What are your favorite medium(s) to use when creating your mail art/handmade cards?

Has someone ever tried the gel press?

I think @Wolfsmondfee and @-Janne- might be able to help you here! :slight_smile:

1 Like

I am not as proficient as either @Wolfsmondfee or @-Janne- I think!

However, I think even if you (like me) are not really into printing, an inexpensive gel press is a fun tool!

I use a gel press mostly for backgrounds. I usually put it down on my glass work surface and then use Tsukineko Memento Ink in a few colors and a breyer to blend and spread it around and then maybe pick up some of the ink with a background stamp and then just have some fun with that and what is left. Usually I get at least 3 or 4 cards out of one inking. Iā€™m honestly not sure if Iā€™ve sent any of my gel press cards as officials, but Iā€™ll poke around a bit and edit to add if I have.

Here are a couple where the backgrounds were done with the gel press.

This is the gel press and a second-generation print from a background stamp:

For this one it was the gel press and a stencil:

And this was just spots of liquid ink without blending:

I think you can some pretty cool backgrounds even with minimal talent!

3 Likes

Hello @ColorfulCourtney,
Thank you very much for your answer. Nice cards you did. :blush: Inspiring.
Actually, I asked the question because I follow a bit Jennifer McGuire for some time now and saw her last video about gel press techniques then thought about trying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfwbp-NtdGg
Thank you again. :slight_smile:

1 Like

I like my gelli plate very much. First Iā€™ve tried to made some of my own, there are some introducing videos in the www. But then I bought a little, then a larger because itā€™s so much fun.
I use several ink pads, alcohol inks, acrylic paint and I love it. But Iā€™m an absolute beginner with it. I follow some gelli plate artists on IG or watch YT. So, I hope you have fun if you try itšŸ’š.

1 Like

Here are some of my gelli prints:

Iā€™m definitely not proficient yet, having only done this for a few weeks.
So far, Iā€™ve only used acrylics and acrylic pens.

This weekend, I plan to try inkpads and alcohol inks.

Usually, I love very controlled and detailed techniques, so I was hesitant to get a gelli plate. Now I have fallen in love with the element of serendipity, and I just had my second (square) plate in the mail :rofl: :see_no_evil:

3 Likes

Gā€™day I canā€™t see if anyone responded to you on the edge curl?

I swear by painters tape- the best stuff I found at the hardware store is " frog tape " (made in the US like 3M painters tape is but here it costs a BOMB). Yellow is best. Removes easily- but donā€™t do that until your work is 100% dry.

I tape it to something else larger if I donā€™t make my own block (chunk of same shape paper). It prevents the curl and also means I have a border!

Common water colour artists trick apparently but then Iā€™ve got zero time for stretching paper. I also use a sized 300 GSM or thicker paper (I am also in love with Strathmore Heavyweight Mixed Media which is 570GSM). Sizing just means itā€™s treated for handling liquid like watery paints.

Iā€™ve got a lot of watercolour journals in either A4 or A5 size with taped cut up postcard sized Strathmore paperā€¦ so hereā€™s what I mean (these watercolour markers Staedtler make need too much water to work so thereā€™s a slight warp but not as bad as it couldā€™ve been)

2 Likes

Your cards are next level creative! I loved loved loved the bottle caps/ crown caps!

1 Like

Paper type choice? It depends on what youā€™re trying to do.

I only use HP or vellum finish aka super smooth. Thatā€™s because the liners I use have nibs that get destroyed by CP/Not or the rough that some brands do. Also not all HP are the same experience.

Itā€™s a really expensive prospect finding what works for you has been my experience. (Jacksonsart.com is awesome because they deliver to Australia and do samples of all sorts of things inc watercolour paper.)

Jane Blundell an aussie artist has a lot of watercolour info on her site but she loves granulation (I donā€™t) and doesnā€™t like HP/smooth paper (my preferred surface). Iā€™d still give her blog and site a good read though youā€™ll be there for days :joy:

I only use pure cotton paper because results are more predictable for me. If I hate what Iā€™m using I donā€™t enjoy paintingā€¦

Fabriano Artistico- pads HP 200 and 300GSM- pass. Too yellow. 200 is far too thin. Extra white isnā€™t sold in Australia. But itā€™s cheap and small sizes so I didnā€™t feel bad about the paper. (Iā€™ve not washed off the surface yet but apparently you can do that too with good quality paper meaning you can use indefinitely if you use non staining pigments.)

Arches- pads HP 300 GSM. My preferred. Doesnā€™t enjoy my laser printer though (swatch cards). Cream colour not as yellow as Fabriano A. Expensive. Much better user experience than FA too. (Not vegan if thatā€™s important to you.)

Arches- block HP 300 GSM. I use sparingly because itā€™s supremely exxy. Handles like a totally different paper than the pads Iā€™m told.

Saunders Waterford Cuthbert Mill- meh. Sorry for lack of specifics but the one pad I did try is buried at the back of the art shelf. Blerk. Too yellow and the sizing was wierd.

