January is the time of year that I restock my shipping supplies. This year I am out of business cards, bubble mailers, boxes and thank you cards. I can order all of these items on the Internet, which I have just done, except for the thank you cards. Those I like to make myself . In today’s post I will share some ideas for a fun and fairly fast way of making up a batch of unique handmade cards.
I will be using my Gelli Arts Mono printing plate. This product is easy to use and easy to care for. It is used with acrylic paints and soft tipped tools like Q tips and sponges. It can be cleaned up with baby wipes or warm water and soap. The plate comes in a clam shell case which it should be stored in.
There is lots of info on the
Gelli Arts Website to help you get started with this wonderful versatile tool.
Supplies
Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate (Amazon.com, GelliArts.com)
Acrylic paints in tubes and 2 ounce bottles inexpensive ones are the best (Walmart, Michaels, JoAnns) Do not use oil paints
Soft point Q-tips ( cosmetic supply shop)
Baby wipes for cleaning the brayer and the Gelli pad
Stencils (any craft store like Michales, Hobby Lobby, JoAnns)
Paper cutter or trimmer
Thank You rubber stamp (JoAnns or Hobby Lobby or Michaels)
Textures like lace, netting, sponges etc.
a mixed media paper (Walmart, Michaels)
Brayer (amazon.com or art supply store)
A selection of the acrylic paints that I use, with some sponges and the Q tips I use that have a good point for drawing into the paint. I get them from a cosmetic supply store
The Process for making your cards:
Squirt some paint onto your gelli pad
Use the brayer to spread the paint over the pad
draw a design or image into the paint with the Q-tip then cover you image with a piece of paper and rub all over it so the paint will transfer
Your transferred image. It can often be a little bare or disappointing looking. So now it the time to overlay another color or texture to your mono print. Best to use a light color at this point. Or you could have started with a dark color and used a light overlay afterwards. You can also wait until your print has dried and do some hand coloring.
More examples:
Put some color on a stencil resting on top of the gelli pad and roll it in with the brayer. There is some gold color already on the pad from another print and it will add some nice nuances. Often a good idea to not clean your pad between prints.
In this example I added the red color to the drawing directly from the paint tube with one of the Q tips.
I added the extra purple color with a sponge
The picture on the left happened when I cleaned the stencil with a baby wipe and it colored all those empty spaces and made a print.
some examples drying– they look a bit messy at this point but once the excess paper is cut off they will look fine
Stencil overlayed with other colors to give a more complex and colorful look
To Make the cards
Once you have let your pictures dry, trim off all the extra white paper and then cut each picture into 4 pieces. That will make them fit nicely into your packaging box
Then stamp the individual pieces with a Thank You stamp and permanent ink
Thank you card in a Kraft box that will got out to one of my customers. I have hand written a note of thanks on the back of the card.
I hope you have been inspired by this tutorial today to try your hand at making your own thank you cards. It is a fun, relaxing activity that should let you roam free with the paints and try out your wildest art dreams. Have a good time!!! Your customers will enjoy receiving your unique creations.
Thanks so for stopping by .
Mary
Kathy Lindemer
January 23, 2016 at 1:31 pmGreat directions and lovely presentation. As someone who has received an order from Mary, I can say she does a fine job making her customers feel special when they open their orders from her.
Cory Tompkins
January 23, 2016 at 6:53 pmOh Mary, I love these!! I just saw a video showing how to use a Gelli plate from Stencil Girl the other day (I had no idea what it was before that). I can see another purchase coming…how can I possibly resist?
Ann Schroeder
January 24, 2016 at 8:28 amThese are great. And I agree with Kathy, Mary's packaging is special.
Divya N
January 24, 2016 at 3:31 pmsounds like an interesting idea – any idea what the gelli plate is made of – acrylic?