The ultimate guide to gel printing and the basics of gel printing you need to know - what materials you need and how to make gel prints
Learn how to turn portrait photo into SVG & DXF cut file for Cricut or Cameo Silhouette craft project! It's simpler than you imagine, and trust me I have step-by-step YouTube video tutorial for you! Let me know how it goes!
I have found the most creative and fun Cricut projects out there for you to try! Get inspired with these amazing projects for your home and life.
I love the look of 3 dimensional art and metal embossing is a fun way to come up with a unique project. diy | aluminum foil projects | diy projects | diy home decor | wall decor | wall | diy project decor | aluminium | emboss | budget decor |
Use your Silhouette Cameo 4 cutting machine to create all these beautiful home decor projects. Cut fabric, burlap, felt, card-stock, HTV, vinyl and labels.
Want to use your photo with your Cricut Machine? Learn the 3 easiest ways to convert your png or jpg to SVG and cut file for use with your Cricut!
Learn how to use all the features of your Cricut and Design Space. Cheat sheets that walk you through all the tools of Design Space.
From scrapbooks to online photo books, I couldn't keep up once I had kids! Now I'm using Chatbooks photo books to simplify the way I print photo memories.
Once you become a mother, you may be surprised at the types of purchases that excite you. Bleach pens for tough stains, new carseats, and diapers that were on a…
Are you ready to take your crafting to the next level? Learn how easy it is to print and cut using your Silhouette Cutting Machine in this step by step tutorial.
Gratitude log is an amazing tool to develop a positive mindset and add more happiness to your life. In this post, we will talk about all the reasons why you should use a gratitude log.
I'm going to show you how to make reusable stencils with your Cricut cutting machine. This fun DIY may be easier than you think! The Cricut cuts reusable stencils
Makers Gonna Learn
Love the signs you see on Fixer Upper and all over Hobby Lobby? Now you can make your own! This method is SO easy! Click to see the no-fail tutorial!
1. You don’t particularly like to tell your husband how much you spend on crafting supplies. 2. You always keep the door to your crafting room shut because . . . 3. You believe embellishments…
This is one of those projects that I procrastinated trying for several years. Then, I did it and realized how easy it was and felt silly for putting it off all this time. Do you have projects like that? I love all the cool things folks are doing with gelatin plates, and I've had a small Gelli Arts plate for some time, but I wasn't exploring the gelatin printing process as much as a wanted, mostly because we go back and forth between three different homes, for my husband's job, and the place where we spent the most time was very small and I didn't have space to spread out big projects. Now, we're temporarily spending a lot of time in our Los Angeles apartment, where I actually have quite a bit of space for big messy projects, so I've been printing quite a bit more. I decided now was the time to try pouring my own gelatin plate, but I wanted a permanent plate, like Lindsay, at The Frugal Crafter shared about a few years ago. After looking at many blog posts and videos about the topic, and going back and researching old hectograph recipes, and chatting with my kid who has a chemistry degree, I created my own recipe. It's not that I didn't think Lindsay's recipe was fine -- I just wanted a somewhat less fragile, firmer plate. I started with a trip to the Dollar Store to find some items to use for molds and for storing the plates. I was planning on making several plates in different sizes and shapes, so I bought an assortment of items. I ordered this tub of gelatin from Amazon (affiliate link). And this bottle of glycerin (affiliate link). The recipe I ended up using was a modernized version of an old hectograph recipe from the early 1900's. Note: measure how much liquid your molds will hold, to have the thickness you desire, then add about 20% to that amount to know how much gelatin mixture to make. This is because you will lose some volume as you cook your gelatin and water evaporates. Use one cup of water and one cup of glycerin for every six tablespoons of gelatin. This is a bit more gelatin than Lindsay uses, but it is more in line with the old hectograph recipes. (If you do decide to use Lindsay's recipe, please see her notes under her video. Her original permanent gelatin plate recipe had some mold issues, and she made some changes to it that she writes about in her notes.) You will also need a spritz bottle filled with rubbing alcohol. Start by sprinkling your six tablespoons of gelatin onto a cup of hot water in a bowl and mixing. Your gelatin will quickly take up all the water, and will start to look clumpy (see picture below) if you don't immediately add the rest of your liquid (the one cup of gelatin). Stir the mixture well, trying not to stir air into the mixture. You will probably get a few bubbles, though. Now, put the bowl in the microwave, on low, for about a