A Little Bird & Lots of Texture: A Mixed Media Gel Print Card

 

Hello friends! Ericka from Strangely Creative here, and today I'm sharing a colorful mixed media card that started with a little gel press experimentation and an unexpected supply, crumpled glassine paper!

If you've followed me for a while, you know how much I love playing with my gel plate and discovering new ways to create texture. Sometimes all it takes is looking at something ordinary and wondering, "What would happen if I tried this?"

Well, that's exactly how today's project started, and I may have gotten a little carried away making backgrounds!

Creating Texture with Glassine Paper

I started by crumpling up a piece of glassine paper and pressing it onto my gel plate. The wrinkles and folds created the most interesting random texture in the paint, leaving behind a beautiful pattern that would be difficult to recreate with a traditional stencil. I love how unpredictable this technique is. Every time you crumple the paper or press it onto the plate, you get something a little different.

And once I saw the results, I couldn't stop! Before I knew it, I had a collection of colorful gel prints ready for future projects. That's one of my favorite things about gel printing—sometimes the background-making process becomes just as much fun as creating the finished project.

Creating the Focal Point

Once I chose my favorite background, I reached for the Tracy Evans Tweet stencil. Using black acrylic paint, I stenciled the bird directly onto my gel print.

I love the contrast between the bold black silhouette and the loose, colorful texture of the background. The bird creates a strong focal point while still allowing all those interesting marks from the glassine paper to show through. Sometimes a simple silhouette is all you need when your background already has so much personality.

Adding Playful Marks

Of course, I couldn't resist adding just a little more mixed media fun! I pulled out some acrylic paints in small squeeze bottles and added random marks around the bird.

 

These little details brought another layer of color, movement, and texture to the card. One of the things I love about mixed media is that the marks don't have to be perfect or carefully planned. Sometimes those playful, unexpected details are exactly what a project needs.

Finishing Touches

To complete the card, I added a few pieces of AALL & Create Man Ray washi tape and a sentiment from the Lavinia Uplifting Collection. The washi adds another interesting layer without overwhelming the background, while the sentiment gives the finished card a little extra meaning.

 

I love how everything came together, from the random wrinkles in the glassine paper to the bold bird silhouette and playful painted details.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope this card inspires you to pull out your gel plate, experiment with unexpected materials, and enjoy the process of creating something beautifully unique. Have a wonderful week and happy creating!

Topflight Stamp Supplies

Tracy Evans - Tweet SS1 Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Sentiment Stickers - Uplifting Collection Shop at: TP	AALL & Create - Washi Tape Man Ray Shop at: TP	Gel Press - Reusable Gel Printing Plate Shop at: TP	Speedball - 2" Brayer Shop at: TP

Hocus Pocus

 Greetings! You've got Kathi here to share my weekly project created for Topflight Stamps, albeit a bit late. This week's theme is 'Anything Goes' and since it's the most wonderful time of the year, I've made another Halloween card, this time with products by Lavinia Stamps. I used the Arwen, Penelope, and Prue Clear Polymer Stamps. I also used one of stencils from the Autumn Mist Collection of Four Stencils and eight colors of Elements Premium Dye Inks.

Cut a piece of Mixed Media paper to 6" x 7" and secure it to a magnetic platform with magnets and/or low-tack tape to start the image panel. Secure the cave-like stencil from the Autumn Mist Collection of Four Stencils by Lavinia Stamps about 1" from the bottom of the panel. 

Brush Soft Cygnet Elements Premium Dye Ink by Lavinia Stamps over the stencil onto the image panel. Brush Graphite Elements Premium Dye Ink over the stencil onto the image panel.

Slide a 6" piece of acetate under the stencil so that it sits horizontally at the base of the center circle of the stencil and extends to the edges. Secure the acetate with magnets and/or low-tack tape.

Brush Dark Denim Elements Premium Dye Ink over the acetate and the Autumn Mist Stencil around the edges of the panel. Brush Blue Lagoon Elements Premium Dye Ink over the acetate and the Autumn Mist Stencil, blending as you go. Repeat with both blue inks until you're happy with the color and blending. Use a water-filled Fine Spray Mister by Spectrum Noir to mist the background. Remove the stencil and the acetate and heat set the image panel.

Clean the acetate and place it horizontally across the image panel so it's covering the top part. Lightly brush Pine Elements Premium Dye Ink over the acetate to cover the bottom part of the image panel.

Use a small brush to apply Blue Lagoon Elements Premium Dye Ink around the inside of the circle "cave" opening. Use asmall brush to apply Merlot Elements Premium Dye Ink next to the Blue Lagoon Ink. Brush Marmalady Elements Premium Dye Ink vertically in the center of the circle "cave". Brush Anna Banana Elements Premium Dye Ink on either side of the orange ink. Touch up the "cave" circle as needed.

