Mixed Up Art: gel printing

Showing posts with label gel printing. Show all posts

Friday, October 28, 2016

Video Frenzy With Gel Press® and StencilGirl

Today is Video Frenzy Day with Gel Press® and StencilGirl and Gel Press® designers have been working hard to inspire you with their projects. Look for the link at the end of my blog today to see the rest of the videos. Here is my project.

Thanksgiving Card Made from Masterboard

Using a Masterboard to make backgrounds is a great way to start seasonal projects. I used the 12" x 14" Large Format Gel Press® Plate and StencilGirl stencils and printed on large mixed media paper to make my Masterboard. What is a Masterboard, you ask?

Masterboard- a large mixed media background of various patterns and colors that can be cut into smaller projects.

I love StencilGirl stencils and have dozens of them. Many leading artists design their unique stencils so there is something for everyone! They even have a monthly club that I was a member of for over a year. I received 3 exclusive stencils every month, along with access to a private Facebook group and monthly video on how the artist who designed the stencils used them. Find out more about the club here.

See how I made my fall themed Masterboard in my video.

Masterboard Technique Steps

Place the stencils/masks onto the Gel Press® Plate.
Drop fluid acrylic paints on top of the stencils. I used 2 or 3 colors that would not make mud.
Remove the stencils.
Brayer one or two colors of heavy body acrylic paint onto palette paper. Make sure that the brayer is covered with a thin layer of paint.
Brayer over the fluid acrylic paint on the plate. The heavy body paint will fill in the areas where there's no fluid acrylic paint.
Pull the print.

Tips:

Overlap large patterned stencils/masks over smaller patterned ones (or vise versa) for interesting results.
Placed stencils in a tub of water to make cleanup easy.
Add a touch of metallic or luminous colors for dramatic results.
Use similar colored fluid acrylic paints and heavy body acrylic paints to avoid muddy colors.
Use contrasting colors for the different layers. Just don't brayer over the same spot in Step 5 or you could get mud and ruin the stencil pattern.

Thanksgiving Card Using StencilGirl and Gel Press@

Place Cards Using Masterboard

Gel Press® Printed Avery Labels

Masterboard Projects

Ready for the Holidays!

Now go check out the rest of the videos on the Gel Press® YouTube Channel or on the Gel Press Facebook Page today.

I hope you are inspired to make something crafty with Gel Press® and StencilGirl stencils. And when you do, don't forget to share it on Gel Press Junkies Facebook page! For more inspiration follow Gel Press® on Pinterest and Instagram.

Have a great Holiday Season!

Kathy

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Shiny Happy Little Canvases

Remember that 90's song by REM, Shiny Happy People? Here's a reminder.

Can it get happier than that? Yes. It can.

I think about that song when I look at these bright fun doodly little canvases!

And how I made them is equally as fun! I shared the video a few days ago and thought I would give you a closer look at the canvases themselves. Here is the video in case you missed it.

I sometimes doodle during meetings, church (don't tell) or when I am on the phone, but usually not in my art. I really got into it with these colorful prints. It was very relaxing!

And I have to admit, that cutting them up after all of that work was scary and a bit risky. I kept second-guessing myself. But in the end, I listened to my intuition.

These little canvases were screaming for some positive words. So that's what I gave them. They are perfect sitting on a shelf because of the deep edge and are sure to brighten any space. I plan on doing more of this type of art because it makes me happy to create AND to look at!

Here they are individually.

Wonderful Things

Impossible Things

Never Give Up

What Comes Next

Imperfection

Timing

So there is my shiny happy blog post! Hope I have brightened your day a little bit! If you are interested in purchasing any of these canvases, I will be posting them on my facebook page, but you can also let me know below.

4" x 4" Deep Edge Canvases

$15 each plus shipping

Till next time,

Kathy

Friday, September 30, 2016

Art Journaling Therapy With Gel Press®

For our blog hop today we are focusing on health and wellbeing. Make sure to check out all of the talented designers to see how they interpret our theme this month. You will find the links at the end of my post.

Health and Wellness Art Journal Page

Art journaling is my way of figuring things out in more ways than one. It's a place where I play with a new product or technique. But it's also a way of purging or recording thoughts, quotes, ideas and feelings in a visual and creative way. There is something very therapeutic about writing my thoughts and feelings onto a blank page then covering them up with paint, stamps and stencils. Here is an art journal page that I made to remind myself to keep mind, body and spirit in balance for my own health and wellbeing. For this page, I used the large format, 12" x 14" Gel Press Plate.

Balance Art Journal Page

See my process creating this page in the snapguide below.

Check out How to Create an Art Journal Page With Gel Press® by Kathy Adams on Snapguide.

Balance Art Journal Page

Spiral Bound Gel Press® Journal

An easy way to make a quick journal is to use Gel Press® prints and bind them using a Bind-It-All spiral binding machine. If you don't have one, office supply stores like Office Depot have inexpensive spiral binding services. Check out my video showing how I made the covers using Gel Press® Plates.

Sometimes just making backgrounds in my art journal is therapy! I loved making these pages using some of my favorite StencilGirl Stencils. Each one started out as a gel print.

The idea behind an art journal is not to make a masterpiece but to play, work out ideas or use a new product. Here are a few more pages in this art journal doing just that.

Art Journal Page Using Face Stamp

An Exercise in Letting Go of Perfection

Junque Journals

My favorite journals are the ones I learned to make while taking Julie Balzer's "Make Your Own Junque Journal Class". They have a hand-sewn binding so there is no gap between pages like on a spiral bound journal. I made five junque journals, most using gel prints and patterned paper. The covers are created using canvas panels, Gel Press® prints, stencils and stamps.