…gelli on a plate…

One thing I’ve learnt over the years, is when the mojo hits, it’s going to be like a pebble in my shoe, and will continue to make itself known until I deal with it. Traditionally the week after camp is a weird mix of being in a slump of exhaustion and a buzzing ball of creative energy. Camp at home is no different. All week, all I’ve wanted to do is pull out my gelli plate and make some pretty messes. Instagram, being the creeper it is, hasn’t been helping, with my reel scrolling being filled with super cute gelli projects. Finally, today, after a big week of school and exams, I was able to pull my stash out and get to work.

It was so fun playing with different ways to layer the paint. I used a mix of Jo Sonja acrylic, a bit of Matisse Structure, some Montmarte pouring acrylics, and towards the end I also pulled out my Golden Fluids. All my prints I did on Kraft paper because a) I am obsessed with Kraft as a substrate, and b) it was a little thicker than regular printer paper. I love the way it all came together. I also had a play with printing and decorating gum tape to make little pieces of collage fodder, and they turned out super cute too. My one mistake was nearly getting it stuck to the table after I spritzed it with water to activate the Inktense pencil I used, which also, predictably enough, activated the tape adhesive. Whoops.

in the way of things, making always begets making, and my mind is now buzzing with ideas for all the stencils I want to design and cut on my Cricut to add to my gelli play rotation. I have a decent amount, but there were a few things I was looking for that I didn’t have. That text stencil I quite like, but it’s rather large compared to the size of my plate, so I would like to create and cut a smaller one in a similar style.

I love how they all came out! The bottom right print wasn’t great on the first pull, so once I ran the kids to town for drama, I had another crack at it, and I think I was quite successful at rescuing it. Since I was on a roll again, I also printed the small off cuts while I had paint spare. A couple of weeks back I had mentioned the possibility of mixed media & gelli papers for this years December Daily collection. I am so thrilled with this lot that I think a Christmas themed batch has a lot potential.

Another week done, and I’m rolling into the weekend with a whole lot of crafty plans. I want to make a start on those Christmas prints. I need to make a toile of the bodice of that party dress to check for fit, so I can adjust and make a start on the main dress. If I can also get my swimmers cut out, I will be doing well. Might have accidentally fallen into a new challenge and project last night so I think there’s also a bit of online shopping in my near future. Add in some yard work, a couple of projects, and a high chance of kayaking in the bottom dam, and it will be Monday again before we know it. That’s still 60 hours away though. First, there’s plenty of fun to be had. Happy weekend, friends!