For me, this is a special treat, to be allowed by something unexpected to join in again this week.
If you'd like to find out more about Julia Dunnit's fun weekly Wednesday blog hop, please visit her celebratory blog HERE.
So what is on my particular workdesk this time around? Two experiments, one that worked out and one that needs redoing. Let's start with the one that needs some redoing, and end with the one that really turned out better than I'd expected.
If you'd like to find out more about Julia Dunnit's fun weekly Wednesday blog hop, please visit her celebratory blog HERE.
So what is on my particular workdesk this time around? Two experiments, one that worked out and one that needs redoing. Let's start with the one that needs some redoing, and end with the one that really turned out better than I'd expected.
At last, it's time to outline my small but helpful success. Ink jet printer ink is notorious for smearing if ever dampened. I wanted to use some of my own Plush Possum Studio ephemera in my new Junk Journal (please see last post). After all, why not use what a lot of others keep using? Ink jet ink was my stumbling block - till today, that is! Now I know that an evenly applied layer of Liquitex Heavy Matte Gel Medium on a gel plate is my answer!
I learned in my first experiment (also luckily successful) how to gauge when the paper would have to be removed from the gel plate before serious wrinkling could occur. Next, I want to seal the back of my Ephemera page and allow it to dry completely before cutting out what I am using.
Note: Always do a cleanup pull using scrap paper such as deli paper following sealing using this new method. I've found that sometimes even day old pages can leave traces of printer ink in the gel medium residue left on the gel plate's surface. I also highly recommend a cool water bath with some mild detergent for the gel plate. This is the best way I know to remove all of the gel medium residue.
And now you can see my results! Not one bit of smearing.
Happy WOYWW everyone! I can hardly wait to see what my fellow deskers have to share today.
Hi there. Well, getting up early certainly produced lots of creativity - well done you! Those colours are stunning - you may not feel you have achieved success with everything - but the colourways are great!
ReplyDeleteTake care. God bless.
Margaret #2
Good morning Margaret! Glad you like my colors. Thank you for your kind encouragement.
DeleteI've just now left a comment for you at your blog that details the way in which I needed to work around a stuck browser window in order to finish your post and leave a comment.
:)
Blessings for you too!
Hi Rose, You have been busy. Love the colours.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog.
Happy WOYWW
Sue #12
Thanks for popping by Sue! Glad you like the colors.
Delete:)
Wow! Lots of trial & error yet a great piece! And to photo each step as you worked through the project, very cool. I'm just now starting to play with the Gelli Plate. My projects are not near as creative as yours but having fun playing! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteCarol N #31
Hi Carol!
DeleteI'm still learning how to use a gel plate. I've made some awful mistakes so far! Lolz. And soon I will need new paper. And some practice. And more free time.
Hi Rose, I think that is how most crafting goes the majority of it is live and learn and hopefully find things you want to repeat :) Thanks for the earlier visit, ~Stacy #32
ReplyDeleteThanks for understanding, Stacey. I had fun regardless. I will try using the packing tape monoprints another time if I cannot make it work somehow.
DeleteI'm not a paper crafter but understand how the experiments can work or not! I think yours were very successful 😊
ReplyDeleteHugs LLJ 8 xxx
Thanks LLJ for your kind words. Maybe I just need to try looking at this project a little differently - to see all the possibilities.
Delete;)
Good to see the gel medium and inkjet transfer worked! Something I must try too... thank you for your visit to my new blog and your insightful comment :)
ReplyDeleteHave a great week! xo Cheetarah WOYWW #37
Hi Cheetarah
DeleteI'm glad to have maybe given a hint as to how to keep inkjet printables from smearing. It was on a whim that I chose to try this method and a real relief to see it work.
Enjoy your week ! I most likely won't have time enough to be around much for a while, but I will be back for future WOYWW romps
;)
Hi Rose, lovely colours in both experiments. I love crafting but love my bed more, so don't think I'll be joining the ranks of the early morning crafters! I'm also looking forward to seeing results of gelli plate printing. Have a lovely week, Heather #30
ReplyDeleteHi Heather
DeleteThanks for the kudo about my color choices. As for gel plate art, that could take a while to become good enough to use in any serious way. Meanwhile, I've already made a number of deli paper collage pages and other things. But thanks for the encouragement.
See you in 2 weeks!
;)
You have been busy... My thing for over 10 years was paper-crafting... now a new adventure Fabric.. I love what you created the colours etc... I have never used a gelli plate they came out when I was leaving the paper world behind...The effects you got are Beautiful... Happy week ahead... Thank you for your visit earlier May #17
ReplyDeleteHello May
DeleteThank you for the kind words for my latest mess. And actually, the monoprinted packing tape was made using a glass plate, not a gel one. The gel plate is a more recent acquisition.