Thoroughly heat set the image panel. Place the image panel onto a stamping platform. Position the Arwen, Penelope, and Prue Clear Polymer Stamps facedown on the image panel. Ink the stamps with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko and stamp. Re-ink and stamp again if needed to attain good impressions. 

Remove the image panel from the stamping platform and thoroughly heat set the stamped images.

Brush Merlot Elements Premium Dye Ink under Penelope's feet and between the gaps in the base of the circle "cave". Lightly brush Graphite Elements Ink over the Merlot Elements Premium Dye Ink to deepen the color and ground Penelope.

Brush Merlot Elements Premium Dye Ink under Arwen, Penelope. and the base of the Autumn Mist to create shadows under them. Also brush the Merlot Ink onto some of the larger white splotches on the "sky" background.

Dip a small paint brush into water and apply the water to the inside of Arwen's lantern, the globe of Prue's staff, and to add a line and three dots above the globe. Dab a piece of paper towel onto the water to remove the ink. Use yellow and orange watercolor pens to color the lantern, globe, the "flame" and some sparks.

Punch a 1" hole in a piece of acetate. Position the acetate onto the top center of the image panel. Sponge white ink onto the aperture to create a moon. Heat set the wet ink. Replace the acetate so the circle is enclosing the inked moon. Brush pearlescent white powder on the moon to make it shiny.

Trim the image panel to 5.75" square. Adhere the sentiment stickers as shown. Use Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink to edge the image panel, then adhere it to a 6" square black card.

Please pop over to my blog, Kat's Tales of Stamping, for step-by-step instructions and complete supply lists.

Topflight Stamps Products Used:

Arwen Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps

Penelope Clear Polymer Stamp Set by Lavinia Stamps

Prue Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps

Autumn Mist Collection of Four Stencils by by Lavinia Stamps

Blue Lagoon, Dark Denim, Soft Cygnet, Graphite, Merlot, Marmalady, Anna Banana, and Pine Elements Premium Dye Inks by by Lavinia Stamps

Fine Spray Misters by Spectrum Noir

Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Thank you for visiting today!

Steampunk Card with AALL & Create

Hello, Lisa Hoel here. This week at Topflight Stamps our theme is Anything Goes. I saw the new AALL & Create die set, Cog Engine and was inspired to make a steampunk themed card. I added bits from the emphemera sets Clipped Mailers and Funny Bone Funnies plus a stamped image. (AALL & Create Dashing Crow). For the background I used a piece of paper I marbled.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the Topflight Stamps store for a wide selection of different and hard to find stamps, stencils and other paper crafting supplies from all around the world! Also keep an eye here on the Topflight Stamps blog. There is new inspiration posted often!

Topflight Stamps Supplies Used:

AALL & Create die set - Cog Engine

AALL & Create ephemera die-cuts - Clipped Mailers

AALL & Create ephemeral die-cuts - Funny Bone Funnies

AALL & Create stamp - Dashing Crow

Versafine Clair ink - Nocturne

Autumn Dreaming with Chou & Flowers

Hi, friends!  It's another Monday with Walter on the blog.  We're moving into my favorite time of the year - autumn.  I know that a lot of people don't want to rush the last few weeks of summer but I'm ready for some much cooler nights & mornings, beautiful colors, and the wonderful smells.  That's what inspired my design for this week . . . dreams of autumn!  I used two gorgeous stamp sets from the Chou & Flowers My Little Garden release to create it: Bird Cage and Artist Garden.

My thought was to have artist canvas and easel from Artist Garden be the vessel that displays the main image.  I started by stamping them onto a 4"x5.25" white cardstock panel.  I then took the woman on a swing stamp from Bird Cage and stamped it onto the center of the canvas.  With that done, I started to color the image of the woman.  I used a combination of markers from my stash to add both the main color and details.

I then used a light yellow gray alcohol marker to add a plain color around the edges of the canvas - using flicks of the brush tip to make uneven marks around it.  I then used light shades of red, orange, and yellow to blend a sunset around the woman.

I decided to add some leaves from the Artist Garden set on each side of the swing, stamped them with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink, and added some red highlights to the leaves with an alcohol marker.  A small brush and Pumice Stone Distress Oxide ink add a light gray/brown hue around the outside of the canvas.  I lightly spayed the whole stamped panel with water, let it dry, and then lightly sprayed it with rubbing alcohol to help fade the image a bit and make it look more dreamlike.

