Gel Printing with the Strands stencil

A stencil gel print for you today. I created this distressed print on a large gel plate so I could pick up a card front and an envelope print at the same time. If you don’t have a large plate you could just use the same paint colours and stencil on a second print. Just in case you didn’t catch my news yesterday, my new online course Gel Print Journey is now available! (And there is a discount for blog readers TEAMBLOG10)

The stencil is called ‘strands’ and it is a digital design I created and have made available in the Echidna Studios etsy store. The bold print shown on the card above was made with copper, burgandy and purple paint so I chose a dark burgandy cardstock to cut dragonfly elements and a sentiment strip. Printing directly on the envelope is a easy way to co-ordinate with your card and I placed a sticker on the white envelope before printing to preserve white space for the address. I think I might make a video of this process because it’s quick and effective, a combination I like.

The pattern on the second card is very muted because it is a ghost print, the leftovers on the plate after I pulled the one above. I cover this technique in my new online class using a range of different stencils and colour combinations.

Even though ghost prints are often patchy I like using them for collage or backgrounds as I have here. The line between cream and grey ended up looking like a path or lawn and I just like the unique grungy texture.

The dies and stamps I used to finish the cards are all Penny Black, those dragonflies on the first card are some of the first dies I ever got and they’re still a favourite.

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