I left the fabric world behind for the paper world ! Lolz
Great experiments Rose. Those needles came from Amazon, just search for Collapsible Eye Needles. They are great, just like feeding your twine/string etc through a needle threader. I shall definitely be ordering some spare, now I've seen them. Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz #4 XxX
ReplyDeleteHello Shaz Thank you for the proper term to use during my Amazon search. They do sound great - better for sore hands, etc. See you most likely in another 2 weeks.
Deletexoxo
Ohh love all your craft goodies. Have a great week xx Jan (42)
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping by Jan!
Delete:)
Ohhhhh Rose, I love your experiments!!! Don't it make you feel good when something goes right!!!! The envelope idea is really nice. I like it a lot, may try that one for sure. And now, thanks to you, I know how to use all these lovely ephemera sheets fro you!!! Thank you for experimenting and sharing with us what you figured out!!! I just have a small, homemade gelli plate, so I was wondering if a piece of plexiglass or a stamping block would work in the place of the gelli plate? I will certainly try it out sometime. Thanks again for a great post!! hugs, patty
ReplyDeleteHi Patti! I would not use plexiglass as it would not come out well enough. Glass works much better, but you'd need to work quickly and clean it up right away.
DeleteYou're maybe better off using the small gel plate in easy stages, image by image. Mine's just an 8x10, so it won't cover every part of most of my printables. I actually needed to make a new small 1 page printable sized to fit my plate so everything would fit.
Here's another idea for us both to try someday!
Cut away only the part that we need, then use double sided removable tape to stick the images (with some white background left around them) onto a fresh blank sheet of paper that will fit your smaller sized plate!
Follow the steps I tried and see what happens. Hopefully, the tape would stay put.
OR use scotch tape but keep it on background border area, not on image itself, then follow the steps.
This might make it simpler for a lot of people.
Anything glass can be monoprinted. The careful brayering of the heavy gel medium is what is so important. And try and not leave the paper on the glass or gel plate for too long. Lat it flat on its uncoated side to dry, undisturbed by pets, etc till completely dry.
If you get a chance to try it someday, will you let us know how it worked for you?
:)
xoxo
I can not tell you how many times I melted stuff that I wasn't supposed to. I've melted oil pastels with a hair dryer and acrylic paint with an iron - several times - before I learned from my mistakes. I bet I will still do it though - I tend to forget stuff if I don't do it often enough. Great idea to seal the printer ink with gel medium on a gel plate! Much better than those expensive, smelly sprays! Happy WOYWW! zsuzsa #29
ReplyDeleteHi there Zsuzsa! I really enjoyed your post today, altho' I could not leave any comment there. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy moving month to stop by and leave a comment here.
DeleteQuite frankly, I hate those "expensive, smelly sprays" for 2 reasons. The first is that no matter how careful a person is, the stuff still goes all over the place via air currents. It is not good to breathe it at all - terrible for animals and children, especially. Secondly, the smell NEVER goes away - at least, not in my years of experience of using various fixative sprays.
For the very same reasons, I simply refuse to use any spray adhesive. Might as well glue our lung and sinus tissues along with everybody else's while we are at it!
I had to laugh at my own silly antics with the heat gun! Lololz You would have gotten such a kick out of watching the envelope windowpane shrink in on itself and shrivel till it got crusty - and this happened quite suddenly too!
:)
Great result - the hard work proved successful in the end!
ReplyDeleteBernice #24
Thank you Bernice. Have a wonderful week. i will probably not be back for a while, but will return in 2 weeks or so.
Delete:)
All sounds familiar Rose, as they say you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs and if it goes wrong you just learn from your mistakes and try again. You could use embossing powder to seal the ink. Have a great woyww and thank for the visit to mine, Angela x21x
ReplyDeleteHi Angela
DeleteI tried one time using embossing powder, but not only did this make the ink run and blur, it also did not work for collage.
See you again in 2 or so weeks!
Wow Rose, you have given us a lot to think about here. Love how you have documented your experiments - I often take 'stage' pictures but then forget what I did so they never get used.
ReplyDeleteSmiled at the bit where the window in the envie went all crinkly - been there with things I shouldn't heat many times. Still, we have to experiment (providing windows/doors are open).
Hugs & Thanks for visiting me earlier - Neet 13 xx
Good morning Neet! I guess taking "stage" pics has become a bit of a habit for me this year. It's kind of fun, albeit time consuming. The nicest part is that i can access the info later on, which is good, since I don't keep a notebook on my processes. Also, there are pictures here for me to refer to.
DeleteThe crinkly melted window still makes me chuckle at myself !
