Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Gel Press Blog Hop and a Giveaway!


Hi artsy friends!  Thank you for joining our first Gel Press Blog Hop! We will have a challenge every month!  This gives you the opportunity to play along AND win a Gel Press for yourself!  This month you can win an 8" Round Gel Press Plate!!

Enter by going to all of the blogs.   Leave a comment on the Gel Press Blog telling us your favorite project!  You can comment between now and April 7!  Winner to be announced on Gel Press Junkies on FB and Gel Press product page April 8th!  You will have your 8" Round Gel Press to make a project to play along with our Earth Day designs April 22! Enjoy the projects and good luck!

Now for my project!

I love spring!  The flowers are blooming and everything is green again!  And if you live in the south, everything is probably covered with yellow pollen!  Excuse me while I get a tissue and sneeze!

I was inspired by spring to create this fun mixed media canvas, and am sharing how I made it in my blog post today.

Bloom 12" x 12" Mixed Media Canvas
In my tutorial today, I will print on raw canvas using the 8" and 4" round Gel Plates to create these cheery flowers.


Supplies:

Canvas Fabric
Brayer
Acrylic Paint
Gesso
Matte Medium
Map paper from an old atlas
Stencils
Stamps
12" x 12" Canvas

1.  I love to mix similar colors on the Gel Plate, so I put a few dabs of each of my favorite bright acrylic colors on the 8" round plate.


2. Use the brayer to smooth out the colors, without mixing them too much.


Although I could have gessoed the canvas for a smoother print, I wanted that textured look that I knew I would get using raw canvas.  


3.  No need to clean the plate before loading on some darker purple.  
  

I printed on top of the first print.  


3. Next I used a clean piece of canvas and lavender paint with a rubber stamp.  



4. For the third print I layered three colors: First orange, adding some marks with the edge of an old gift card.  


Without cleaning the plate, I added pink paint and a cool circle stencil and printed over the orange.

  
For the third layer, I used the 4" round plate as stamp.


Loaded it up with yellow paint and placed this funky stencil on the plate. 


I left the clear acrylic sheet on the back of the plate so that I could "stamp" it,   
pressing it down in the center of the canvas I just printed with orange and pink paint.  


I love the color combo on this one.  Do you see where I used the stamp from the purple canvas?  


5. Flowers need stems and leaves, so I printed some strips of canvas with a few shades of green paint. 


6.  To add some contrast to the prints, I used Stencil Girl map stencils and black paint.  


I applied it using a makeup sponge and a pouncing motion to ensure a clean image.  The trick is to  use a small amount of paint.  


I love the contrast that the black brings to these prints.  These stencils are perfect because of the fine lines they have.  





7. Time to cut the prints. I used jars of paint as guides and a pencil to draw circles and cut them out in 3 different sizes. I tore the green prints into strips to create the frayed edges for the stems and free-hand cut the leaves.  


8. I love to add sewing to my projects, and these flowers were the perfect fit for some messy stitching. Plus it was a great way to attach the layers.   


9. Now for the canvas background.  I used map paper from an old atlas that I printed using a circle stencil and the round Gel Plate.  Tore it to fit the canvas and glued it down using matte medium. 



To tone down the colors, I painted watered down gesso over the top and wiped some of it away with a baby wipe.  Then added some texture with a small circle stencil and heavy gesso.  

 

After all of the gesso dried, I added some blue, turquoise and green Art Anthology mediums, since they are transparent and allow the layers underneath to show.  I also splattered some green paint around the canvas.

 

10. Lastly, I glued down the flowers, stems and leaves using Beacon Zip Dry glue. I added some green thread underneath the flowers for added texture and interest.


I decided to add a word that I cut with my die cut machine to finish it off.  


 I also glued some green micro beads to the stems and leaves using Glossy Accents.





Don't forget to check out the other blogs and leave comments for everyone!
Kathy <----You are here



Facebook Group Gel Press Junkies.
Shop at gelpress.com

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Making Unique Texture Plates for Gel Press

Hey friends, just a short post today to tell you to go check out the Gel Press blog for a tutorial on how to make texture plates to use on the Gel Plate.

Gel Prints Using Texture Plates

Using canvas panels, modeling paste and your favorite stencils, you can make custom texture plates to make unique works of art.
canvas panels
Gel Plate with Texture Plate
I had such fun that I made 8 texture plates and more that a dozen prints!    

Texture Plates (above) and Prints (below)

 Two of them I liked so much that I framed them and they are hanging in my house.

Gel Print First Pull 
Gel Print Second Pull
So go to the Gel Press blog today and see how I made them!

Now go be creative today!

Kathy


Friday, March 18, 2016

Beautiful Easter Eggs with Gel Press

Happy spring, crafty friends!  I have a video to share with you today with an Easter project using the 8" round Gel Press Printing Plate, plastic easter eggs and plain white tissue paper.  I had such fun making these Gel Press Easter eggs!  

Check out how to made them in this video.  











Wouldn't this be a fun project to share with older kids as an alternative to dying easter eggs? Customize the eggs with your favorite colors of acrylic paint, stamps, and pretty ribbons. And you can reuse them from year to year!  Wishing everyone a very happy Easter! 

Until next time,
Kathy
Links:
Shop for Gel Press Printing Plates: http://www.gelpress.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Inspiration at Gel Press blog: https://gelpress.wordpress.com/

Friday, March 4, 2016

And the Winners Are...




Thank you all for the kind comments on my last blog post!  I put everyone who commented's name in a random "picker" and here is who won the ArtFoamies stamps:

Patti (Annonymous)

Cyndi Cesare

Karen Blanck

Susanne Rose

Please PM or email me your addresses so that I can get these out in the mail by Monday or Tuesday. If you are international, that is fine but it may take longer to get to you.  The stamps are very light! Also, if you want to request a particular stamp, that is fine but I can't guarantee that you will get your request since I only have one of each.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kathy.b.adams.1

Email:  kadams0203@gmail.com.

Just let me know which way so I know to check my mail or PM.  If I don't hear from you by Monday, I will pick someone else.

Thanks for playing, and happy stamping!

Kathy