Category Archives: monoprint

Bright leaves card (gelli monoprint)

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Having got a few colour sprays, inks and paints out the other day to make a birthday card I found that I didn’t want to use the usual autumnal colours this time and then I remembered that I had already created a background page that would be just what I was after.  I had made the background paper last year and it had been on a day that mum was visiting and we were playing around with my gelli plate.  Mum had brought round some of her paints too and  we both made some lovely background papers.  This one was made using dried Acer leaves from my garden and some fibres and the little accent leaf is just a copper peel-off that I coloured with a dark reddy/brown pen then stuck it onto a portion of the same background paper then cut it out.

Gelliplate monoprint Autumn leaves

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I did say to some friends a while back that I would not be buying a Gelli printing plate but I have to admit once I looked into it and watched some of the how-to videos I succumbed.  I had my first play yesterday and after a few attempts I finally made a couple that I really like.  I used the method shown here but instead of using bits of paper for masks I used Maidenhair fern and Acer leaves from my garden along with bottle lids and needlepoint mesh and some fibres.  My ghost print is not great but I think the reason is that either my acrylic paint was not fluid enough or I didn’t use enough of it.  I over sprayed the monoprint with dilute Chartreuse liquid watercolour and added a touch of Distress ink.

Acrylic paints:
1st layer: gold, bronze, yellow ochre  (it had almost dried by the time I did the ghost layer so that is why you can’t see much there).
2nd layer: Rose madder
3rd layer: Ultra marine
Card:  computer paper  (this is thin enough to cut up and use in collages)
Other:  Gelli plate, Ecoline Chartreuse liquid watercolour, Distress ink mowed law, fibres