Speckled Leaf Trails

Posted: May 30, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, gel press, Lavinia, leaf trails stencil, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Alcohol Ink, gel press, gel printing, Lavinia, Taylored Expressions | 2 Comments

If this design looks familiar it’s because I posted a couple of similar cards a few weeks back. They featured the same pretty Lavinia stencil, ‘leaf trails’.

The difference between the cards is partly the colours but more significantly today’s cards feature splatter! You know how I feel about splatter. I always say if a project doesn’t seem quite finished, add some splatter.

The panels on these cards were made with alcohol inks on a gel plate. I dropped three or four alcohol inks on the plate along with some isopropyl alcohol to help the inks move and blend. I dropped the leaf trails stencil on top and let the inks dry. Once the ink on the plate was dry I splatted some isopropyl alcohol over the design, waited a minute and lifted the stencil. I used white acrylic paint to pull the print on heavy cardboard then added Taylored Expressions sentiments to complete the cards. This post includes an affiliate link from Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. And remember, if in doubt, add some splatter!

Blue & Green Leaf Trails

Posted: May 7, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, gel press, Lavinia, leaf trails stencil, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Alcohol Ink, gel press, gel printing, Lavinia, Taylored Expressions | 5 Comments

There are many ways to use stencils on the gel plate, one being with alcohol inks rather than acrylic paint. When I use alcohol inks I do pull the print with acrylic paint but most of the colour you see is from the initial layer of alcohol inks.

You can lay the stencil down then add alcohol inks or do it the other way round, dropping the stencil onto the wet alcohol ink. Some gel-printers add a layer of hand sanitiser first but that isn’t what I did to make these prints. I’m not 100% sure but I believe I lay the stencil down on top of a layer of alcohol ink for these prints. I use some isopropyl alcohol to help the inks move further and facilitate some blends between colours. I also use an air blower to push the ink around and speed up the drying process.

The pretty twirly patterns are from the Lavinia ‘leaf trails’ stencil. Lavinia has lovely organic stencils which often feature in my gel prints. I can’t remember the exact alcohol inks I used but the technique works with all sorts of colour combos so pick your faves. No surprise to see blue in my mix. I have mentioned before that I often gel print on printer paper but these panels I pulled with thick cardstock so when it came to making cards I just cut some rectangles from the print and added them to white card bases along with sentiments from Taylored Expressions.