Abracadabra -- making magic stamps for Gelli plate printing

To learn how to print on fabric, I consulted the official Gelli Arts guru Joan Bess and watched her video on fabric. She gave me the basics, so I'm ready to start experimenting with fabric.

One of the tips in her video applies to printing on paper, not just fabric -- how to use "magic" stamp blocks. I just happened to have a few of these blocks in a long-forgotten drawer. Being able to find them again was a sure sign that the ART GODS wanted me to get printing.


What's a magic stamp block? It's a thick blue chunk of foam that can be re-used again and again. To create a stamp, you just heat the foam (with a hair dryer or heat embossing tool) and then press it against a raised surface. It retains the impression until you heat it again. 

For her stamp, Joan drew a design in hot glue. (Here are detailed instructions from Joan on using magic stamps and hot glue.) I wanted to try something different. I pulled out some old jewelry that my friends have donated to my creative obsession.

For my first stamp, I grabbed a gold chain and wound it into a circle. The segments are square and thick, so the resulting impressions are distinctive.

Next I tried a long length of ball chain. The circle was so large that it wouldn't fit the block. But I made it work.

My favorite stamp so far is made with two earrings from my good friend Wanda. They remind me of ancient Aztec symbols. I had no idea what kind of pattern they might produce.

Pretty cool, hunh?

To test my new stamps, I made prints on lots of small index cards. I'm taking part in the 2014 "Index Card a Day" Challenge (aka "ICAD") and will use the cards I've preprinted for backgrounds.