Gel Press and the Colors of Autumn

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the-colors-of-autumn-print-using-gel-press

The first time I watched a video of someone using a Gel Press I was completely intrigued.

The project they were making was artsy, colorful, very cool and it looked like so much fun.

When I got the chance to participate in the Designer Craft Connection monthly design challenge

and receive a Gel Press plate for “free”… I was more than excited.

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Never heard of a Gel Press?    (Well…It’s just about the coolest thing.)

The Gel Press is a reusable Gel Printing Plate.

Gelatin printing is a form of mono-printing in which a gelatin slab is used as a printing plate to create a variety of images and backgrounds using acrylic paint.  Simple to use.  Ready for Printing.

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Here’s how I created “The Colors of Autumn Print”…

Supplies Needed:

Directions:

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  • Remove clear protective film from your gel press.  Apply paint to the exposed Gel Plate.
  • Roll paint on as a thin layer with brayer.
  • Create design by pressing textured item into wet paint.
  • Lay paper onto painted surface.
  • Gently rub paper with hands to create a transfer image onto the paper.
  • I traced guidelines around the paper onto my scratch paper to make it easier to line up the second printing.
  • Pull paper away from printing plate to reveal your background.

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  • I created a second background just like the first by using fall colors.
  • I placed 3 leaves into the paint.
  • I place a second piece of white paper over the gel press and pressed.  This removes most of the paint from the background.  Leaving the paint underneath the leaves.
  • Remove leaves from the gel press.  I masked the corners with a couple of additional leaves.
  • Lay the first blue background paper over the press.  Lining the paper up with the guidelines.
  • Gently rub paper with hands to create a transfer image onto the paper.
  • Pull paper away from printing plate to reveal your leaf prints.

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  • Mat print and embellish with “the colors of autumn” chit chat sticker.

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The “Colors of Autumn Print” was created for and sponsored by Gel Press.

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Make sure to check out the video on the Gel Press site.

 

*This post uses Amazon Affiliate links.  I am a Amazon Affiliate.  If you choose to purchase an item from Amazon by clinking on the product link, I will receive a small commission that helps offset the cost of running this blog.

 

Old Frame Make-Over from last Friday’s treasure hunt.

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When I asked what the price was for the old terra pot, she paused and said “a quarter”.

When I asked her how much for the next item, she said “a quarter”.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was going to be fun.

By the time I put my pile on the table she said “a dollar……..ummm fifty?”

I love a good treasure hunt.

Especially when it’s ran by an old lady who just wants to get rid of everything.

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Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure about these heavy metal frames when I first picked them up.

But…at a quarter how could I go wrong?

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Armed with a can of off-white spray paint…

I deconstructed the frames and gave everything a couple coats of paint.

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I sprayed the black velvet matting with spray adhesive and applied a piece of a woven tan fabric.

I marked the two holes in the matting where the metal flowers had been previously.

I was able to use the prongs on the back of the metal flowers to line them up exactly where they

had been before.  (so easy)

I trimmed the excess fabric from around the matting and re-inserted everything back into the frame.

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A super simple project with a modern up-dated look.

 

How to make a Halloween Hauntings Treat Bag

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Halloween Treat Bag 185

You can make a Spooky Halloween Treat bag using only one piece of 12″ x 12″ paper.

That is as long as you’re not afraid of a few measurements… it really is pretty easy.

How to make the Halloween Treat Bag

Here’s what you’ll need:

Directions:

  1. Cut All Hallows Moon double sided Halloween paper to 8 1/4″ x 11 3/4″.
  2. Score the long width of the paper at 3/4″, 4 3/4″, 5 1/2″, 6 1/4″, 10 1/4″ and 11″.
  3. Score the top of the paper at 3/4″.
  4. Score the bottom 1 1/2″.
  5. Fold along score lines
  6. Cut away the first 3/4″ corner piece.
  7. Fold over the top 3/4″ and adhere in place.  (top diagram)
  8. Fold along lines to create a 4″ x 6″ box.
  9. Tape Side and bottom of the box.Taping the Bottom Flap 148
  10. Cut “toad saliva” bottle section from the Apothecary scrapbook paper and adhere to the front   of the bag.
  11. Add 3D foam mounting squares to the back of the “raven” and “bottles” stickers and use to embellish the bag.
  12. Punch two holes on the top of the bag.
  13. Fill with goodies (or NOT) and tie with a black cord.

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The Halloween Treat Bag was created for and sponsored by Paper House Productions.

 

How to Create a Birthday Card for the Football Fanatic in your Life…

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Everyone has that one family member that really LOVES football.  (maybe it’s you?)

Here’s a card I created for Craft Ideas magazine’s Fall Issue.  (page 69)

A fun football themed birthday card for young and old.

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How to make a Football Birthday Card…

Made with papers and stickers from Paper House Productions sports collections.

Supplies Used:

  • P-2058 MVP Tags 12” Double Sided Scrapbook Paper (Paper House Productions)
  • P-2060 All Star 12” Double Sided Scrapbook Paper (Paper House Productions)
  • P-2056 Footballs 12” Double Sided Scrapbook Paper (Paper House Productions)
  • STCX-1010 Football 12” Cardstock Stickers
  • Brown Cardstock
  • Black Cardstock
  • 3D Foam Mounting Squares
  • Double Sided Tape Runner
  • Paper Cutter
  • Scissors

Directions:

  1. Make a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ top-fold card from brown cardstock.
  2. Cut a 4” strip of the green football sidelines border sticker and adhere to the bottom of the MVP tag.  Cut 3 ¾” x 5” panel  from  “All Star” scrapbook paper and adhere MVP tag off-centered as shown.  Adhere All Star panel onto 4″ x 5 1/4″ black cardstock panel.  Adhere all layers onto card front.
  3. Embellish card with letters and football stickers as shown. For added dimension, adhere “Go Team Go” sticker with 3D foam mounting squares.

