Saturday 4 February 2017

Falling in love with my Gelli plate

On Thursday I had a change to my plans. I was going to meet my dearest and oldest friend Karen for ladies' lunch but very sadly her dear Mum is very seriously ill and she is at the hospital. We  have been best friends since the age of 11 so obviously I needed something to distract me at such a sad time.

Now I have had a Gelli plate for *whispers* a couple of years and I confess I have never even taken it out of the packet. It is one of those things that needs a good few hours to play with and to be quite honest I have never had the time. So it was the perfect time to play.

Now if you are not interested or are already a dab hand with  Gelli plates I would suggest you scroll down to check out my card...otherwise grab a cuppa.

Here it is

Yes it's just a small one 3" x 5" as when I got it ( I used some prize winning money from the Craft Barn) I decided that I would start small to see if I liked it. They come in lots of sizes and shapes now.
I have watched lots of You Tube videos over the years but decided that the best thing to do was to grab some bits and pieces, dive in and just play.

There are lots of fun challenges around including Love,colour palettes, using words in our art and even bubble wrap (It was recently National Bubble Wrap day in the USA according to Darnell!) so I decided to incorporate them into a special card for my BF.

I chose these colour Paperartsy Fresco Paints for the colours over at Rubber Dance. Pink is also Karen's favourite colour. Yes...we are opposites in one way only...our favourite colour, as I am so not a pink girl 😉
I chose some stencils, bubble wrap, stamps and even a doily to add texture with. 



I got out my brayer and off I went..starting just with cheap paper and progressed to cheap (Wilko) water colour paper.




pulling off lots of prints..such fun





The bubble wrap gave such a cool print.
The small Tim stencils fitted perfectly over my Gelli plate.
I love this effect with the hearts over the floral base



I cleaned my brayer onto a piece of watercolour paper as I worked.
and by the end had this
far too pretty to throw away....so I added some Rubber Dance floral stamping using Watering Can Archival ink which is a lovely grey.
Yesterday I went back to my prints and I decided to use this one as a backing for my words.
I searched my stash and found the perfect one....I think these words are very appropriate at a time like this. I stamped and embossed it.



I used some of these prints to die cut some hearts to show my love.




I cut a piece of my "clean up" masterboard as my card backing.
I then used my fave Artistic Stamper Latin mini calligraphy plate stamp on my die cuts. This is particularly apt for Karen and I as we were both useless at Latin but had such fun with our lovely Latin teacher...Mrs Clifford. She took such a shine to us both and we had many hilarious times with her...happy days and memories. 

Now that I had all my elements made it  was them time to put on my creative hat and come up with something special.....here it is. 
You can see my Gelli plate prints clearly in here. I edged everything with Pumice Stone distress ink and used grey card with the pink to mat it with.
 I added a few sequins to give it some sparkle and add some more sunshine to my card.
and one last photo

My card was made for my dear Karen...and for the following challenges;

Darnell's  NBUS #10 2/3 My Never before used stuff is of course my Gelli plate and I even managed to create using Bubble Wrap!

Join our Challenge:

A Vintage journey words that are special 

The Artistic stamper 1/3 love hearts I used my Artistic stamper calligraphy stamp


Craft Heaven 2/3 love is all around

Simon says stamp Wednesday the colour of love my card shows it doesn't always have to be red....

Dies R Us hearts

Shopping our stash Days of Yore

Uniko anything goes I have also gone for the optional love twist.

Paper creator love is in the air  

In the pink 1/3 with love

Thanks as always for your visits and kind comments. After a wet Friday afternoon and evening it looks like it might be dry, if chilly, for us here in the South of England.
Hold on to the thought that above the clouds the sun does indeed shine. Sending sunshine, and hugs if you need them to you all, especially my dearest Karen.  Have a lovely weekend.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x






33 comments:

  1. gorgeous result of your first play... I've had one a while (not as long as you though!) also never used... hope your friend's mum is better soon.

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  2. Absolutely stunning card Jane. I just love all the pink of course! lol. Looks like you had some fun with your gelli plate, I love the results you achieved and the bubble wrap thing was brilliant too! Sending wishes to your friend's mom for a speedy and full recovery. hugs :)

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  3. WOW! What a creative and beautiful design! GREAT job!! Hope your friends mom is okay! Just said a quick prayer for her! Thanks so much for playing in our ‘HEARTS’ challenge at Dies R Us! Please come back again soon!

    Darlene (DRU Blog Leader)
    DIES R US CHALLENGE BLOG
    DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS Please come for a visit.

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  4. Oooh yummy. Love all the layers and hearts. Great sentiment. Looks like you had fun with the gelli plate. Thanks for joining the Rubber Dance challenge. HUgz

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  5. Absolutely awesome card! LOVE all the gorgeous layers you created for this beauty! You did an amazing job on this & I'm so glad you decided to share it for our "Hearts" challenge at Dies R Us!

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  6. A lovely card, and your creation of it using the gelli plate was interesting to read about. The effects and the layering are very clever Jane. Wishing you a happy weekend.
    Helen xox

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  7. My best to Karen and her mother. This is a beautiful card, and an excellent message for difficult times.

