!

The printing process is the same as it is for paper. The one difference is that the paint on the gel plate can bleed through the back of the interfacing as you print. So I recommend using a cover sheet to keep your hands and print clean. A piece of blank newsprint paper, copy paper or deli paper works great as a cover sheet.

You'll also find that printing on interfacing calls for heavier application of paint on your Gelli plate.

Here are the steps for printing:

Apply paint to the Gelli plate and roll out with a brayer.
Make your marks in the wet paint.
Place a piece of the fusible non-woven interfacing on the plate with the shiny side UP.
Place a cover sheet over the interfacing and rub with your hands to transfer the paint.
Remove the cover sheet, then pull your print!
If there's enough paint remaining on the plate, pull a ghost print.

You can print on interfacing in layers, just as you do on paper. Use your favorite stencils, masks, combs and other texture tools. Or if you prefer, take a painterly approach.

Once you've created prints on fusible non-woven interfacing you have many options for using them. The prints are perfect for paper or fabric collage, so consider cutting them into pieces and fusing to other artworks. If you have a die-cutting machine...you might try cutting them into different shapes!

If you're looking for a good substrate to fuse your prints to... how about those papers you use to roll off paint from your brayer. They're perfect for collage! Cut up some interfacing prints and fuse some pieces right onto the painted papers for a quick and gratifying mixed media experience! Add stitching! Add doodling! Add embellishments! Fun!

Colored pencils, NeoColorII crayons, Inktense pencils and fabric pens are among the fun ways to work further on nonwoven interfacing prints!

To fuse the interfacing to paper or fabric, follow the manufacturer's directions. Place parchment paper on your ironing surface to protect it, then place the substrate and fusible pieces on it. Cover the whole thing with parchment paper to protect your iron. Press to fuse. Easy!

If your interfacing isn't fusible — no problem. After you make your prints you can easily iron a layer of fusible (such as Wunder-Under or Misty Fuse — or your favorite fusible webbing) to your interfacing prints and they're ready to fuse to another substrate. Or, simply use gel medium or your favorite collage adhesive.

Printing on non-woven interfacing is a process that can send you into a creative frenzy! So many possibilities!

FYI— Materials used in the video include the following:

12"x14" Gelli plate
4" Speedball soft rubber brayer
Fusible Nonwoven Interfacing— Pellon® 808 Craft-Fuse®
Liquitex Basics Acrylic paint
Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylic paint
Hand-cut masks from blank stencil material (blue plastic)
Hand-cut masks cut from cardstock
Commercial stencils
Catalyst Wedge
Colour Shaper
Deli paper (used for cover sheets)

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Congratulations to our winner via random number generator: DIANE!! Simply stated... we have AMAZING fans. I'm always shocked and humbled by the talent and creativity amongst our fans and contest entrants! Here is a description of Diane...A fiber artist specializing in art quilts. She loves to play with different fabrics and fibers, dyes and paints, and other surface design materials/techniques. Please - go check her blog to admireher lovely works of art! http://dianehamburgart.blogspot.com/

And we have an AWESOME GIVEAWAY!!!

Our giveaway includes a 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate... and a special Gelli apron!

One winner will be selected at random to receive this fabulous prize. To enter to win simply leave a comment here on the blog. Comments will be accepted until (Tuesday, July 29th at 12noon EST). Our lucky winner will be announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than (Tuesday, July 29th at 5 pm EST). Good luck!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Smooth surfaces are wonderful for making highly detailed monoprints. But what if... you print on a textured substrate? Take a look at this video and see how fabulous the results can be!

The paper used in the examples is Staples® Card Stock, 8 1/2" x 11", White, 110 lb. The prints in this video are created on the 12"x14" Gel Printing Plate — a wonderful size plate

This is a layered print created over a design made with dimensional paint.

Here’s a detail from the print above showing the paint’s dimensional quality.

This is dry puff paint — ready to be heated to expand.

Puff paint — heated and expanded. It turns lighter in color and a bit spongy.

Here’s what the print looks like after going back into it with paint markers and pens.

And a detail picture for a closer look.

As you print the same piece over and over and layer paints, the prints created with textured papers continue to get more interesting as the colors build up.

