The materials you can use with the Gel Press are unlimited. You can use bottle caps, string, bubble wrap. tools that are made for the gel plate, stamps, and stencils just to name a few. Anything can be used as long it does not scratch or puncture the gel plate. The materials we will be using today are:

 Stamps

Bubble wrap

 Tools made for the gel plate

 Bottlecap

  Stencils.  

Copying Paper

Card Stock

Brayers (small and large)

Inks

Paints

Gel Plates

Scape piece of paper

Water

Rag

Set up the workspace:

1. Get all your materials out that you will be using.
2. Get the Gel Plate out and next to it have a scrap piece of paper.
3. Have a bowl of water and a rag on your workspace.
4. Have the brayers next to Gel Plate.

Gel Plate tips:

1. When spreading the ink or paint make sure you take a brayer and go with an upward sweep motion.
2. Always allow your layers to dry before applying another layer.
3. Make sure you use the water to clean up the brayer, stencils, and stamps.
4. For an easy clean up put a little Oil Soap in the water.
5. Using inks makes a softer background than paints.
6. Leaving a little ink or paint on the Gel Plate between backgrounds will give it a little character.

Who is ready to try to make some backgrounds? I know I am! 

Background number one:

This background is with inks and stencils. First I applied blue ink on the bottom of the Gel Plate, overlapping blue with purple ink, and then with overlap purple with red ink. Then I applied a stencil onto the inks. While it is still wet lay a piece of copying paper on the Gel Plate and remove the ink off the Gel Plate. This is how it turned out:

The second background is using paints. The heavy body paints work best but you have to have to let the paints dry between layers. I started white paint let it dry before applying yellow paint and put a floral stamp. Then put a piece of card stock to the gel plate to pull off the print. This is how it turned out: 

These are some examples but I want you to take these materials and Gel Press and let your imagination and create your backgrounds. Try some new materials, inks, and paints. You will be surprised at the background you will create.