Easter Cards and a Gelli Plate Printing Adventure

Love that time of the year when my garden decides to produce some flowers!

So it is Easter again and I have been busily making cards. The difference for this one is a Gelli plate. I bought one and gingerly put it aside (as you do) imagining that it would be quite difficult to use.

Just perfect

Well once again, I have been proven wrong. It was easy and it was fun. I used DecoArt acrylic paints in a few Easter pastel colours and set to work making backgrounds for some seasonal cards.

I wish this stuff lasted longer inside!

Please forgive me that I have lost my step by step photos! I have safely tucked them into a digital file SOMEWHERE. I will make it up to you with a new tutorial after Easter with some proper photos - honestly, the ones that I had were not brilliant.

So, rather than me making excuses, let me show you the cards and talk about them a little bit....

Don't just plonk the hat on the bird's head! I use a surgical scalpel to cut the hat and wrap it around the head so that it looks like it is actually being worn.

I have drawn heavily on my Tim Holtz favourite crazy birds and dies for this one. Basically, I gelli printed some random card with acrylic paints and then cut a piece for the background and some more with my Sizzix Big Shot and alphabet dies indifferent fonts. I cut a Christmas bow too.
Lots of layers and then sewn on with my sewing machine (honestly, there is little that it cannot do!).

Butterflies are ALWAYS a great Easter option!

The next one was an egg cut using my oval stitched die and some greenery. I suspect that this was also a Christmas one. I used Tim Holtz Kraft core paper and sanded it (of course). The butterfly was the big star here. I stamped it onto some gelli printed card and it emerged, as butterflies do, with the most gorgeously surprising colours!

The pink splatters on the card add a new dimension.

Birds in bonnets again! This bird is coloured with Distress inks but the rest is gelli printed and of course the font cut from my Sizzix alphabet dies. The butterfly is another one stamped onto acrylic printed card.

Love the effect that the printed card has when making letters

I love my postage stamp die and it made a perfect border for the gelli printed background. Sewing appears in most of my cards. Honestly, it really gives a card a finishing touch! If you are not a sewist, it is worth finding a cheap sewing machine just to do this.

So much going on in this one!

Finally a touch of whimsy with a thoroughly bemused cat! This one has a conglomeration of all sorts including gelli printed, stamped, water coloured with distress inks and die cut.
Once again, be sure not to just glue things like hats over the animal or bird. I always cut the hat strategically so that I can put it ON the subject. Otherwise it just doesn't look realistic - too perched.

Well that is it for now. Have a happy and safe Easter everyone and I promise (in fact I am already planning it) to make a proper Gelli Plate tutorial in a very short while.

Love and hugs
Debbie
xx