This detail picture shows how puff paint accepts layers of paint.

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This months Gelli Arts blog giveaway winner (random number generator 297) is Robyn - also known as RedDogGirl - You can see much of Robyn's art on her Flickr site - https://www.flickr.com/photos/reddoggirl67/ Congratulations Robyn!!

Now for our GIVEAWAY

WIN ONE ... GIVE ONE!!!!

One lucky winner will be selected at random to win the fabulous kit pictured below. We will
ALSO donate one 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate to the art teacher or school of their
choice!

Our FUN giveaway kit includes:

1 - 12"x14"Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
1 - Speedball4" Soft Rubber Pop-in Brayer
1 - 4 oz. bottle of TulipMatte (Black - dimensional fabric paint)
1 - 4 oz. bottle of Tulip Puffy (Black - dimensional fabric paint)
1 - 4 oz. bottle of Tulip Metallics - (Gold - dimensional fabric paint)

AND ... we will ship a 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate to the art teacher or school selected by the winner!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good Luck and Happy Printing! And Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Here's a great way to repurpose styrofoam plates to use in monoprinting! Watch this video for ideas on how to make your own unique reusable designs for Gelli printing!

It's fun turning styrofoam plates into reusable texture plates with your own designs! They're perfect for creating texture plates — especially for the small Gelli plate sizes!

Here's how:

Place a styrofoam plate on a cutting surface and using an X-acto knife, cut some slivers or shapes from the plate. Remove them to create a few holes or empty spaces. The plate works essentially like a stencil.

If you have a screw punch, you can use it to make some holes in the foam plate. Always do this on a cutting mat.

One of the advantages of using styrofoam plates is that aside from being easy to cut, you can inscribe marks into it that will show in your print.

To inscribe marks, turn the plate upside-down. With a ballpoint pen or sharp pencil, draw marks into the bottom of the cut plate to create additional design elements. Make small holes by pushing the tip into the styrofoam. When your design is finished, you have a unique printing plate that's ready to use over and over.

TIP: It's a good idea to support your plate while you inscribe the bottom. To do this, invert another styrofoam plate (the same size) and place your cut plate over it. This creates a sturdy support and makes it easy to inscribe marks in the cut sections of your plate.

Here’s how to print with your styrofoam plate:

Apply paint to the Gelli plate and place your styrofoam plate on the wet paint. Place a piece

of embossed paper or other texture over the plate and press the foam plate into the wet paint. Remove and cover with your printing paper. Rub to transfer the paint, and pull your print.

While the styrofoam plate has wet paint on it, apply a different color paint to the Gelli plate, then press the foam plate into the gel plate. This will give you a multi-color print.

So keep those styrofoam plates and trays and make a collection of your own designs! They're easy to stack and store — and loads of fun to print with!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And we have a fabulous GIVEAWAY!

1 —3" x 5" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
1 — 4" Speedball Soft Rubber Pop-in Brayer
1 — 5-Tube Set of Chromacryl Paints (2.5 oz tubes)
20 — Embossed Index Cards (textured papers)

We are doing things a little differently this month for the giveaway!

Leave us a comment below and let us know your thoughts on the blog - we love hearing your feedback.

To enter the giveaway, click on the red "ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE" button below!

(This will ensure that we can contact the winner and that entries are limited to one per person. One winner will be selected from all the entries via a random number generator to receive this fabulousgiveaway!)

Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, August 19th at 12pm EST. Our lucky winner will be contacted by email and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than 5pm EST on Tuesday August 19th!

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And a special thanks to our friends at Chroma for donating the wonderful paints for this giveaway!

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

Create your own unique texture plates for Gelli printing with molding paste! Watch this video and see how easy it is!

Here's what you need to make molding paste texture plates:

Canvas panel
Molding Paste
Palette knife, old credit card or scraper for spreading molding paste
Stencil
Textured items to impress into molding paste

Here's how:

Place a stencil on your canvas panel (or other stiff substrate).
Spread molding paste over the stencil with a palette knife, spatula or scraper — then scrape off excess.
Press textures on top of the stencil — into the molding paste. You have a little time before it sets up. If you want to make changes — just smooth out the surface and press your textures into the molding paste again.
Carefully lift and remove the stencil.

