A few years ago, the only way to make a gelatin print was to make a gelatin printing plate. The process was tedious, and the plates were temperamental, often disintegrating within an hour. That’s all in the past. Thanks to Gelli Arts, the soft and spongy Gelli Printing Plate is here to stay!
Tools & Products
Gelli Plate printing requires a Gelli Plate, a tool to apply paint, impression-making items (many found in a crafter’s stash), and paper or fabric on which to print.
Gelli Arts offers a variety of square and rectangular plate sizes (3 x 5–12 x 14-inch), round plates (4–8-inch) and mini plates in circles, squares, rectangles, ovals, hexagons and triangles (approximately 3 inches).
Gelli Arts recommends acrylic and oil paints for best results. Golden Artist paints are available in tubes which are very convenient to use to squeeze portions onto the plate. Ranger’s Dylusion paints come in jars but can easily be dolloped onto the plate with a craft stick.
Inks can be used but will permanently stain the plate. Although staining won’t affect future prints, it can hinder design visualization.
In addition to products specifically manufactured for art and crafting, there is an endless supply of household items that can make impressions in the paint: crumpled paper, plastic wrap, rubber bands, bubble wrap, plastic bottle caps, twine, corrugated cardboard, feathers, corks, combs, etc. Avoid anything with sharp or pointed edges that will mar the plate’s surface. Permanent scratches and gouging will appear in all future prints.
Using heavier-weight paper helps prevent buckling—especially if printing one sheet multiple times. Dylusions tags, journals and journal insert sheets by Ranger are exceptionally good choices. All three have white, matte, non-pilling paper. The journal insert sheets and tags are also available in black and kraft.
This story is from the Autumn 2017 edition of CardMaker.
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This story is from the Autumn 2017 edition of CardMaker.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Happy Boss Day
Michaels cardstock: brown, medium blue, cream, dark blue
Coloring Book Images
One of the hottest trends in the craft world right now is coloring books for grown-ups.
Nicole Coursey
It was so satisfying to be able to complete a card with any creative technique I felt like using at the time.
Karin Akesdotter
Take a look inside almost any issue of Card Maker and chances are you’ll find one or more cards from designer Karin Åkesdotter.
Gelli Plates Printing
A few years ago, the only way to make a gelatin print was to make a gelatin printing plate. The process was tedious, and the plates were temperamental, often disintegrating within an hour. That’s all in the past. Thanks to Gelli Arts, the soft and spongy Gelli Printing Plate is here to stay!
Let's Color! Paints & Pastes
It’s only appropriate that this issue’s coloring column is inspired by autumn. Natural aging effects, rustic textures and colorful leaves are the influences for the following techniques using chalk paints and pastes.
Let's Color!
One of my favorite things about this time of year is that nearly everything takes on a holiday shine.
Stenciled Backgrounds
Once the air starts to cool and the days get shorter, trends shift toward warmer colors and more texture for clothing, home decor and even paper crafting. My autumn cards always use deeper, warmer colors such as reds, browns, oranges and creams instead of the brighter tones and white commonly used in the summer months. In addition to a richer color palette, I also reach for the texture pastes and foils to add dimension and dynamics to my harvest-season cards.
Serendipity Technique
The serendipity technique is one of those go-to techniques that is not only timeless, but also results in beautiful one-of-a-kind creations! Although it is not new, it may be new to many of you. For others, this may be a pleasant reminder to revisit this technique and all of its possibilities. Like many techniques, it has evolved and continues to do so with each new product being used in the world of card making and paper crafting.
Happy Halloween
Cardstock: French Paper Co. (black licorice, orange fizz); Neenah Paper (solar white)