Decisions can be overwhelming, even paralyzing.  I was trapped trying to make the right decision for how to color these wood letters. All the vowels could be one color and the consonants multi colored.  I could randomly color each letter.  I could use patterns to make different or I could make them all the same. Or I could make them all one color. So many choices!

But there is a way out of this trap of over thinking. The 3 second rule. I gave myself 3 seconds to make a decision and just do it.  Suddenly, instead of being trapped in my head, I was playing with the rainbow.

Watch Spray Painting Letters  on YouTube.

What will these letters be used for? Spelling words on a shelf in the studio. You might have noticed it in the beginning of the video. Hi Phoebe!

The letters were collected from the clearance section at Joann’s.  In order to assemble the alphabet I wanted, it involved roading tripping and searching multiple stores.  I was on a quest, so after about 8, I quit counting.

Why use spray paints? It is the fastest way to get color on these.  Plus, there is something extra playful about using airborne color.  Why do I use Liquitex spray paints instead of another brand? You can see why here.

The tarp that was protecting the table was an unexpected bonus.  As a side note, now you know what type of play inspired my Alpha jumble stencil.

Here are all the letters, colorful and ready to spell words on the shelf in my studio.  What word or name will be next?  Be subscribed to my Youtube channel and find out in my next video!

Here are the supplies used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and it helps keep the free tutorials coming! 

How do you get those gel prints with little bits of color here and there that give a print the wow factor and do it in one pull?  By color transference which is a fancy way of saying transferring the color from one area to another on the gel plate.  What fancy tool does this?  Recycled cardboard.

Watch Color Transference on a Gel Plate on YouTube.

The pattern making tool created was just packing material from a picture frame.  I happened to have the triangular shapes but you can use any cardboard to do this. Look around for some scrap pieces you can glue together. You might be surprised by what you find.

Multiple colors of paint were added to the gel plate.  Here I used 6 colors of Paper Artsy paints. Naturally, you can add as many or few colors as you prefer.

By pressing the cardboard tool into the paint over and over, the paint begins to transfer from one area to another.  The more you do this, the more color gets transferred.  Every so often, I would turn the tool which allowed for a bit of change for what colors were going where.

How do you know when to stop? That’s a personal question and there is no exact answer.  Do you love how it looks? Then that’s when you stop.  I love very busy prints so I kept going and going to get this look.

Ready for more gel printing fun? Check out the techniques and tutorials page including the Do’s and Don’ts of Gel Printing.