I was so excited when ArtFoamies asked the design team about doing a collaboration with Gelli Arts! I had not had a chance to play with my ArtFomaies and gel printing, so this gave me the chance to do just that.
GelliArts sent us some awesome supplies, however since I have several of their plates already, I choose to use my 8×10 plate instead of the 5×5 plate they sent us. I wanted to make some larger sized backgrounds to accommodate the ArtFoamies I have.
The smaller size is great too – especially for making card fronts or printing on all those bits and pieces of paper I hang onto. I also like printing on smaller plates with patty paper. (It’s a smaller version of deli paper that is used in between hamburger patties!)
I also had not used the Gelli Arts paint, so the first experiment I did on my plate was just simple printing using the watercolor technique (paint on the plate, spray with watercolor, and pull the print). This allowed me to see the colors outside the bottles and test how they worked with water. Then I moved onto traditional printing using my ArtFoamies to add interest to the prints in several different ways.
My first few pulls were pretty simple and I didn’t blend the paint too much, again wanting to see the colors pure from the bottles. Then, I began to do more blending and absolutely loved the purple that resulted from the fresh water and mixed berries paint colors. I also surprised myself at the end with a print using orange with that purple color. The ArtFoamies also helped to add some extra layers and interest to my prints …especially when I used just white paint with them.
Watch the video of my experimenting and playing here:
Look at all the prints I made in a little over an hour!
I was very happy with the results and look forward to playing more with my Gelli Arts plates, paint, and ArtFoamies!
Next, I wanted to turn a few of the prints into a small doodle book. I was inspired by Alisa Burke’s sketch books to create a small one of my own that I could keep in my purse with a couple of pens to pull out in coffee shop or waiting room.
Watch Part 2 to see how to make this simple journal:
So, now that you’ve read to the end… head over to the ArtFoamies blog and Gelli Arts blog to read more about this collaboration, and most importantly, enter to win a giveaway!!
And, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to see what adventures I have with my little doodle book!