The final steps were to create the sentiment strip and faux washi tape strips that I used to embellish the card.  For the sentiment strip, I ink smooshed a strip of white cardstock into a mixture of Rusty Hinge Distress Ink & water and dried it.  I then stamped the word Dream from Bird Cage with Vintage Photo Distress ink.  I stamped two pieces of the faux washi tape with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink, colored them with markers, and fussy cut them.  The sentiment and embellishments were then added to the card.

An overall simple card to create and one which could easily be switched to a spring or summer theme.  It would be fun to do that and have the same design, with different color schemes for those seasons, to send to someone special over the course of the year!

Thanks for spending this time on the blog with me today.  I'll see you here again next week.  Until then . . . be well!

Topflight Products Used:

Chou & Flowers - Clear Stamps - A5 - My Little Garden - Bird Cage - MON114

Chou & Flowers - A4 - Clear Stamp Set - My Little Garden - Artist Garden - MON115

Tsukineko - Versafine Clair Ink Pad - Nocturne

 

Golden Autumn Layers: A Mixed Media Fall Card

 

Hello friends! Ericka from Strangely Creative here, and today I’m welcoming a little bit of fall into my craft room with a colorful mixed media card featuring the beautiful leaves from PaperArtsy Alison Bomber 53.

There’s something about fall crafting that makes me want to pull out all those rich colors, layered backgrounds, and touches of gold. For this card, I found a watercolor background made with leftover Lindy’s Gang Magicals and a fall-colored gel print in my stash.

Sometimes the perfect beginning to a project is already sitting on your craft desk!

Starting with a Leftover Watercolor Background

I started with a watercolor background I had previously created using some leftover Lindy’s Gang Magicals.

 

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I hate wasting beautiful color! When I have Magicals, sprays, or paints left over from another project, I love using them to create backgrounds that I can save for later. This one had the perfect colors and movement for an autumn card, so it finally found its purpose.

Adding Golden Details

Next, I reached for the PaperArtsy Alison Bomber 53 stamp set. I stamped the leaves and number details directly onto my watercolor background and heat embossed them in gold.

The metallic embossing adds such a beautiful contrast against the loose watercolor. I especially love the way the gold catches the light while still allowing all those colors underneath to show through.

Creating the Layered Leaves

I wanted the leaves to have even more dimension, so I searched through my stash again and found a gel press print filled with beautiful fall colors.

 

I stamped the same leaves onto the gel print and heat embossed them in gold to coordinate with the background. After fussy cutting the leaves, I arranged them over the watercolor panel to create my focal point. Using the same stamp on both the background and the dimensional pieces helps connect all the layers, while the different backgrounds keep everything interesting.

Finishing Touches

To complete the card, I added a sentiment from the Alison Bomber 53 stamp set and finished everything with a simple gold frame. I didn’t want to add too much more. Between the watercolor, gel print, detailed stamping, and metallic embossing, there was already plenty of color and texture to enjoy.

Sometimes knowing when to stop is part of the creative process too!

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope this card inspires you to dig through your stash, rediscover some forgotten backgrounds, and add a little golden autumn magic to your next project.

Have a wonderful week and happy creating! 🍂✨

 

 Topflight Stamp Supplies

PaperArtsy - Alison Bomber 53 - Twisted Leaves Shop at: TP	WOW! Embossing - Clear Embossing Pad Shop at: TP	WOW! Embossing - Metallic Gold Rich Pale Shop at: TP	Tsukineko - VersaFine Clair - Nocturn Shop at: TP	Gel Press - Reusable Gel Printing Plate Shop at: TP
Speedball - 2" Brayer Shop at: TP

Halloween Shaker Card with AALL & Create

Hello, Lisa Hoel here! This week at Topflight Stamps our theme is "Halloween/Fall". AALL & Create has a great new Halloween collection out and I decided to make a whimsical shaker card using the Frightful Fun die set and Boosentials stamp set. 

The background is a heavy piece of cardstock I inked and stamped on. I also gave it a light spritz of green mica spray from the Lindy's Haunted Halloween Starburst Sprays set. I glued in some die cuts from the Frightful Fun set (although I did leave one ghost loose to shake around inside). The edges have walls of foam tape to contain all the shaker bits.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the Topflight Stamps store for a wide selection of different and hard to find stamps, stencils and other paper crafting supplies from all around the world! Also keep an eye here on the Topflight Stamps blog. There is new inspiration posted often!

Topflight Stamps Supplies Used:

AALL & Create stamp set - Boosentials

AALL & Create die set - Holey Fun

AALL & Create die set - Frightful Fun

Lindy's Starburst Sprays - Haunted Halloween

foam tape

Lavinia Elements Ink pads - Violet Chalk, Lime Punch, Sundance

Versafine Clair ink - Nocturne

various shaker bits