Football Birthday Card Inside 6378On the inside of the card:

Cut a 3 ¾” x 5” piece of “Footballs” scrapbook paper. Layer it onto a 4” x 5 ¼” piece of black cardstock and adhere it in the inside of the card. Embellish with stickers.

 

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Make sure to check out Craft Ideas Magazine for Craft Ideas for Every Occasion, Every Skill Level.

 

DIY Canvas: What the World needs now…

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A Quick and Easy DIY canvas and a throw back to the 1960’s.

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Song Trivia:

The song “What the World needs Now is Love” was first recorded in 1965…

and was written by Hal Davis with the music composed by Burt Bacharach.

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To make a canvas you’ll need…

  • 8″ x 10″ white canvas
  • Iron Embroidered Letters from Joy SA
  • Blue Acrylic Paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Water
  • Craft Adhesive
  • Clean Soft Rag or White Paper Towel

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Directions:

  • Using watered down acrylic paint I created a light watercolor wash on the canvas.
  • To create the cloudy look, I dabbed the painting, while the background was still wet, with a clean towel to remove portions of the paint.
  • After the canvas has fully dried, arrange letters on canvas.
  • Draw light pencil marks on the canvas to keep your lines straight.
  • Adhere to canvas with adhesive.

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This canvas was created for and sponsored by Joy SA.

Do you love to sit and color?

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Remember when you were young and you could sit for hours and just color?

Did you know that you still can?

With the New Coloring Cards from Paper House Productions you can relax, unplug,

unwind, sit and color and have a fun card to give away.

Cat Coloring Card

Or leave the card uncolored for a card and gift in one.

When I color, I like using Prismacolor colored pencils when I color instead of regular school colored

pencils because the lead is softer and it colors smoother.

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You can see the entire collection here.

This card was created for and sponsored by Paper House Productions.

 

This sweet little guy loves his cars.

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Warren Loves Cars

My grandson Warren loves his cars.

And…it’s not uncommon at any given time to see him walking around with 2 or 3 cars in his hands.

His favorite being Lighting Mc Queen from the movies Cars.

He’s so cute when he’s looking for a particular one.

“It’s red with blue wheels and it has a spider web on it.”

You mean the Spiderman car?  “Yeah”

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So… for Warren’s layout I decided to use cute cars puffy stickers from Paper House Studios.

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For my layout, I started with an 8 1/2″ X 11″ piece of black cardstock and drew my road lines using

a ruler and a pale grey colored pencil.

Paper House Production Products Used:

This layout was created for and sponsored by Paper House Production.

 

How to create a cute little Party Ant for your BBQ

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Sometimes in the midst of all my creative endeavors and the business of everyday life,

when I need a break from all the seriousness.

I like to stop and make something fun and a little bit silly. 

It’s one of my ways of procrastinating.

Honestly, I would never invite real ants to a BBQ, but, this one is dressed up, too cute and

ready for a party.  (a great little conversation starter)

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To make a Party Ant you’ll need a few supplies…               (*Amazon Affiliate Links)


*Disclosure:  This post uses ads and affiliate links.  If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog.  Thanks for your support!

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  • Dip the end of the bamboo skewers into craft glue and insert into the balls.
  • Paint balls with black acrylic paint.
  • After the paint has dried, cut the ends of the skewers approx. 3/4″, dip into glue and attach body and head of the ant together.

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  • Cut six 1″ pieces of wire, bend the ends as show, dip in craft glue and insert into body of the ant.
  • Cut two more 1″ pieces of wire and curl the top of the wire with wire tools before inserting them into the head of the ant for the antennas.

Ant Eyes

  • Add two black dots to the center of the adhesive pearls to use as the eyes.
  • Punch a 1″ circle from decorative scrapbook paper, cut a notch from the circle and glue together to form a party hat.  Glue onto the top of the ant.  Top off the hat with a teeny tiny pom pom.
  • Cut a strip of adhesive pearls to use as a necklace.

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Mine is fairly small, but, wouldn’t a giant one make a cute centerpiece?  (think real big!)

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How to Mist and Stencil a Mixed Media Pillow

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I enjoy making pillows.

Especially when it’s a quick and easy “no sew” pillow with a twist.

How about a little misting and stenciling with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists?

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I started my project off with a 12″ plain canvas pillow cover, versatile check stencil (see end of post),

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists and large iron-on embroidered letters from Joy.

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Using removable painter’s tape, I taped the stencil onto the canvas.

I wanted my pillow to have a subtle background so I lightly sprayed with Tattered Angels

Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist.

Because the pillow is decorative, I’m not worried about the spray being washable.

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I used large Iron-on letters from Joy to spell out the word “Home”.

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To customize the plain white letters, I sprayed them with Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist for contrast.

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Allow the letters to fully dry before arranging onto the pillow.  Cover the letters with a cotton cloth

and iron for about 30 seconds.  I ironed it again from the back of the fabric for another 30 seconds.

Burlap Flower

I added an old button to the center of a burlap flower from Canvas Corp Brands

and glued it onto the corner of my pillow with Fabri Tac Glue.

I used a 12″ pillow form from Fairfield World to stuff the pillow.


Deco Art DECADS.20 Americana Decor Stencil Versatile Checks*

 

This project was created for the Creating with Joy Blog and was sponsored by Canvas Corp Brands, Deco Arts, Fairfield World, Beacon Adhesives and Joy SA.

*This post uses affiliate links.