minute. Every microwave is different, so watch it carefully and don't let it boil. Remove from the microwave and stir. Do this several times. The longer you keep your mixture heated (but not boiling) the better it will plasticize. What you are doing, is making plastic. The glycerin will plasticize the gelatin, with the heat acting as a catalyst. The heat keeps the molecules bouncing around and bumping into each other, so keep heating and stirring for several minutes. Your gelatin mixture will become somewhat viscous, as shown above. Skim obvious bubbles/foam from the top of your bowl. Carefully pour your gelatin mixture into a mold. You may end up with bubbles or bubbly scum on top, and that will need to be carefully removed. You can use strips of paper or cardboard to skim the bubbles from the surface. Work quickly, as the gelatin will begin setting up as it cools. When you have gotten every bit of the bubbles you can skim off, spritz the surface with alcohol to remove any remaining bubbles. The alcohol breaks the surface tension of the bubbles, allowing the air to escape. You should be left with a smooth, glossy surface. Allow the gelatin to set up on a perfectly level surface (most newer kitchen counters are pretty level, but check to be sure). Do not use a knife or other tool to loosen the gelatin to "de-plate" it. You will just end up marring the edges. Instead, place you fingers flat on the plate and gently pull the gelatin away from the edge of your mold. Basically, you want to break the air seal. Once you've loosened the seal enough, you should be able to carefully flip the gelatin plate out of the mold onto another surface. I did this by cutting a dollar store placemat to be a little bit bigger than the gelatin plate, and holding it against the top of the gelatin before turning the entire mold over. This way, your gelatin plate is supported at all times, and it doesn't lose it's perfectly rectangular (or round, or whatever) shape. For the large plate, shown above, I put the mold back on top of it, and gently flipped it back over, to store it. I secure it with a couple of elastic hair bands. I may eventually wrap a bit of cling wrap around it, but for now, this is how it is stored. You never know what you will find that will work as a mold. My husband used my back brush to clean the shower (true story), so while I was at the dollar store, I grabbed a new back brush. As it turned out, the plastic cover that was used to protect the bristles made a perfect oval mold! I cut pieces from a plastic place mat to protect the top and bottom surfaces. Then, I dropped it into a Minney Mouse puzzle tin (also from Dollar Tree) to store it. It works perfectly. Another creative mold idea I came across was to use a burner cover, also from the Dollar Tree. The burner covers come in sets of two, one large, and one small. I used the small one as a mold, and the larger one to store it. You can always use your molds to store your pieces, as I've done with the large rectangular one I did, but sometimes, if they stretch a bit, they will get little wrinkles if you try to put them back into the same container. Those wrinkle will transfer to any prints that you pull. I've cut a piece of place mat for both the top and the bottom of the round plate, just as I did for the tiny oval plate. It's been a few weeks since I made the plates and they are all in great shape! Not one bit of mold. I do not store them in the fridge -- I store them in a closet. If, for some reason, your plate gets damaged, just cut it up and remelt it and repour it. I spent $27 on a bottle of glycerin and a tub of gelatin, plus I bought items to use as molds and several plastic place mats from the dollar tree. I experimented with using report covers, instead of the place mats, but the place mats are bigger and sturdier and worked better for the job. You may have items around your house that you can use. I didn't, since I'm living in a temporary part time apartment. For less than $27, you can buy a gel printing plate from amazon (affiliate link), so you really need to weigh the pros and cons of making your own. You definitely save money, especially if you want a really large plate. I made a 9x12 plate, two 5x7 plates, an eight inch round, and the small oval. I still have quite a bit of gelatin left, but used the entire quart of glycerin. I hope this post encourages you to try your hand at gelatin printing, and maybe even make your own gelatin plate. It's easier than it looks. You might also like this article on materials to use for mixed media art. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have planned. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on throughout week on Instagram. Feel free to link today's post to all your favorite social media sites. Thanks for stopping by! Amanda This post has been linked to the following lovely places: Tip Me Tuesday DIY Show Off
Download over 200 free SVG cut files with commercial use. Includes Valentine's Day, Wedding, Home, Christmas, Halloween, Fall, and more!
Join us for a Step-by-Step Tutorial where you will learn the quick and easy way to create DIY Vellum Paper! Such a great craft technique.
