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Welcome! I’m Carolyn Dube – This colorful journey is all about the freedom of play!

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The Fine Print

Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links and I receive a small percentage. It doesn't cost you anything extra and helps keep all the free tutorials and videos coming! It's a win-win! The website is copyright Carolyn Dube, and that is kinda common sense since this is my site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My Favorite Paints

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Choosing the paint that is right for you is a very personal decision. It is all about what colors you enjoy, how they feel when you use them, and what’s in the budget. Below are the paints I reach for most often, my tried and trues. Is this every brand and type of paint I own or use? Nope. I’ll try any paint, but these are the ones that I use most frequently.

There’s a reason why I don’t buy craft paints very often at the end of this post.

The links below are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage and it doesn’t cost you anything extra!

For gel printing, Amsterdam paints are my go to. One perk of them is the nozzle you can buy to put on their 120ml tubes. These are caps that seal so you can just leave them on there. I’ve had them for months and they haven’t clogged yet. The benefit of these is that you have much better control when you’re squeezing out paint to get a little or lot depending on the look you want.

A paint similar to Amsterdam in feel and consistency is Liquitex Basics. You can see all their colors here, but my favorite in theirs is this bright and light green.

Liquitex Heavy Body paints

Liquitex Heavy Body paints are thicker than the Amsterdam and are an “artist” grade paint. What that means is it has more pigment in it which is why it costs more than non-artist grades of paint.

Why I don’t buy craft paints often

When I started using paints, I feel in love with a certain blue. Not a shocker that as a favorite the 2 oz. bottle of paint was used up. So I went to the store to get more of it. To my horror, it was discontinued and no longer available. I didn’t like that a color I loved was not longer available.

That led me to start using paints paints that have colors that are always available so that I could trust that I could find the colors I love any time of year.

Does this mean I will never buy a craft paint again? Nope. They just aren’t my go to paints.

So what is the very best paint to use? It’s always the one you have within arm’s reach. So whatever you’ve got, whatever colors you enjoy, I hope you have fun creating with them!

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What If Gel Printing Retreat

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They came with curiosity, questions, and ready to embrace the idea of What If! These women played hard all weekend, exploring techniques, but most of all building their understanding of why and how a gel plate plays with paints, stencils, and PanPastels.

This event has been postponed twice, courtesy of covid, so we were all ready to play! Want to know when the next in person event is? Me too! When I know, it’ll be going out to my newsletter readers before the public, so if you want to be “in the know” then get signed up for the weekly newsletter.

There are three things that made this retreat possible. First, the event organizer, the amazing Glenda Miles. If you’ve ever spent time with Glenda you know how open her heart is.

What are all these texture rollers? I’ve got a video where I show you how you can make them here.

Second, the amazing women who came to play! New friendships were started and existing ones became stronger. So honored to get to know these women.

Third, three companies who generously supported the play: GelPress.com, StencilGirlProducts.com and PanPastel.com! All the prints you see below is a sample of what was created during the weekend!

It’s impossible to show you everything that happened here, each print, and capture every comical moment, but you’ll get the flavor it all. In the spirit of What If, the discarded cheese from a sandwich became a pattern maker.

Want to know more about getting started gel printing? I’ve got a page of resources for you here and if you want to know when the next workshop is happening, get signed up for my email list– they’ll know before I post anything publicly!

Thank you Glenda for coordinating this and to each and every woman who shared their weekend with me playing!

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Gel Printing with a Toy from the 80s

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Gel printing tools can be anything, including cheap toys! The minute I saw the mini puzzle cube (a generic Rubiks cube) I wanted to see what it would do on a gel plate!

You can print on more than just paper. Here, I used Dura-lar. What is that? It’s a clear surface that has a special coating on it so that you can use acrylics and pens and inks without beading. It is also won’t discolor with age and it stays flat.

The benefit of using Dura-lar to take the pull is that it creates a very translucent print. This was important for how I wanted to use it, as the insides of a glass ornament. When this is on the tree, the twinkling lights behind it will show. The ornaments were from the local craft store.

This is the just the tip of the iceberg for what you can do on a gel plate! To get you started, I’ve made a downloadable video of 600 ideas for beginners that I can send to you. And there’s a printable PDF for you too. Just let me know which email you’d like me to send it to and the computer elves will take care of the rest.

Here are the supplies used. Some of these links may be affiliate links which means I get a small percentage and it doesn’t cost you anything extra! And you get a really good feeling knowing that you are helping keep the free tutorials coming!

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