Does an art journal page happen in one afternoon?  It can, but very very rarely for me.  I used to feel pressure to “finish what I start” in one afternoon.  That pressure that took the fun out of it for me so I decided to let an art journal page take as long as it wanted.

How long between each session?  Every page, every canvas, every project is different.

This was done 3-6 months ago or even longer – can’t remember.  I was simply playing around with paint with no expectations.

Today, my muse decided it was time to add more.  Using just one stencil, Urban Insiders Tag by Seth Apter, I stenciled white in the grid of dots by using parts of the stencil.

Using Seth’s Urban Insiders Circle, Square, and Star I created a messy random background with watery white paint.

I love the feeling of movement thanks to one of Maria McGuire’s butterflies from her Butterfly Duo stencil.  At this point it is hard to see the detail of it on the page.  Never fear!  This is just the first layer with a quick stenciling with ink and a sponge.

I colored it in with All Purpose ink & a Fantastix.

I put the stencil right back on top of where it was and stenciled it with white paint.

Then I traced over the butterfly with an irRESISTible pico embellisher.

The fine tip is a bit addictive…I just didn’t want to stop drawing with it so I kept on drawing!

After adding a very very thin layer of white paint, I added more yellow with a Fantastix and yellow all purpose ink.

And this is where the page will wait until I am ready to add more since there is no rule about how quickly an art journal page must be completed.  How long will it be?  Could be a day. Could be a month.  Could be more.  Of course, I’ll share with you as it develops.

Just about anything can become a tool to use for Gelli Printing.  A bit of rope, glue, and cardboard have endless possibilities on the Gelli Plate. Check out the video for this month’s Colorful Gelli Print Party to see how easy this is to make!

Watch Making a Rope Texture Tool for Gelli Printing on YouTube.

To make a rope texture stamping tool you need rope.  What kind?  I used super cheap clothesline from the hardware store. Any size rope will work, just make sure it is a cotton type of rope so it will absorb paint.

Use tacky glue to glue your shapes down and let it dry completely.  This was the toughest part for me but it is very important that the glue is completely dry before using it on the Gelli Plate.

Below you can see some of the prints made with DecoArt Media line of acrylic paints and my eyeball shaped rope stamp.

There is more to Gelli Printing than just the prints.  The paper that you clean off your brayer on, stamped bits of paint from the texture tool onto paper, even the texture tool itself all become colorful pieces to use in your art.

Supplies Used:

• DecoArts Media fluid acrylics
• clothesline from a hardware store
• cardboard
• brayer
• tacky glue
• Gelli Plate – Where can you find a Gelli Plate?  Amazon, Dick Blick, and BlueMoonScrapbooking!

Want more Gelli Plate inspiration?  Check out all the Colorful Gelli Print Parties. 

Want to see what others are making with the Gelli Plate?  Take a look in the Google+ community, A Colorful Playground.    And while you’re there – share what you’ve been making!  New to Google+? No problem! We’re all learning that together.