IMPORTANT: Allow your texture plate to dry completely before using.

Plan ahead, as it can take a while for the molding paste to dry. While you're at it — make a series of them!

When you're done making the texture plates — it's a good idea to clean your stencils and tools. You don't want molding paste to dry on them :)

Printing with your texture plate:

Apply acrylic paint to your Gelli plate — and roll into a thin layer with a brayer.
Press the texture plate into your painted plate — and remove.
Place your printing paper onto the gel plate, rub to transfer the paint — and pull your print.

Next steps:

After you've pulled a print, quickly apply a new layer of paint to your Gelli plate and press the texture plate into it. There should be some paint left on the texture plate from the previous print. Some of that paint will transfer when pressed into the Gelli plate, creating a print with more complex coloring.

Experiment and PLAY!

Here are a few ideas ...

When you've made several prints, you'll get a build-up of wet paint on the texture plate. Without adding more paint, press the paint-covered texture plate directly onto the Gelli plate and remove — and pull a print.

Try rolling a loaded brayer over the relief surface of the texture plate. Then press the texture plate onto the Gelli plate— remove — and pull the relief image print.

Stamp the texture plate directly onto a previous print!

Combine texture plates with other texture tools and mark-making. Once you've pressed the texture plate into your painted Gelli plate, continue to make more marks in the paint before pulling your print!

Try pressing sections of the texture plate into different areas of the painted gel plate.

Layer prints, changing the position of the paper as you print each layer. Create areas that partially overlap previous layers.

You'll get great effects using masks between layers, too!

Here are some prints made with overlapped layers and a simple mask!

These textured prints were created with a second layer of paint applied to just part of the plate.

This print is simply printed as two layers, partially overlapping.

And sometimes it's impossible to remember exactly how a print was made :)

TIPS for creating texture plates:

Instead of using a stencil, apply a layer of molding paste directly to the substrate and make assorted marks and textures over the entire surface — or part of it.
Food wraps (plastic, foil and waxed paper) and bubble wrap create great textures and patterns when pressed into wet molding paste.
Draw into the wet molding paste with a soft-tipped tool or stylus.

Use combs to create patterns in the wet paste.

Press into an area of wet molding paste with a putty knife or palette knife —and pull it up. The suction creates beautiful organic shapes! The lines created this way make stunning, unique prints!

NOTE: If the dry molding paste has any sharp areas, gently sand the points.

As the texture plate becomes covered in layers of paint, it can take on a wonderful patina. You may want to use it as a piece of art in itself — or as the beginning of a new painting or collage! Or how about book covers!

Creating your own texture plates with molding paste is fun and addictive!

Explore the possibilities!

(GIVEAWAY OVER!!)

And now … announcing our NEW exciting Giveaway!

This prize package will help get you started making texture plates and Gelli prints … and includes:

One (1) 6"x6"Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
One (1) 6"x6"Blick Studio Canvas Panel 5-Pack
One (1) 8 oz. jar of Golden Artist Colors Molding Paste

(GIVEAWAY OVER!!)

AND … there's a SPECIAL BONUS!!! We are also including a box of Strathmore Mixed Media Cards!!! This set contains 10 blank cards and 10 envelopes!

One lucky winner will be chosen at random on next Monday, June 24th and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page.

(GIVEAWAY OVER!!)

To be entered to win, just leave a comment here on our blog or on our Facebook page!

Share via Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter,Youtube or your blog! Just let us know where you've shared and your chances will be doubled :)

Special thanks to Strathmore Paper for providing this quality set of cards!!! These cards are AWESOME — 140 lb. Mixed Media paper with a vellum drawing finish … PERFECT for Gelli printing!!!

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

Combs make such interesting patterns in Gelli prints! Watch this video to see how easy it is to make your own combs from everyday materials!

Using combs ranks among my favorite methods for creating patterns and mark-making in
monoprinting. In fact, I've included several examples in my new book, Gelli Plate Printing,
demonstrating how to make your own combs.

The comb is an effective tool for creating dynamic lined patterns. There are many durable
materials that you can easily cut teeth into to create a comb tool. The fun is in making a bunch of custom combs that can produce an assortment of different lines and widths.

