Joyous Gelli Plates

This week's 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge is colours - blue cream and gold.

I thought this would be a good chance to play with one of my new stencils (part of a lovely crafty bundle for Valentine's Day!) and my gelli plate. The stencil is a holly wreath from That Special Touch. I made a collection of different prints, trying out different techniques - with varying success! I've put them here, partly so I can remember what I did.

This was placing the stencil onto the clean gelli plate and brayering the paint (cobalt blue acrylic) over it, then removing the stencil and pulling a print on stencil card I'd already painted cream (linen). I like this effect.

Next I tried the other way, covering the gelli plate in paint then placing the stencil on as a mask.

I tried this a couple of times, one with cream card, the other with white.

This left the paint under the stencil on the plate, so I brayered on a layer on linen and pulling another print, giving these lovely results - such a pity I tore one of them.

I tried doing this with the colours reversed, but it didn't work at all!

I made use of the card by putting the stencil onto it and sponging the linen paint through. Sure I can find something to do with this one.

Next up, I covered the gelli plate in blue paint, laid the stencil on, and left it to dry. I then removed the stencil, the paint under it was still wet, and I lifted it off. The first time (top) I just used copy paper, thinking it'd be waste, but it was so pretty I used cream painted card the second time (bottom). The latter was less clean as the paint wasn't completely dry, but I still think it's so pretty.

This was the print I was going for with this technique - I brayered linen paint over the dried paint on the gelli plate to reactivate it, and pulled the print. This one tore a bit, the second was better but I don't seem to have a photo of that.

So, now I have a choice of blue and cream backgrounds, which to use? Some I don't think will work well with gold, so they are put aside. I play with a couple, the one I have used is using the stencil as a mask to create a void.

To add gold, I inked up the stencil with gold pigment ink and lined it up with the void, then ran it through the grand calibur to emboss (or deboss, strictly speaking). I then added gold mica powder to the transferred ink. One of my favourite techniques, such a reliable option.

So now I have a blue, cream and gold background, what to do with it? I don't want to detract too much, so I go for something very simple.

I sponged linen paint onto some more stencil card and die cut the letters J O Y twice. 

One set I add pigment ink and gold mica to, the other is for a drop shadow behind them.

I trimmed the card back a little, and blended blue distress ink round the edges to give a bit more balance.

I use cream zeta hammered card to mount the card. I cut one piece with a very narrow border, then use a versa mark pen around the outside and add gold mica. The base piece is larger for a cream border.

The whole thing is added to an 8x8 card, trimmed down slightly so it fits exactly, with no white border.

Done! Just need to photograph it and write a blog. And then disaster - I manage to knock my camera off the side and break it. The lens won't extend any more. So I have borrowed hubby's camera, which I'm not used to, so apologies if the picture of the card is a bit off. Although the slightly fuzzy look comes from the softness of the technique, not the picture quality! I'm just not that happy with the way the colours look. Ah well, time to get this posted and get myself off to bed.