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  8. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the process of how you put this card together. Each and every one is a work of art and worthy of framing. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  9. I have to be honest Jane, I hadn't a clue what a gelli plate was, this was like a foreign language to me!! However the results are stunning and I'm sure your lovely friend really appreciated the beautiful card and sentiment, I do hope her mum is doing ok.
    V xxx

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  10. Jane this is wonderful, I love your sentiment and you've done wonders with your Gelli Plate. Mine's been out of the packet twice lol. Best wishes to your friend and her mum xx

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  11. I too have a Gelli Plate that I played with maybe twice - wasn't happy with what I did - cleaned it off and put it away - I agree with you Jane, that I need a good hour or two to just sit and play with it! What wonderful results you achieved - love all the wonderful layers on your card - the colors you used and the lovely sentiment! thanks for sharing with us at the AVJ challenge! Julia xx

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  12. Great minds think alike! I also used my gelli plate for the first time for the NBUS challenge. You played much more than I did though, my attempts with two colours came out a bit muddy! Your card is really pretty and I'm sure your friend would have loved it!

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  13. It certainly looks as if you have had a lot of fun playing with your Gelli Plate with great results and a lovely designed card.
    Julie x

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  14. Oh Jane, I am hanging my head in shame here, I have had mine longer than you and it has never seen the light of day! BUT, seeing this beautiful creation of yours has made me think, it is time to have a play. I love the result you got! Your card for your friend is gorgeous and that sentiment is so beautiful. I do hope her Mum gets well soon...

    Thanks so much for joining in our 'Words That Are Special' challenge at A Vintage Journey. Anne xx

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  15. Wow! Your project is awesome! I have never done a project like this so thanks for all of the instructions and pictures! I think I'd like to try it! Thanks for sharing it with us at Shopping Our Stash! Cyndi, DT

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  16. Your card looks wonderful. I like the way you carried the handmade printed paper over into your diecuts.

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  17. Wahoo . . . looks like a fun session! Lovely results.

    Hugs, Sarn xxx

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  18. WOW! What fantastic techniques you used to create your beautiful card. Thanks for playing along at Uniko.

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  19. This is beautiful Jane, do love my gelli plates but you do need plenty of time available to play. Carol x

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  20. Beautiful card Jane!! Thanks for joining us at Rubber Dance Stamps challenge!

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  21. I also LOVE to play with my gelli plate! It's so addicting. Love what you have created!!! Thank you for playing along in the Rubber Dance February Colour Challenge! We will start a brand new challenge now twice a month so come back on the 15th! xx Susanne.

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  22. hello! fun mixed media project, luv the colors! I am so glad you played along with us at simon says stamp wednesday challenge!

    blog-paperie blooms
    ig-2klines

    sparkle & shine, kindness *~*

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  23. Your beautiful card will have brought your Friend a lot of comfort for sure Jane!
    I hope her Mom is better.
    HUgs~

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  24. WOW, what a beautiful card, Jane! Lovely use of our challenge's colours for February (it says January in your text, huni). Glad to see you have played with your Gelli plate, at last! Isn't it fun? Very addicitve, too ... Thank you for using some of our stamps and entering our February colour challenge at Rubber Dance ♥
    Sorry to hear about your friend's Mum. *hugs*

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  25. Amazing, simply amazing and beautiful, Jane! The closest I will ever get to a Geli plate is the once my toast is on!! Thanks for linking again to #10! Hugs, Darnell

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  26. Gorgeous!!!Thanks for walking us through your process.
    I for one have NO idea what a gelli plate is!
    Another lovely project! Thanks for joining the SHOPPING OUR STASH crew this week for our "Days of Yore" challenge!!
    Cheers,
    Donna
    SOS DT

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  27. Hi Jane. National Bubble Wrap Day? Sorry, just had to mention that first...lol. I love what you have made using the gelli plate. I've used mine twice and you have inspired me to give it another go. I think the bit that you clean the brayer on is like a hidden treasure, so useful in many ways. Love the card that you have made for your dear friend. I hope that all turns out well.
    Thanks for joining us at the Rubber Dance colour this fortnight.
    Dot x

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  28. BEAUTIFUL, beautiful card for your dear friend Karen, Jane. So nice thought to give her a card at a difficult time. The hearts was absolutly stunning. Love the pink colour. Thank you so much for joining the Rubber Dance January Challenge!
    Hugs, DT-Anita

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  29. Gorgeous card, Jane. Love the pink and green color combo and fab layout. Thank you for joining us at Noor!Design UK challenges.
    Hugs, Karina
    DT member Noor!Design UK

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  30. Great card and a fantastic step by step Thank you for sharing it with us at In The Pink xxx Stacey S xxx

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  31. great gelli result and tute ! thank you so much for sharing with us at The Artistic Stamper
    hope to see you again in March !

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  32. Thank you for sharing your process and I have learnt something new today, I wish I could break free of the CAS to try this! What an amazing card too, so sorry to hear about your friends mum, I'm sure Karen loved the card. Thanks for joining in on the Uniko Challenge and my apologies for commenting so late. Hugs Bev x

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Jane x