Pressed Backgrounds

  

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been suffering from a loss of mojo recently.  This is due to being ill and I am now awaiting surgery.  Now that I’ve got my head around what’s wrong and how it’s going to be fixed, I actually feel like creating something again.  I’ve read that making backgrounds can prompt some creative inspiration so I got out my gel press and got inky!

The gel press is new to me so I’m still learning what to do with it.  I began by applying some Oxide ink onto the gel plate with my brayer and then splattered on some Brusho (mixed with water). 

After this, it’s simply a case of laying the card onto the press and rubbing over it to transfer the ink and paint.  Before printing, patterns can be added by using stencils, stamping onto the plate or even pressing a leaf from the garden onto the plate.  Every press is a surprise – you never know what you’re going to get!

I cut the pieces down to 9cm x 20cm panels to make slimline cards and began stamping. I used a selection of stamps from Lavinia Stamps.

For these two, I masked some ground and hills.  Despite them being more or less the same design, they look so different due to the backgrounds.

This collection was made with an inked background.  The sun was made by blending a little ink around a mask.

The backgrounds on these are made with Brusho, again printed using the gel press.

To finish, I added some Nuvo Drops for some subtle bling.