DIY Gelli Tools (Fast & Frugal!)

Howdy friends! I am back home slowly getting back in the groove so bear with me:) I had a chance to play with my gelli plates before leaving for Denver and I was inspired to make some cheap tools to create with, I liked them so much I decided to share them with you so you can save some cash too!

Watch the video to see how!

I got the double ended silicone spatulas at Dollar tree, the single ended “art spatulas” are $7-$20 retail, holy smokes! You can make them for a tiny fraction of the price!

You can also get the funky combs in a  1o pack for a dollar and the fun foam at the dollar store too!

Cut fun foam or cracker boxes with fancy edge scrapbook scissors to make texture combs too! *Thanks UK MaryAnne for that, check out her blog here, it is so good!

Use embossing folders and junk cardstock (Junk mail postcards work great!)to make impression plates for printmaking.

Foam “bath blocks” are great to making designs on the gelli plate and you can even heat up the blocks [with a heat gun] and press them on things to make custom stamps!

All the foam stamps you already have are great for this too!

Save waste paper from die cuts and punches for cool stencils.

Regular Gelli Arts plate vs. Student Gelli Arts plate

The regular Gelli Arts soft printing plate is much thicker and comes in more sizes.

The student gelli arts plate is 5″x5″ and about half as thick as the regular version but using it is pretty much the same and you can use a coupon on them at ACmoore and I think you can order the student plates in bulk online. At ACmoore the retail for the student plate was $20 and I paid $8.50 after my coupon and teacher discount. Totally worth it.

You can always make your own too with unflavored gelatin to see if you like it before investing. I have recipes for a disposable and permanent plate below, the homemade ones are more fragile BUT you can chop it up and re-melt it if you need or want to.

More info: Homemade gelatin printing plate recipes: TemporaryPermanent (see recipe in description) More printmaking tutorials Have fun and happy crafting!