Mixed Up Art: round gel press

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Happy Earth Day!

Welcome to the Gel Press Earth Day Blog Hop! We want to encourage you to reuse and recycle with Gel Press. Have you thought of making Gel Press Prints on old maps? What about old Christmas cards or even magazines? Hop around and see what our designers have come up with for this hop.

We will be giving away a prize again for the comments on the Gel Press Blog. Comment on what your favorite project was and why. We will accept comments from April 20 - April 24. The winner will be announced April 25th on our FB Page and on Gel Press Junkies FB page! Good Luck!

Today I have an easy tutorial using the 8" Round Gel Press to make artsy labels for use in organizing craft supplies, for my handmade laundry detergent and lotion, and even cards and art projects!

Gel Press Labels

In honor of Earth Day, I made a tutorial on my blog a few days ago about how I make my laundry detergent. You wouldn't believe how much money I save and how easy it is! Plus, I am not buying dozens of plastic containers that pollute our oceans. Find out more about it here.

Lavender Laundry Detergent with Gel Press Labels

I used Avery labels in a couple of different sizes, including round, and the 8" Round Gel Press to make them. You can even custom print them on their website, Avery.com.

I pulled out some smaller rubber stamps and stencils along with heavy body paints. I'm also using embossing folders on the Gel plate for this project because the designs are smaller and will show up well on the labels. I am using the 8" round Gel Plate. Why, you ask? Read more to find out.

Step 1

Put three shades of green paint onto the 8"round Gel Plate and brayer.

Step 2

Press an embossing folder into the Plate. I just have to stop here and tell you how much I LOVE using these folders on the Gel Plate. You need to try it if you haven't yet! Using the embossed and debossed sides results in a cool positive and negative effect that is hard to get with any other tool. Don't forget to clean the folder asap.

Step 3

Grab a sheet of labels and press down onto the Plate. I printed in the middle of the label sheet.

Step 4

Print the edges of the label sheet, adding more paint (repeat step 1) when needed.

Here is the reason that I chose the round Gel Plate instead of the 8"x 10" Gel Plate: some of the labels peeled off when I tried to print the whole sheet in one pull on the rectangle plate. Using the round plate seemed to work much better since I was printing smaller areas. The 6" x 6" or 5" x 7" Gel Press would work well for this project also.

Step 5

After cleaning my plate with a baby wipe, I printed another label sheet using purples, pressing a dandelion stamp into the plate.

Step 6

I use the rubber stamp with purple paint from the Gel Plate to stamp onto the green label sheet. Using the Gel Plate is an excellent way to "ink" up your stamps.

After the label sheets are completely dry, I printed a few of them using Avery.com, which allows me to customize individual labels using their templates.

I gel printed a couple more sheets of labels and made some cards with them.

And organized some art supplies too!

To see how I make my homemade laundry detergent, go to this blog post.

Don't forget to visit the blog hoppers and see their Gel Press projects. Then go to the Gel Press Blog and comment for a chance to win a round Gel Plate!

Lea

Bix

Kathy <-------You are here

Ann

Elena
Gel Press Blog

Thanks for visiting today!

Kathy

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Shop for all of the Gel Press Plates at gelpress.com.

For inspiration, visit the Gel Press Pinterest page at https://www.pinterest.com/gelpress/

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:

8" and 4" round Gel Plates

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.