:-D
Great crafty activity - I am hopelessly messy with papercraft - give me fabric any day!! x Jo #18
ReplyDeleteHi twiglet!
DeleteI'm messy no matter the medium, unfortunately. My previous works in fabric (mainly costumes) ended with lots of little bits and threads nearly everywhere! Lolz. Bring on the vacuum sweeper!
Hi Rose, great tip for using ink jet prints without running. I would never have thought of that. I am an early riser too, but I must admit it's usually when I have books to mark rather than to craft. Glad to see you here again. Happy WOYWW Sarah #25
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah! It was sheer luck that gave me an additional time for WOYWW this month.
DeleteAs for the gel plate, I guess it must have been the use of it by the Gelli artists at their YouTube channel that somehow rolled about in my head for a time until it just dawned on me to use it this way, for lamination.
Good to be here to see everyone again!
So wonderful that you shared your mistakes. I usually get worked up when things go wrong but then after a few minutes I realize it was a teaching moment and I then I am fine. I love seeing your final results. Have a blessed day and thank you for the visit yesterday.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Belinda
DeleteI have given myself permission to be messy with art and crafting for all of 2017, but it's growing on me enough so that I don't think I will want to stop on Dec 31st. To that "messiness" I've added freedom to experiment a little more often and to be mistaken. I really did not handle my mistakes too well in every case this time around, although I did laugh at my silliness with the heat gun and the envelope window.
I guess maybe we need to learn to relax and free ourselves by experimenting first before doing anything too serious?
Rose, I love the envelop! It may not have been a success to you, but I think it's great, especially the color! I'm an emphemera freak, so loving the last bits! Look, for me, it's usually try, try and TRY again! You did great! Blessings, Felicia #32
ReplyDeleteAwwww thank you Felicia ! What a nice thing to say. I like that you enjoy the color way i chose. I do like to mix things. I think it makes them look more interesting, don't you?
DeleteOK. My new motto for the month will be your words of, "try, try and TRY again!"
Blessings for you too
Hi! I have never used a gel plate (assuming gelli?) so it was hard for me to visualize exactly what you were doing - transferring an ink jet page to another page? Why not just spray the original page with fixatif so the ink won't smear? Anyway, experiments are great fun, we learn so much through them! Have a great week, thanks for sharing! Lindart #35
ReplyDeleteLindart Good morning and thank you for stopping by. Actually, I did not transfer the image onlto anything, altho' some inkjet ink residue did end up on the plate for a moment or two.
DeleteA gel plate is basically a smooth surface that flexes, unlike glass. Anything acrylic may be applied to its surface. that includes mediums that are not too runny.
I first brayered on a smooth, thin and fairly even coat of Heavy Matte Gel Medium onto the plate's surface. Then, while it was still wet, I carefully positioned the printed page onto that same thin layer. I smoothed the paper into position careful not to nudge it around for fear of smears. Then, before the paper would absorb too much moisture, i gently peeled it away using one corner and laid it flat, coated side up an a clean, flat surface.
I was delighted and surprised at how well the printer paper took the procedure. My favorite experiment in many months- and it was, indeed, fun!
:)
Hi Rose, love the deep red glittery envelope - I can relate to how you feel frustrated when something doesn't work out how you'd hoped, but tell myself that it is never a waste, because I've learned from it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about using the gelli plate to coat the printed images - that is such an annoying thing with inkjet printers, and of course laser printers are so expensive. I would have been afraid of trying this in case it ruined my gelli plate, but as you've tried it first I'm safe :o) Annie C #22
Hi Annie. Thank you for stopping by! I will be sure to post a short step by step of my process for anyone interested later on this month. It's not complicated, altho' parts of it are a bit fussy.
Delete:o) I like that smile face.
Oh well done! Getting up early just means I spend too long browsing on the web! So do you apply the medium on top of the glitter with a braver too?
ReplyDeleteThese processes do involve a lot of water content to throw at a dry page, i know the buckling is irritating. Absolutely fabulous repro of images from the inkjet, my word you cracked it! Now all you have to do is use all those tasty images!
Hello Julia! thanks for making time for everybody each week. We so look forward to your visits to our blogs. The answer to your question about the Mod Podge + Perfect Pearls mixture is, No. I only use a flat brush for such an application. I keep experimenting with the brayer, tho', just to see how many ways it can be used effectively.
ReplyDeleteI will be using the images + I will most likely be doing a separate step by step post on the lamination process using my Gelli plate sometime later in the month (not sure when).
:)
Well I love your pink envelope pocket. Thanks for the visit sorry I am so late replying, got my son's A-level results Thursday and lots of stuff has happened since then too BJ#19
ReplyDeleteNo problemBJ It is a busy time of year for many people - especially families. See you a week from Wednesday unless I get another reprieve
Delete