For this card I used the Autumn Leaves die and embossing folder set from issue 14 of Die-Cutting Essentials. I used the maple leaf to make a stencil, then I used this multiple times on my Gelli plate :D There will also be a video of a similar card to this but without using the Gelli plate, which I will post later today :D But I just had to experiment, as I only just treated myself to a Gelli plate, and this was the second time I played around with acrylics on it!! (look out for another video using acrylic paints on the Gelli plate, and also one using Distress Inks and another using Watercolours, my first three attempts at using it :D)
I used 5 different acrylic paints for this card, all from the Artiste range from Docrafts, I really like their acrylics because they dry matt!! I'm not that keen on the really shiney look of acrylics, so these suit me perfectly :D I used Metallic Silver, Blanc, Blackberry, Rouge and Lush Pink, a really great colour combination I think :D I'm no expert at using the Gelli, as this was only the 4th time I'd played with it (my first 3 attempts will be up in the next week :D) but this is how I used it....
I used the maple leaf die, along with a piece of heat resistant acetate (I used this kind as it is quite thin, and I can never get a die to cut through thick acetate) and created my own stencil (I also added some patterned tape around the edges, just to make it easier to see, and also so I didn't brayer over the edge :D).. I then placed this down on my Gelli plate and brayered some paint over it (I used a piece of doflex as my pallet for coating the brayer in paint) I then let this dry on the plate! once dry you can then slightly overlap your leaves and use a different colour, letting the layer dry each time... etc etc... you can see this process in the video below (Top Tip: an easy test to see if the paint has dried on the plate, just place over a piece of printer paper and see if anything transfers, if it doesn't, then its dry :D) another top tip is to also mount your Gelli on an acrylic block (I got the 6.5inch square block from Papermania as it fits the 6x6 inch Gelli perfectly!) this means that you can flip the plate over to see how its looking!! it makes it so easy when making a layered print too!! :D
Next step, once all the leaves were dry, was to add some metallic paint, I chose silver, and I lightly added this over the leaves and slightly out to each side (mine did turn a little bit metallic red/pink, as my brayer was still a little bit dirty, but I think it worked well), I then used some dry wall tape and pressed this into the wet paint a couple of times to add some texture.... then again wait for this layer of paint to dry too!!! Finally its time to pull our print :D to do this I decided to use white acrylic, as I didn't want you to be able to see it on the white card (but you could try a different colour) I brayered on a reasonalbe layer of white paint, and then placed on my card, I applied pressure to the back of my card, all over to make sure there was good contact (the idea is that this layer of wet paint will reactivate the layers beneath and enable you to pull your layered print from the plate) I then peeled off my card, and viola a complete background in one step!! And actually this process didn't take as long as I thought either! The whole card took me about 45 mins :D
Final touches were then some splashes of black ink and the addition of a sentiment, I used an Avery Elle set with this gorgeous brush lettered happy birthday (I used my MISTI just because I didn't want to mess up the stamping) and I also added clear powder over the top to make it stand out more :D Hope you like the card :D
To see the process behind this card, please watch my YouTube video below, or over on my channel CRaFTi PoTeNTiAl :D
A few more close up photos below :D Don't forget to look out for the other version of this card without using a Gelli Plate, it'll be up later today :D