Among my favorite combs are those made from eraser caps! Placing the eraser cap on a
pencil first makes it easier to handle while cutting. Work on a cutting surface, and use a craft knife to cut tiny V-shaped notches in the tip of the eraser. This creates a versatile mini-comb! Try using it for making cross-hatch marks... and all kinds of gestural swipes! Gotta love those tiny lines! Great for making gestural lines and marks!

TIP: It's best to avoid letting acrylic paint dry on this tool, but if it does, use your craft knife to carve out any dried paint that may become clogged between the comb's teeth.

Erasers are perfect for turning into combs! Simply cut notches out of the edge of an eraser
with a craft knife—and you're good to go! If you carve your own stamps, you may have some left-over carving material. That's perfect for making combs too!

Old credit cards, hotel keys and other laminated plastic cards are great for making into combs and scrapers! Sharp scissors are a good choice for making your cuts. But avoid making pointy teeth, as they could scratch the surface of the Gelli plate.

Another fun method for making combs is to use decorative edge scissors on a piece of cardboard (like cereal boxes) or craft foam. Simply cut straight across with wavy or zigzag scissors for an instant comb!

There are so many materials you can use to make your own collection of combs! And they're fast and easy to make! Try a few and have fun making fabulous combed prints! To create monotypes with your DIY combs, simply swipe the combs through the wet paint on a Gelli plate, cover with paper, rub to transfer the paint and pull your print. Have fun exploring different ways to create lined patterns! (For more combing ideas, see blog: "Wipe Out Monoprinting")

FYI– Materials used to create the prints in the video:

DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics

8" Round Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate

Speedball 4" Soft Rubber Pop-in Brayer

12"x12" scrapbooking card stock (white and black)

Assorted DIY comb tools

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And we have a SPECIAL GIVEAWAY!!! Including an autographed copy of my new book, Gelli Plate Printing!

1- 8" Round Gelli Arts®Gel Printing Plate

1- Gelli Plate Printing— book, by Joan Bess

15- DecoArt Media® Fluid Acrylics in 1 oz. bottles

Leave us a comment below and let us know your thoughts on the blog - we love hearing your feedback.

To enter the giveaway, click on the red "ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE" button below! (This will ensure that we can contact the winner and that entries are limited to one per person. One winner will be selected from all the entries via a random number generator to receive this fabulous giveaway!)

Entries will be accepted until Monday, Sept. 22nd at 12 noon. Our lucky winner will be contacted by email and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than Sept. 22nd at 5 pm!

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And a special thanks to our friends at DecoArt® for generously donating the paint for this

giveaway!

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

I've been having some fun with the new 'Media' product line from DecoArt. In addition to the Fluid Acrylics artist paints, there's Gesso, Modeling Paste, Texture Sand Paste, Crackle Paste, Crackle Paint, Antiquing Cream and several Varnish finishes. I love that the Modeling Paste and Gesso are available in black and white! All of these products are great to work with— and can be combined with Gelli prints to create finished art!

Mixed media collages are a great way to use your Gelli prints! Here's how to make this one:

To create these small pieces, I began with nine 4" square Blick Canvas Panels. You can also use mat board, book board or chip board as your substrate. The Gelli prints were selected from my stack of previously printed paper. The Gelli prints used in this piece were all printed on Staples Card Stock 110 lb.

This mixed media collage has a Fall theme and incorporates dried, pressed leaves and skeleton leaves. Your collage can follow any theme... or none! The Gelli prints you select can determine the direction your piece takes.

To create the background texture effects on the small canvases:

Cut or punch a 3" circle shape out of sturdy plastic stencil material to create a mask.

Place a piece of removable double-stick tape in the center of the circle mask to keep it in place on the canvas square. The mask is centered on the 4" square.

Use a palette knife to apply molding paste, gesso, crackle paste or crackle paint around the mask. Each of these can create a variety of effects. Press textures into the wet molding paste or gesso, or swipe lines into it with a comb.

Carefully remove the mask and allow to dry completely. (Repeat this process on each small canvas, using different pastes and texture tools for variety)

Paint the dry canvases with black paint—getting into all the crevasses. Let dry.

