Mixed Media Bible Journaling Tutorial: Gelli Plates 101 | Love Everlasting

Have you checked out the Stubborn Love workshop with Shanna and her husband? My husband and I are enjoying it and I couldn’t wait to answer some of the questions in the margins of my Bible. One of the questions from the first session was when was a pivotal point in your dating relationship. For Mark and I it was while we were on a mission trip in Venezuela. We were really good friends at this point and everyone was telling us to admit that we were more than friends. We made it a point though on the trip to not be one of those couples who spend every moment together on the trip. We were there to serve, not to date. One night at the hotel, our pastor told us to sp end some time together to debrief and pray for each other. It was that moment that I really realized that God had brought us together forever… I mean we had the pastors approval, so WOOHOO!!! Triangles to me say, “GO” and I thought that since we were on a missions trip it would be perfect for The Great Commission. I feel like that’s what God called us to do both as individuals but as a couple too… I couldn’t think of the most perfect place to illustrate that story of our relationship.

Shanna’s been rocking using the Gelli plate in her Bible and it’s one of my favorite tools. I’m excited to share some techniques with you for using them for a fun mixed media tutorial. She’s been using the big plate, so I decided it would be fun to play with the mini plates. I asked on Instagram (@heathergwdesigns) which shape you guys wanted and it was a pretty close poll, but triangles won out… with “all of the above” being a close second, so I’m adding another shape into the mix.

First, I wanted to share with you that it’s best to use craft paints with these techniques. I used the Illustrated Faith acrylic paints but they dried up too fast. The only way I could make it work was to add a glazing fluid to it to keep the paint wet long enough. You are going to need acrylic paints, a brayer, a paint brush and some fun stamps or something with texture for this tutorial. Also, since these mini plates are small, they work really well if you put them on an acrylic stamp block and use it like a giant stamp for your Bible.

STEP ONE:

dab some paint onto the gelli plate (note: I had to add glazing fluid because it dried up too fast)

STEP TWO:

push the paint around mixing the colors but not too much that it’s a total mix… you want to keep the fun colors separate yet slightly blended (unless you want to create a new solid color then you can roll it all into the one color)

NOTE: I try to keep to the similar colors or colors close to each other on the color wheel, so they don’t get all muddy when blended together.

STEP THREE:

Stamp onto your Bible… don’t worry about perfection, that’s the joy of mixed media and the gelli plate, you just don’t know what you’re going to get and you just go with the flow.

STEP FOUR:

Do steps one and two again, but this time we will add texture. I like to use fun stamps to press and remove some of the paint. You can also use textured items like lace or paper towels or bubble wrap. You can take the end of a paint brush and draw designs into it. Have fun with this step and play around. Then you will stamp that over the previous stamp.

NOTE: I had stamped out all my bases first, so I used the corner of my Bible mat to cover up the other triangles. It’s much easier to complete one triangle at a time before moving on to the next one when you’re layering the shapes like I did.

NOTE: Make sure you clean your stamps as soon as possible. You don’t want the paint drying and caking onto your stamps.

STEP FOUR (alternate):

stamp or paint a design right onto the clean gelli plate and then stamp that over your first impression.

ANOTHER OPTION:

You can just paint a design onto your gelli plate and stamp it down.

NOTE: it will stamp backwards so make sure that if you’re doing words or letters that you paint a mirror image of what you want to paint before stamping down.

To finish my entry, I did some doodling and journaling and then layered on washi tape, stickers and paper pieces that showed love and the Great Commission.

Illustrated Faith Stubborn Love Workshop | ESV Journaling Bible | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Shanna’s Favorites Acrylic Paints | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Elements Clear Stamps | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Precision Pens | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Tape Runner | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Clear Acrylic Block | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Be Bold Bible Mat | Gelli Arts Mini Gelli Plates | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Criss Cross Colorful Washi Tape | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Delight In His Day Enjoy Life Washi Tape | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd You Are Loved Cardstock Stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Pop Culture Paper Pieces | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Go Paper Pieces | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd You Are Loved 12×12 Fundamental Stickers | Speedball Brayer | Liquitex Basics Light Green Permanent | Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid

|