Camp Iwannascrap 2014 Water Wonders: Gel Medium

Hi there!  Today I have another video tutorial for you; this one on how to use gel medium to create a resist effect.

I mention in the video that I'm using a "soft gel," so I thought I would explain a little bit about what that means.  There are a wide variety of gel mediums out there, and they are used for different purposes, such as glazing, decoupage, adding texture, and extending paints.  "Soft" gel is thinner than some of the other gels, so it spreads on in a super thin layer and doesn't create peaks as much as other gels do.  It's great for resist techniques.

When I first ventured into using art mediums I bought a sample box that came with six different Golden gel mediums in it.  I haven't tried them all yet, but I'm having fun just playing around and seeing what each can do.  I bought mine at Michael's using a 40% off coupon (yahoo!), but they are also available from Dick Blick Art Materials, which also has an excellent description of the different types of gel mediums.

Now, on with the show!  :)

I used acrylic paint for this project, but you could use pretty much any colorant, such as watercolors, spray ink, ink pads, markers, stains, etc.  Here is the finished card I made using the background:

Directions:

1. Cut a 4" x 5.5" piece of blue patterned paper and cover the front of a card blank with it.
2. Cut a 3.5" x 4.75" piece of tan Subway Art patterned paper.
3. Use gel medium to isolate just a few words.  Let dry.
4. Paint over entire paper with acrylic paint to tone down the other words.  It doesn't have to completely cover the words -- if a hint of the typography shows through the paint it will add visual interest to your card.
5. Wipe paint off gel medium to expose the isolated words.  Let paint dry over the rest of the paper.
6. Wrap ribbon around lower part of the paper and secure to the back with tape.
7. Attach this painted background sheet to the front of the card.
8. Attach flower embellishment with bling.

Materials Used: card blank: Recollections, patterned paper: Teresa Collins, gel medium: Golden, acrylic paint: Plaid, flowers: Recollections (white) and Heartfelt Creations (the blue flower was die cut and stamped on HC paper using HC die and stamp set), ink: Tim Holtz, flower center: Prima, other: ribbon