Gelli Plate Printing Recipe - Stamping Method Using the Stamping Method is a great way to learn to use your gelli plate. It allows you to take your time, experiment, and practice designing backwards. It helps you get a feel for the drying time and how to pull the paper off of a plate without having to worry about too much else. This is how you do it: Materials: Gelli Plate - any size Brayer - proportionate to your gelli plate size Artist’s Brand Acrylic Paint -Any Brand A stack of scrap Paper for rolling paint out and cleaning brayer Objects with completely flat sides (with no profile at all)* A piece of paper for the print, larger than your gelli plate Wet Tissues (Baby Wipes - water based is best) *For my demo I use half an apple. I dried it with a piece of paper towel so it was’t juicy. Steps: 1.Position gelli plate next to a stack of scrap paper. 2.Select a flat object to use as a stamp 3.Put acrylic paint onto the top sheet of the scrap paper pile. The size of the daub should be about the same size as the top section of your baby finger. You can always add more. 4.Roll it out slightly with the brayer so when your stamp object onto it, it covers the flat surface but isn’t gooey. 5.Press your flat object onto the gelli plate in desired position 6.Repeat as desired 7.Let the stamped paint on the gel plate dry. Meantime roll off your brayer so its clean. Fold used, wet papers over as you go and set to one side or drop into a garbage can. 8.Daub paint of a second, contrasting colour onto the next sheet of paper from the scrap stack. Roll it out to cover your brayer. The paint should be wet and fairly thin, not gooey and not tacky; just smooth. 9.Roll the paint covered brayer onto the gel plate to cover the stamped images. You may need to refresh the brayer several times. Refrain from rolling back and forth over your stamped plate. Just go over and over lightly in the same direction. 10.Lay your printing paper carefully over the wet paint on the plate. Iron gently with your hand all over so all of the the paper makes made contact with the wet paint beneath. 11.Weight with a book. Wait. There is no specific time here. The paper will pull up when the paint has hardened enough. If in doubt just wait a little longer. When the paper is not cologne cool to the touch it is probably hard enough to pull. Timing depends on your paint, the paper, the temperature and the humidity. It’s OK to use a hair dryer - make sure your gel plate doesn’t heat up. It can be three minutes - or it could take all night. 12.Test the print by peaking under a corner.. If the paint is on the paper and the plate is clean, its probably ready to pull up. 13.Gently pull the paper from the plate. 14.The print should be smooth and the plate should be clean. A little paint left on the gelli plate is normal. This is called a ghost. You might choose to leave it not he plate. If not, wipe it off with the wet tissue (baby wipe). Variations You can do several layers of stamping before put on the final layer of paint to pull the print. Tips for Success Choose stamping shapes of varying sizes and/or use widely contrasting colours of paint for each layer. Acrylic paint is especially damaging to the aquatic environment. Do not put acrylic paint down he drain. Do not wash you gelli plate in the sink. To clean your plate, use the wet tissues (baby wipes) and dispose of them in the garbage to be brought to landfill. Ir you want to clean your plate more, add a squirt of baby oil as you clean. This conditions the gel plate nicely too. Please do not reproduce for profit without permission. Contact carolyn.hassard@me.com