Apply paint and antiquing cremes. Add and wipe off in layers until you get the look you want.

Paint the masked circle area of the canvas with gold metallic paint.

To create the small round collages:

Select several previously Gelli-printed papers. (Note: These Gelli print circles were over-dyed with Ranger Distress Stains to eliminate any white areas of the paper).
Cut or punch a 3" circle from the Gelli prints for each small canvas (9 circles).
To give your circle print some dimension, cut a 3" circle out of heavyweight fusible interfacing and iron to fuse a circle print to it. This is optional.
If desired, use a metallic paint marker to make a fine gold line around the cut edge of each circle print.
Arrange collage material (dried leaves) on each circle print. Glue into place using matte medium. Let dry.
Use a soft brush to apply a coat of Ultra-Matte Varnish on each complete collage.

To create the textured background canvas panel (15”x15”):

Apply modeling paste with a palette knife to a canvas board. Spread over the entire surface.
Press or stamp various textures into the wet paste. Allow to dry completely.
Apply paint and antiquing cream to the textured surface and work into all the crevasses.
Apply paints and antiquing cremes in layers, wiping some off and adding more until you've achieved the look you want. Let dry.
Coat with Ultra-Matte Varnish to seal the surface.

Note: The canvas panel used for this piece was cut down to 15”x15” from a larger canvas.

To complete the piece:

Arrange and adhere the small square canvas collages to the large canvas board with an appropriate adhesive, such as tacky glue. Let dry.

Done and ready for framing!

Have fun complimenting your Gelli prints with modeling paste, texture paste, crackle paste and gesso to make fabulous mixed media collages!

Lastly... we are launching our Gelli Arts Fall Giveaway Promotion!

Enter our Fall Giveaway below. Check out all the options for entering the random drawing and choose one OR choose all the ways to enter!
Multiple entries allowed!

Our 8" Round Gelli Printing Kit includes:

(1) 8" Round Gelli Printing Plate
(1) Speedball 4" Rubber Brayer
(1) Gelli Arts Apron - Priceless!

Good luck and of course, Happy Printing!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Apply layers of light paint with a DIY sponge dauber, let it dry—then brayer dark paint over it and pull your print. Watch this Gelli video to see it demonstrated step-by-step!

There are many possible variations using this technique. This time, we'll apply the paint from light to dark to produce interesting print effects.

To start, let's make a sponge dauber using a round cosmetic sponge and masking tape. To do this, simply gather the edges of the sponge together, forming a ball of sorts. Wrap the gathered edges in masking tape, which forms the dauber and serves as a convenient handle.

The paints used in this video are DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic paints, and DecoArt Dazzling Metallics. They're wonderful for this technique!

The key is to allow the painted image to dry on the plate. This technique is perfect for using thin applications of fast-drying acrylics! If you like to take time to develop an image on your plate and have been frustrated with fast drying paint... give this technique a try!

Here's how:

Apply light colors to your Gelli plate with a sponge dauber.

Leave areas of the gel plate unpainted.
Add focal points and patterns by dabbing paint through stencils

Allow paint to dry thoroughly.

Load your brayer with a dark color and roll it over the dry paint on your Gelli plate.

Quickly cover with your printing paper, rub to transfer the paint — and slowly pull your print. This should pull up just about all of the paint on the plate.

This is a simple technique, but here are a few things to keep in mind:

Use fast-drying acrylic paints.
Avoid any blobs or thick applications of paint since they take a while to dry.
Allow the painted image to dry completely. (Do NOT use heat to hurry the drying!)
Roll a thin layer of paint over the dry paint — then quickly cover with paper.
Give a little extra time when rubbing to transfer the paint to the paper.
Pull the print slowly. The paper can tend to stick to the plate a bit as you pull the print.

Here are a few variations to try:

Use metallic and/or interference paints. They'll pop against the final dark layer.
For a painterly print, apply the paint with a soft brush instead of a sponge dauber.
Press texture tools into the paint while it's wet.
Experiment with different color combinations for very different results. Be sure to create enough contrast.

The dry layers of sponged paint created some unexpected interesting paint textures!

