Handmade Holidays Blog Hop Day 2

Hi friends! Welcome to Day 2 of the 5th Annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop! I'm super excited to share some gift ideas today! When creating a special handmade gift for someone I try to make one-of-a-kind unique items that can't be found anywhere else. I sharing how to create resin paper from Izink monoprints and several ways to turn those prints into gifts that will be highly sought-after by family and friends.

Supplies:
Adhesive
Brayer
Deli Paper
Glitter (Optional)
Gel Printing Plate (I used a 6"x6" Gelli Plate)
Izink
Paintbrush
Pigment Ink
ICE Resin
Stamps
Stencils
Texture Tools

Apply Izink onto a gel printing plate and spread into a thin layer using a brayer. Lay a sheet of deli paper over the plate, press down, and peel the paper away to transfer the ink.

The Izink formula is much thinner than paint, so only a small drop is necessary to cover the entire plate. Apply Izink onto the plate and spread ink around with a brayer, brush or other texture tool, press the deli paper over the plate, press down, and peel the paper away to transfer the ink. Apply ink over stencils to create fun patterns. Repeat this process until you are happy with the print.

I do have to apologize for not having step-by-step photos on how I created my prints. The gelli print process is fast and if I stopped to take photos during the process I would risk having the ink dry on my plate. If you're not familiar with monoprinting or the Gelli Plate, I highly recommend taking THIS CLASS from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

Here is my fun collection of prints! You may notice some duplicate prints. These prints were created by passing a second piece of deli paper over the Gelli Plate after I took my first print off. The second print removes the rest of the ink from the plate. These prints will have the same pattern, but in a more subtle shade due to the smaller amount of ink being transferred to the paper.

Once my prints were dry, I stamped them with various designs using ColorBox Pigment Ink. Any letters or numbers will print backwards during the Gelli Plate transfer process. (I think this is cool!) If you want spell a word or have the numbers print in the right orientation, you must apply them to the gelli plate backwards, or add them after the printing process like I did here.

I covered my work space with a plastic garbage bag for the resin-coating process. I mixed up 1 ounce of ICE Resin per the package directions. Once the resin is mixed there is a limited working time before the resin hardens. I used a piece of a kitchen sponge to spread a thin layer of resin over both the front and back sides of my prints. 1 ounce of ICE Resin was enough to cover 10 6"x6" prints.

While the ICE Resin was still wet, I sprinkled Clearsnap Glitter over some of the prints. (Dry print shown above.) I left the prints to dry overnight.

Here is the first project I created with my prints. I trimmed my prints down to size and attached them to this tabbed album with Tombow Xtreme Adhesive, which is 5X stronger than standard tape runners and great for slick surfaces. I'm super psyched for the return of the show The X-Files so I created this album for myself to document the show, government cover-ups, conspiracy theories and UFO sightings etc. I picked up "The Truth Is Out There" Stamp from VivaLasVegaStamps!

Here is what the album pages look like.

If you're looking for a softer, more delicate album, check out this album I created last year. I stitched a resin monoprint directly to the cover of a small canvas album. (Note the backwards numbers that I mentioned will result from stamping directly on the Gelli Plate. I love the look!)

I had one print leftover so I popped it into this Tolsby Frame I picked up for less than $1 at IKEA. A simple print like this can easily be created to match anyone's tastes.

Once I had my album and framed print cut down to size, I had a pile of scraps leftover that I just couldn't let go to waste. These strips are great for art journaling and mixed media projects.

I used an Epiphany Crafts Round 14 Punch and the coordinating Bubble Cap and Charm to take my print off-the-page to create a pendant. I adhered the Bubble Cap to the Charm with a drop of Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue.

I can create dozens of these unique pendants that are perfect for so many occasions from my pile of scraps. I see some coordinating earrings in my future!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope I have inspired you! I want to thank Clearsnap and Tombow for the fantastic supplies! We are having a giveaway of over $600 in craft supplies to help you make this holiday handmade. Enter to win using the widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please take the time to visit all the talented artists participating in this 3-day hop. You'll find more than 80 handmade craft ideas!