Free Printable Sheets In PDF Formats: Artist Trading Card Printables: Free Printable Artist Trading Card Label Sheet Free Printable ATC Sheet Of Mini Monas Faux Postage & Mail Art: Nature Theme…
These are the best printers that I have found for Craft and DIY Projects!
We all have grandparents old photographs that because of the age are not in the best preservation conditions. So many of our old photos may have tears and scratches, spots, damaged areas and so on. Not to say that are all in black and white or sepia color tones. So to repair a damaged photo will not going to be an easy task. You will have to pay attention to every little details to obtain a realistic effect. The Photoshop tools that are used the most in old photo repair are the the Spot Healing Brush Tool, the Clone Stamp Tool and the Brush Tool.
It’s been so much fun playing with my new favorite toy/ tool the Cricut Maker. It’s so amazing what it can cut! Today I’m sharing my tips on a pattern that Cricut offers in Design Space – The Cricut Make Cover Tutorial. It’s a cover that fits nice and snugly over your Cricut Maker and...
Planner Setup: printing, binding, and organizing. Organized Chaos. Lots of simple DIY's, and tons of great tips and tricks and product recommendations for setting up your own teacher and/or life planner!
Here are some fun tips and techniques on adding flourishes to your hand lettering and art from the book Modern Calligraphy and Hand Lettering: A Mark-Making Workbook for Crafters, Cardmakers, and Journal Artists. If you would like lots more, like...
Do you want to know how to stencil on fabric? Use this technique for clothing, reusable grocery, gift bags, banners, and other DIY projects.
I recently shared a project in our Cricut Community Facebook group that used a pen and the drawing feature in Design Space to make a project. You can check out the project here if you're interested! From that project, someone simply asked us, "How do you use the drawing feature?" And it got to me to thinking -- maybe n
Conquer your Cricut is the Ultimate guide book to using your Cricut cutting machine. Overwhelmed with using Design Space? This step by step guide will help.
Do you have so many Project Life Cards, you aren't sure what to do with them? Use these 8 different ways to use your Project Life Cards in new ways!
If all of your friends have a Cricut Explore, but you're clueless about what it is and what you can do with it, this post is for you.
Create a DIY baby book using my free printables. This version uses a cute, gender neutral, handwritten style font. #diy #babybook #ultimatebaby
Learning How to Use PicMonkey for Photo Editing and Other Creative Fun! Photo editing software has made life so much easier for professional photographers and those who need to edit photos on a regular basis.
These ten Cricut font pairings are perfect for almost any project. From fun and whimsical to modern and classy, these 10 duos cover them all.
Looking for ideas for how to use removable vinyl? Here are some removable vinyl projects you can make with your Cricut.
I’ve had a lot of interest in my bookmaking hobby so I figured I’d share an easy guide on how to get started! Like most hobbies there’s a small upfront investment to gather all of your supplies and materials. Fortunately, bookmaking is a relatively affordable hobby so there’s not too much that you have to […]
Would you like to add some down-to-earth rustic wall art to your home? A hand-picked collection of 100-plus FREE Farmhouse Printables for people who would like to add farmhouse flavor to their homes.
The right technique to make a 3D tunnel book with panels that tell the story - each panel is a layer in the final book
One of the most powerful and versatile tools you will use with your Silhouette Cameo die cutting machine is the blade. There are several different varieties of blades available, let’s check them all out and see how they can be used. 1. Self Adjusting Blade The new Self Adjusting Blade is the “new blade on the block!”
A complete guide to creating custom t-shirts and any other crafts involving heat transfer vinyl. Find all iron-on vinyl FAQ right here! For the project tutorial, head to the bottom to be guided step-by-step through the process of applying HTV to a t-shirt. What is heat transfer vinyl? Heat transfer vinyl, also known as
My Silhouette is one of my favorite crafting tools, it runs second only to my sewing machine. Having this kind of cutting machine opens up a world of crafting possibilities. After a few friends saw what I could create with my machine they were sold and purchased one also. In light of that, it got me...Read More
Have you been putting off your photo organization project? Here's a simple plan for getting them out of storage and into albums for your family to enjoy.
Looking for Cricut font pairings? Here are the best 15 Cricut font combinations that'll go well together to make amazing DIY Cricut projects.
Confession: I am a blogaholic. It all started three years ago in college when I first found a few fashion blogs after reading Teen Vogue. (Don't knock it. I love that magazine.) After reading one blog, finding another, and another, and falling down the rabbit hole that is the