These prints can be great beginnings, too! Add doodling on them with paint pens, colored pencils and your favorite drawing media.

As you can see, there's great potential for creative explorations in printing with dark over

light colors. Have fun!

And we have a SPECTACULAR GIVEAWAY!!! Including a signed copy of my new book, Gelli Plate Printing!

Our incredible Prize Package includes:

1 - 8"x10" Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate
1 - Speedball 4" Soft Rubber Pop-In Brayer
12 - 1 oz. jars of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics
6 - 2 oz. jars of DecoArt Dazzling Metallics
1 - package of round cosmetic sponge (latex-free)
1 - set of 5 Sharpie Water-based Paint Pens
1 - Signed copy of my book, 'Gelli Plate Printing'

Leave us a comment below and let us know your thoughts on the blog - we love hearing your feedback.

To enter the giveaway, click on the red "ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE" button below! (This will

ensure that we can contact the winner and that entries are limited to one per person. One

winner will be selected from all the entries via a random number generator to receive this

fabulous giveaway!)

Entries will be accepted until (Monday, Oct. 20th, 2014 at 12 Noon EST). Our lucky winner will be contacted by email and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page no later than (Oct. 20th at 5 p.m. EST)!

Enter Giveaway Here

Special thanks to our friends at DecoArt for generously providing the paints in this giveaway!

And now ...

Another exciting technique for your Gelli printing!

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

After you've printed your fabric ...

This Contest is officially CLOSED.

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This Contest is officially CLOSED

We have a winner! The random generator picked Vicki Romaine! Congrats to Vicki and a huge THANKS to all who commented and shared their fun artwork with us over the past few days on our FB page. Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season!

This fabulous prize package includes:

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Pressing a handmade layered texture plate into a painted Gelli plate is a fabulous way to create a unique image! Watch this video for a demonstration of this easy technique.

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This months Gelli Arts blog giveaway winner (random number generator 179) is Anne Siciliano! I felt like I was the winner when I found her facebook page.... gorgeous artwork! Congrats to Anne and we hope she shares her good fortune with us by sharing her Gelli artwork!

And now for our fabulous giveaway - a kit with materials especially selected for experimenting with this technique!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This months Gelli Arts blog giveaway winner (random number generator 297) is Robyn - also known as RedDogGirl - You can see much of Robyn's art on her Flickr site - https://www.flickr.com/photos/reddoggirl67/ Congratulations Robyn!!

Now for our GIVEAWAY

WIN ONE ... GIVE ONE!!!!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good Luck and Happy Printing! *And Happy Memorial Day Weekend!*

This Contest is officially CLOSED

****Congratulations! Our winner for this giveaway via a random number generator drawing was Lilotte! You can see more of Lilotte's artwork here... http://lilotte.canalblog.com/

And now... Our exciting giveaway includes both of our new small Gelli plate sizes:

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

Have fun... and Happy Printing!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And we have an AWESOME GIVEAWAY!!!

Our giveaway includes a 12"x14" Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate... and a special Gelli apron!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This Contest is officially CLOSED

This months Gelli Arts blog giveaway winner (random number generator 297) is Robyn - also known as RedDogGirl - You can see much of Robyn's art on her Flickr site - https://www.flickr.com/photos/reddoggirl67/ Congratulations Robyn!!

Now for our GIVEAWAY

WIN ONE ... GIVE ONE!!!!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good Luck and Happy Printing! *And Happy Memorial Day Weekend!*

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And we have a fabulous GIVEAWAY!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

Here's how:

Printing with your texture plate:

Next steps:

Experiment and PLAY!

TIPS for creating texture plates:

(GIVEAWAY OVER!!)

And now … announcing our NEW exciting Giveaway!

(GIVEAWAY OVER!!)

(GIVEAWAY OVER!!)

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And we have a SPECIAL GIVEAWAY!!! Including an autographed copy of my new book, Gelli Plate Printing!

This Contest is officially CLOSED

And we have a SPECTACULAR GIVEAWAY!!! Including a signed copy of my new book, Gelli Plate Printing!

Good Luck and Happy Printing!

Good Luck and Happy Printing! And Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Good Luck and Happy Printing! And Happy Memorial Day Weekend!