Monoprinting with Chipboard Stencils

Hello everyone, today I have something a little different for you - a technique tutorial which does not result in a finished project, at least not yet!  This post is all about using your chipboards for stencilling and in particular, using them with gel plates to make lovely backgrounds.  The two chipboards I am using are below.

I often use homemade stencils made from cardstock and they last a surprisingly long time.  Here's an example of some of my homemade stencils which have been made using cardstock and cut using dies and have been in use for well over a year!  

Using Chipboards as Stencils

So for this post, I thought I would show how you can also use your chipboards for stencilling and how to prepare them to last a bit longer and give them some protection.  I am using these two chipboards which have been designed to use as stencils.  Here they are out of the packaging and there are two in each package, so I put one of each away to use later.

Preparation

Before getting started, I gave them both a quick wipe with some paper towel to remove any soot leftover from the laser cutting.



The chipboards will work as stencils just as they are but to make them last a bit longer and stop them absorbing paint etc, I like to give them a good coat of matte medium on both sides.



Apply the matte medium on one side, then leave to dry (or if you are impatient like me, dry them with a hairdryer) before repeating the process on the other side.



For this tutorial, you will need a gel plate, any size will do.  I will be using this rectangular one:

Example One - using acrylic paint

Using acrylic paint and a brayer, apply some paint to the gel plate, making sure to keep it light and even and smooth, then place the chipboard stencil on top.



Place a piece of paper over the top and use the brayer to burnish over the entire top of the gel plate.  My brayer happens to have paint on it still since I don't really clean it but if you want, you can clean off your brayer on some scrap paper first.  You can also just use your hands to do the same thing.

Carefully peel off the paper and your design will be printed on the right side of the paper.

Now carefully lift the stencil to reveal the pattern left behind on the plate.



At this point, a print is also possible just the paint left on the plate, which will result in the print on the right.  There is still paint left on the plate which can be left on there for the next print.

Example Two - water soluble crayons

Next option is to use water soluble crayons to create a watercolour background.  Dip the end of your crayon in some water and then use it to scribble over the surface of the gel plate. The water activates the crayon and will result in something similar to this:



Place some printer paper on top and burnish with the brayer or your hands, same as before and voilà, a nice watercolour background.



Next, apply a layer of acrylic paint on the plate, and then add the stencil on top and burnish that as well.



Next take your "watercolour" background and apply it on top of the stencil and burnish.  Carefully peel off the paper to see what has been created!



Another masterpiece!   Each print is one of a kind and you never know exactly what you will get which is part of the fun!

Bonus Example! Using the chipboard negatives for printing

Here is a lovely Leafy Swirl chipboard which I will use in a future project but in this example I am going to use the negative piece for a quick print.  As this is a waste piece, I have not prepared it like the first two examples, so this is just the unaltered chipboard.



This time I am using two different colours of acrylic paint - magenta and gold.  


 
Brayer the paint until it is blended smoothly and covers the whole gel plate.



Place the negative chipboard piece on top of the plate and burnish it firmly onto the plate.  Carefully remove it to reveal this lovely pattern underneath.



Carefully cover the plate with another layer of paint - I used gold - then pull another print using some printer paper as before, burnishing on top.



When you pull the print, it will reveal the lovely design of the negative piece with the background colour (gold) behind it.

So now I have a lovely background printed and ready to use with the positive chipboard piece if desired.



Here are all the prints I made using these chipboard stencils.  



Warning - monoprinting can be addictive! 



For these examples I used regular printer paper, which I like to use for collage, but you can use many different types of paper including deli paper, Bristol paper, cardstock etc. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you will try this out for yourself.

Till next time

Elle
Empire of the Cat

Ingredients:

gel plate, acrylic paint, neocolour II crayons, brayer, printer paper
PE126ES Seaweed Circles *coming soon*
PE129ES Oceanic *coming soon*
Leafy Swirl C7G

5 Tips for your scrapbooking works!

Hi everyone!

Myry again and today I'm going to give you some tips when you using chipboards in your scrapbooking compositions.

First tip: make two groups when you gonna choose what chipboards to use for your project: one with thematic chipboards (for example, baby theme's chipboards) and other with chipoards that you can use in any project no matter the theme). Fortunately Gypsy Soul Laser Cut can help you with that: they've a wide range of "neutral" chipboards! 

Second tip: divide the different types of "neutral" chipboard into smaller groups. I usually make 4 groups: nature, frames, borders and corners, and "potpourri" (that is everything else).

 

 

(if you want to see all these chipboards in detail -and many more- take a look here).

Third tip: You might think that some chipboards are just one piece, but you only need scissors to sort out that! For example, this is one of my favourites: Leafy Swirl, beautiful plant panel.

Now contemplate the power of the scissors! The most useful nonsense I learned last year!

Fourth tip: Maintenance! Clean the edges before doing anything else. If you are concerned about color gray, you can always use colors, even paint it a cream color to make it look like a common chipboard.

Fifth tip: It doesn't matter the "theme" of your work, it matters where you place your supplies!

A piece of branch can be very versatile!

Don't be afraid to use little chipboards. Corners can go well in almost any place!

And let's not forget the frames, they can get us out of any trouble!

I don't know why but butterflies look good in any project!

I encourage you to use your neutral chipboards in all your projects!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts items used:

Leafy Swirl

Butterflies & Dragonflies

Feathery Flourishes Miniatures

Other items used:

Scissors

Rag

Cream acrylic paint

Take Time to Enjoy the Apples

One of my favorite seasons is Autumn, I love the cooler temperatures, the vivid colors, the changing of the seasons. It is my busy time of the year going to my art shows where I get to show and sell my  artwork. One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost, and Nothing Gold Can Stay, is the inspiration for this project:

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

1.  Stain wooden tray using Tim Holtz Distress Sprays of Wild Honey and Tea Dye.

2.   Once dry use a crackle stamp or GSLC foam stamp with StazOn Saddle Ink to age wooden tray.

3.  Coat with Matte Varnish to seal in stains.

4.  Choose GSLC embellishments-I am using Leafy Swirl, Leaves and Flourish Set, and Fanciful Elements.

 

5.  Randomly spray GSLC cuts embellishments with Tim Holtz Distress Sprays in autumnal colors.

6.  Spritz with rubbing alcohol and water to further distress and age your embellishments. Cure with a heating tool.

7.  Add other layers of color by dry brushing with green gold  and antique gold acrylic paint.

8.  Choose pictures for your tray, fussy cut if you like.

9.  Distress edges with blending tool and StazOn Saddle Brown Ink.

10.                Assemble Tray by adding a decorative piece of paper to bottom of wooden tray using Weldbond.

 

11.                Continue to add to your tray by using Weldbond to attach your autumn pictures and GSLC embellishments.

12.                To add aging and a vintage feel add rust pastes in green tones.

13.                Once dry cover entire wooden tray with Matte Varnish to seal everything into place.
Some final thoughts.
It's not too late to enjoy an autumn picnic or at least a
hot toddy or hard cider out in the crisp evening air using your autumnal tray. The tray is decorative enough to hang and is even reversible.
Another of Robert Frost Poems that has inspired me to live a life worth living:   

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Leafy Swirl, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Leaves and Flourish Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Fanciful Elements, Wooden Tray, Tim Holtz Distress Sprays in Autumn Hues, Crackle Stamp, StazOn Saddle Brown Ink, Decorative Scrapbook Paper in Autumnal Theme, Heating Tool, Scissors, Green Gold and Antique Gold Acrylic Paint, Blending Tool, Weldbond, DecoArt DuraClear Matte Varnish,

I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!