GEL PLATE DROPLETS

 Gel plates are such a versatile tool and by using ink pads instead of acrylic paint, you can make fast and straightforward backgrounds just with a bit of water and an ink pad. I had previously tried flicking Distress Spray Stains and Oxide Sprays onto a gel plate after inking but found that using just water instead of the sprays worked so much better. My choice of ink pad was Distress Oxide ink pads and you need very little water to get this effect.
If you want to see more detail in these pics, click on the first one and scroll through as I've taken the photos in fairly high resolution. Even though these are small, the little details on atc's matter. 

"Best day ever"

This shows the size of the print that is made
before cutting it down for an atc. As you can
see, you can spread the droplets out or have
them close together. I use a 5"x7" Gelli Plate.


"Two weevils"

"Let it go"

"Escape"

"The big picture"

"Go with the flow"
(The sand texture down the bottom of this atc
is Liquitex Glass Bead Gel mixed with a drop
of Antique Linen distress re-inker and then a
little silver wax rubbed lightly over the top
when dry.)

DIY SHIMMER PASTES

 Modelling pastes and similar products have been around for a while and since Lunar Pastes were introduced, they've seen a resurgence in popularity. I personally have a few Lunar Pastes but have also seen others making their own shimmer pastes by using a gloss heavy body gel medium and adding mica powder for that extra shimmer. You can also add a tiny amount of Distress Re-inker to colour your gel medium and then add the mica powder for the shine. You need to use gloss gel medium as this will allow the mica powder to shine. If you use matte gel medium, you can still colour this with the distress re-inkers but I wouldn't use the mica powders as the matte gel medium won't allow the mica to shimmer. For this same reason, I wouldn't use Distress Oxide re-inkers with the gloss gel medium as they have a more matte appearance than the straight Distress re-inkers. There are so many videos around of how you can use the pastes and if you make your own, you only need to mix up as much as you need for your one specific project. I have a great set of 24 different colours of mica powder so that gives me many different options to choose from.
Note: A couple of my samples have also been made by mixing glass bead gel (gloss gel medium mixed with clear reflective glass beads) with the mica powder. Another great combination of products!

"Focus"
(The sunflower was stencilled using black and 
gold DIY shimmer pastes. A little orange mica
spray was splattered over when dry. The
dragonfly is from the transparent wings set
from Idea-ology, Tim Holtz.)


"Gears"
(3 colours - gold, silver & orange, of Lunar Pastes
were scraped over a piece of plain black card
to create a quick-drying background which was
then embossed with an embossing folder.)


"Enjoy the flight"
(Black mica powder mixed with glass bead gel
to create the rocky foreground.)


"Fake people"
(DIY shimmer pastes through a stencil and
when dry, gold metallic wax was rubbed
over portions to give extra shine.)

"Adventure awaits"
(The mountain was created with the black mica
powder mixed with glass bead gel so it not only
has gorgeous shimmer, it is also very textured
with the little glass beads feeling very bumpy
when you run your fingers over it.)

"Wander"
(3 colours of DIY shimmer pastes through
a stencil for the background.)

This is a card that I made using mica powder mixed with
glass bead gel to create the base of the leaf stem as well
as the little dots on the end of the spikes. This card
really shimmers as the leaves have been painted with
the gorgeous Lisilinka paints.