Gel Printing Resist

A while back I decided to get my hands messy with the world of mono printing with a Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate.  A while back I showed you this project using the gel printing plate with paint and a stencil (a pretty traditional way to use it).  Today, I have a technique that's a bit different. Today I have a step by step tutorial showing you how to doe a gel printing resist with a Gelli Arts plate, gel medium, a stencil, and Tim Hotlz Distress Stains.  Here's what a finished gel printing resist paper looks like:

and here's what it looks like made into a card:

To try out this technique you'll need:
Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate
Faber Castell Gel Medium
A stencil (I used ones from Studio Calico)
Distress Stains (I used Barn Door, Peacock Feathers, and Squeezed Lemonade)

You may also want:
Mini Mister
Brayer
Non Stick Craft Mat

Start by covering your gel printing plate in gel medium. Don't be afraid to be generous and put quite a bit on there. The more gel medium you put on, the more contrast you'll get with your resist.

Next, put your stencil on your gel plate.  Some stencils will cover the gel plate completely, some won't. In this example my gel plate is 6 x 6, while my stencil is only about 4 1/2 x 6.  This is no big deal, since I will be trimming down my final piece of paper anyways. 

Take a piece of paper (I cut mine to 6 x 6, the same size as the gel plate), place the side you want the gel medium to go on directly down onto the stencil covered gel plate.  Push down firmly with your hands, or run a brayer over it to transfer the gel medium from the plate onto your paper.
I used a dictionary/newsprint style patterned paper, but you can try out any plain card stock or patterned paper that you would like, as long as they are light enough in color to let some stain show through later. 
You'll need to let the gel medium dry completely before moving on to the next step.  I usually clean my stencil and gel plate while waiting. You can use baby wipes and/or hand sanitizer wipes to clean your gel plate. Let your gel plate dry, and then just store it back in the container it came in.

When your paper is printed and dry, it's not going to look like much, since the gel medium is basically clear. Now is where we add some color.  Take a few colors of distress stains, and cover your paper with them. You can put them on in a striped pattern,

or you can place it in splotches all over the place. Get creative, and try some different things out to see what you like best. The best thing about using the distress stains is that you can apply the stain directly from the bottle right onto the paper. Just swipe it right on using the foam applicator tip.

There's just one more step left before you can use your creation.  Grab a mini mister and spray your paper with water.  This will make your stains mix and blend.  It will also make the resist areas pop more on your paper.
Now you can trim down your paper and make a card or 2.

The card above shows a card I made using the paper I gel printed with the triangle mask.

I decided to play up the stripes of color, so I divided them even further with washi tape.

This second card uses a circle mask, and is a bit softer over all.

I love the big areas of white (resisted) space I got with the circle mask.

I have another card using this technique and a tutorial video over on A Walk Down Memory Lane's blog today. Just click here to head over to it. And remember, you can find links to most of my videos by clicking on the video tab on the top of the blog just under my Taylor Stamped banner.

Thanks for stopping by!