Wednesday 4 June 2014

Homemade Gelli plate.

I have had a 'proper' gelli plate for a while now, probably 18months. I think I have used it 3times, I love the idea of it, I just can't get terribly excited about using it... I have no idea why. Maybe I just need to be inspired by the right person. i do love the pieces made by Andy Skinner, he has a very arty approach rather than a crafting approach. I also really like the way Barbara Gray  uses her gelli plate. She has more of a crafting approach, but her end results are quite arty... besides which she is funny. 

Then I started seeing people making their own gelli plates, wow I wish I had seen them before I got the real one...I love making tools, trying to save money where possible, but mostly because I get satisfaction from creating rather than buying...  

So I decided to make one, for no other reason really than I wanted to try it. My real one is 8x10 inches, so I knew I wanted to make a different size. I thought that one big enough to use with tags would be a cool size, and easy to transport to demos. 

I used the recipe from Pam Thorburns blog, I have researched many recipes and blogs and they are all pretty much the same. many use american weights/volumes. As Pam is in the Uk and had worked out the uk equivalents I just followed her recipe. 

Now I only wanted a small tag sized plate, and I knew the amount in the recipe was going to give me a bigger plate.... no matter, I will make a big one, cut it in half and give half to a friend. 

I was going to use plastic storage boxes as the molds, but eventually settled on using this biscuit tin as it had a completely smooth base. 



I mixed up the ingredients, and poured.. and got lots of bubbles. Very disheartening. So I chopped it all up and remelted it in the microwave, this time I poured it slowly through a sieve... much better, but still not as good as I wanted. So again I remelted the gelli and poured again. This time i got a nice smooth surface. 

It was pretty much set in 4hrs, but I left it overnight before using it. As you can see I have cut the plate in half. Each plate now measures approx 11cm by 22cm, which is the size of a large tag. 


I am keeping the plates in these plastic boxes, very handy as they are perfect size and have lids.. I paid 99p for each box. 


I trimmed the plates so that they are just smaller than the boxes, just enough to get a finger under the corner to help lift them out. 

As you can see they are the right size for all my tags. 


So, now I have done the bit I was interested in .. I guess I had better use one of them.. 

I layered up some PaperArtsy Fresco paints, and this is the page that I pulled. As you can see, I used 2 masks in the process to give me a couple of unpainted areas. I wasn't aiming at anything in particular, just trying it out. But I did like the resulting colours. 


It is always a good thing to have spare paper next to you, to clean off your brayer. so after I pulled my main print, I was left with this scrap piece and also the 2 mask bits.. 


I cut my main print in half, and now I had all these usable pieces. 


I could have stopped right here, put them away in a box or drawer. I cannot tell you how many videos I have watched, seeing people pull prints, use scrap paper and then do nothing with them. Don't get me wrong, I am as guilty of hoarding as much as the next crafter, but I do believe gelli print hoarding is a whole other phenomena. There are drawers the world over full to bursting with painty papers..

Not me... at least not this time. I decided to use them straight away. 

I emptied out a bag 'o' bits.. 


and I made cards.. 5 of them. All from one pulled print, the masks and the scrap paper. 







Make something with your prints people, I want to be inspired!

Darcy x


15 comments:

  1. I don't have either a home made or a shop bought gelli plate as I prefer to make my own backgrounds direct as it were, but can see the attraction (addiction!) of these... love the cards you made from some of your prints!

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  2. Look fantastic! I'll be interested to find out how long the plates keep.

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  3. I'm sat here shaking my head in amazement at the wonderful cards you made! They are really great. I think I'll be one of those guilty of filling drawers with prints ..... once I get round to using my totally neglected plate. I still have some alcohol ink backgrounds I made at least 5 years ago..... Shame on me!

    Hugs
    Lesley Xx

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  4. Thanks for this Darcy,very useful as the price of gelli plates are quite high especially as you can't tell in advance whether you will use it or not!

    Donna.x

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  5. When I made a gelli plate I put a double layer of cling film in the tin (use plenty so it hangs over the edges) and used it to lift the plate in and out!

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  6. Does your brain ever take a rest?? Ust try!!!

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  7. Fabulous as usual! Must dig out the gelli plate again ... Not played with it for a while... Usually challenge myself to make something from the prints in one session before I do anymore otherwise it just gets silly!

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  8. Bought my Gelli Plate in 2013, i have stared at it for ages. Decided to try it out last month, only pulled two prints off & used them straight away.

    Can't stand the thought of wasting paints and time just so i have a stock of backgrounds. I am not impressed with my results so far, prefer to make as i go along and get inky.


    Your cards are arty and fun, amazing results from your home made plates. Looking forward to more inspiration :-) xxx

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  9. Great tip, the biscuit tin. I have a gelli plate too but have also, recently, fancied having a go at making my own. Apparently you get some really interesting effects when it starts to break down.
    My gelli plate sat in it's packet after a couple of uses but then Tracey (from Lavinia Stamps) showed me how to use my dye ink pads with it and I fell in love with it. I was recently asked to demo the creative palette at a show (for the stampman) and decided I really needed to'crack' using paint on my plate/palette. I want my printing plate/palette to give me effects I can't do any other way, otherwise what's the point!! I blogged about it (the art of Moodling) if you're interested.
    Love your pieces,

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  10. Doh....has biscuit tins I could have used(makes plans to remelt gelli). I made mine in January, keep it in a plastic bag in my craft room, and it is still going strong. I left the bubbles in mine to add texture instantly lol, but then I don't worry about how grubby looking it gets :D XXX

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  11. Never understood gelli plates. Maybe because I don't have one and have never seen one. Seen lots of people make very interesting effects but never been inspired enough to buy/make my own. Yours looks good and the scientist is knocking on the brain cell insisting it looks like a fun thing to do........ The cook is wondering if strawberry is a good flavour for a gelli plate........ The gardener sees no practical use and is thinking about cabbages.......... I love the cards/tags you made especially the two with the long heart

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  12. Guilty as charged, made prints, put them to one side never to see light of day. I love that you've made your own Gelli plate AND used the pulled print straight away. Maybe I'll dig mine out again...... Sue C x

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  13. Your cards are fantastic Darcy, well done for using the prints immediately. I'm very tempted by the idea of making my own gelli plate, but I can't seem to get excited by it & I know I would me a few prints & leave them sitting on my craft table with the rest of the stuff I *must* do something with one day...

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  14. These are fabulous card Darcy!
    I bought Jelli plate (big one...lol) last month and lot's of fresco and paper wasted and didn't get the good results. Although I have watched youtube. Now I'm afraid to lose interest in it and wasted money too lol...

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  15. These are just fabulous! I saw your plates over on ning.

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