Oh wow is reserved for Strathmore Heavyweight Mixed Media which is very white pure cotton and has a very smooth HP surface. It also needs less cutting down to postcard size. At 570GSM itā€™s a bit heavier than the Australia Post mail spec preference for postcards but seems to go through post ok. Iā€™ve only mailed to NZ and I didnā€™t seal that watercolour work either. I love this stuff but itā€™s expensive so I only buy on sale.

I try stuff out in journals, hardback, before committing to my exxy paper. Moleskine sucked but the GSM in particular (just 200 though the sizing seemed straightforward), Winsor Newton 300GSM journals are my fave old blue style (have had one in 6 where sizing was awful on several pages :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:). Iā€™ve got a few smaller WN journals wire bound because their pages are perforated for easy detaching. Both surfaces are still too rough for my preference itā€™s like a semi CP. I use a cheap unipin fineliner or a uni ball only after ruining too many copic multiliners.

Iā€™ve other brands yet to give a go because they were recommended by others whose work is similar to what I do/use. And Iā€™m slowly familiarising myself with a few other things yet.

Stonehenge- American made brand. Iā€™ve got a HP block and a sample pack of the CP/Rough to use yet. A coloured pencil artist who also uses watercolour pencils loves this stuff.

Saunders Waterford Cuthbert Mill- High White HP block. English watercolour pro botanical artists love this stuff (Fabriano A apparently changed their manufacturing process so fans of their extra white went for this).

I also have pads of Australian brand Art Spectrum 300GSM HP- the paper is a tad creamy but not too different to Arches. Itā€™s also made in Europe not sure where. It may not be widely available outside of Australia. As their watercolour tubes were disappointing (inconsistent quality for locally made items similar to the few Daniel Smith tubes I ever bought) I have been having fun with what paper I have been learning to use for now.

So thatā€™s a long post. Not sure what results others have for you. Plus what works for you may be very different. You may use far more or far less water so your choice may need totally different GSM paper thickness.

1 Like

Wow! :flushed: What a detailed post. Thank you. :slightly_smiling_face:
Actually Iā€™m just a beginner :grimacing: and only do watercolor for handmade postcards from time to time. :sweat_smile: I know that some think I do more because I have all these papers. :sweat_smile:
I still did not try them all, the ones on the last picture actually. I will this week.

@PatriciaOH You may like this thread (chat)

1 Like

I know this topic is for your favorites, but this morning I am dealing with what I am starting to consider, my least favorite thing!
Can we talk about washi tape? Is it actually tape, as in it is supposed to secure objects together?
Everytime I use washi tape the ends starts curling up, then I actually glue it down with tacky glue anyway. So is it not at that point just paper on a roll similar to tape?

Any feedback on your thoughts on washi tape much appreciated
As for my favorites, right now my new favorite thing is Unicorn Spit, itā€™s a paint,stain, water reactive bottle of goodness that I am obsessed with at the moment.
My runner up is Folk Art Design Creme in Gold, it says is is a creamy bodied acrylic paint. For me it reminds me of grown up puffy paint!

So there are my highs and lows of the new year so farā€¦letā€™s hear yours!

@ColorfulCourtney did you ever find a replacementtot he Tim Holtz distress glaze? At over $10 for the tiny container and now my other half wants to use itā€¦to coat birdhouses!!! withā€¦I am not looking forward to sharing and / or running out and / or having wood bits in my glaze from the birdhouses project!!
So if you found an alternative let me know!

I use Modge Podge: it comes in all sorts of finishes, including matte, shiny, satin, and more. But I have had a bit of issues trying to use it to cover charcoal art because it is liquid and I apply with a brush, so it can ā€œmoveā€ some of the charcoal grains.

Thanks the rest of you for your suggestions. the lamination idea is especially good @taebbig ! Do they make lamination pouches for postcard size specifically (or approximately)?

Yes, I have some in DIN A4, A5 and A6 (which is postcard size)

Unfortunately, not yet. For coating birdhouses, thoughā€¦maybe mink oil would work?

( thx to @Bille for placing me where I should be)

If it is in here I cannot locate itā€¦ tools, gadgets that are like to have and i must haves. I just learned about this tool for printing on our cards -Brenda shared this with meā€¦.

Now I have a die cutter and numerous dies. Here is a sample I did up recently

.

I also like wiring on mini clipboards so I like to have a few of those .I did up a few last week.

I like to write with sharpie fine point, in case I make a boo-boo some correction ink, a small ruler to divide my card according to address, a letter opener, if I am trying to hold a stamp or sticker down and also for opening letters, wee scissors if I have to trim a stampā€¦readers as I am writing very smallā€¦.


Oh these scalloped scissors , they are perfect for stamp cutting .

Now tell me what else should I/ we be looking at ? Please let me knowā€¦ letā€™s all share what makes this adventure even more excitingā€¦

3 Likes

My must-have is an Excel ex-acto knife and a pack of replacement blades.

4 Likes

Oh my goodness yes, I have this one, I like yours ā€¦ also forgot this glue for adding extras on card

2 Likes



4 Likes