Gel Press Printed Holiday Cards

Day 3 of the Holiday Card Workshop 2022 focused on making fast backgrounds. One of the lessons was called “Gorgeous Gel Press Printing” taught by Lydia Fiedler. I still had plaid on my mind from the day 2 class, so I thought I’d try a plaid stamp with this technique for today’s lesson.

Lydia used alcohol inks and acrylic paint for her backgrounds. I used Distress Oxide inks. She also used dies to create her images while I used rubber stamps. (I’d get a “does not follow directions” on my report card for this class – lol!)

The background on this one (above) was made with ink that was picked up by the stamp from the gel plate after the inks were blended with a brayer. (The gel plate acted as an ink pad.) My stamp seems to have an imperfection in the center, and I have never been able to get a clean image with it. This technique is very forgiving in that the image is not meant to be clean and crisp so it is perfect for this particular stamp of mine!

The background on this next one was made with the ink that was left behind after lifting the ink with the stamp for the first one. I simply placed the card stock on the inked gel plate and gently rubbed.

And one more card to share…

I reinked and blended the gel plate and cleaned my brayer off onto another piece of card stock that I used for the background (mat) on this nativity card design. I then inked the stamp from the gel plate and stamped the image onto the card stock.

The supplies used for these cards are: a gel plate, “Plaid 4×6” stamp from Echo Park, the “Merry Stamp & Cut” set from Hero Arts, “Tree Punch” from Stampin’ Up, “Star Punch” (unbranded), “Stacked Merry Christmas” Die from Creative Expressions, “Cling Manger Scene” from Stampendous, “Subtle” embossing folder from Stampin’ Up, and Broken China, Faded Jeans, and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide inks.

I have a bunch of stamped and inked panels for additional cards. (You really can make a lot of panels quickly with this technique!)

If you are interested in seeing how to create some fast backgrounds using a gel plate, check out the class over at Online Card Classes!

Thanks for checking out my card projects!

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