How to Transform Gel Prints into Vibrant Stencil Art Panels

Hello, creative lovelies!

Martice here from @MarticeSmithArt, and I’m excited to share a fun way to transform gel prints into vibrant, stencil-layered panels inspired by the colors of nature and the changing seasons. These steps are approachable but still leave room for playful exploration, so you’ll feel confident no matter where you are on your art journey.

As summer fades into fall, I’ve been inspired by my time at the lake and the lush, tropical plants in my garden. With colder months approaching, I wanted to preserve those vibrant hues and capture the glowing sunsets I’ve been photographing during my quiet moments outdoors.

The result? Home or studio décor I’ll be proud to display—little bursts of joy and inspiration I can turn to whenever I need a creative lift.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to:

• Turn gel-printed papers into vibrant, layered stencil art.

• Capture seasonal colors and inspiration in your artwork.

• Use simple techniques that create a “Wow—you made this?!” effect, no matter your skill level.

Supplies You’ll Need: 

Stencils (My stencils are on sale! Use this code to get 20 percent off: MS20 

Shop here 👉🏽 https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-martice-smith-s/2164.htm 

L863 - Graphic Mod Mask 1: 70s Play 

L864 - Graphic Mod Mask 2: Hole In The Wall

L865 - Graphic Mod Mask 3: Bubble

2-3 Smaller, detailed stencils of your choice

Wooden Panels (I’m using 8”x8” panels that I made)

Large sheet of drawing paper (I’m using 18”x24”)

Colored Tissue Paper

8”x10” Gel Plate (or larger size)

Acrylic Paints: Colors of your choice

Scissors

Utility Knife

Pencil 

6” Brayer

Sponge Roller

Paintbrush (for applying gel medium)

Stencil Bristle Brush

Gloss Gel Medium

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Use a gel plate as a stamping block to create the background. 

Using acrylic paints, a rubber brayer, and a gel plate, cover the paper with blocks of color. When these blocks are overlapped, they create another color! If you know me, you know I absolutely ADORE vibrant colors, especially jewel tone hues. 

Allow this layer to dry completely before moving on. 

Step 2: Use detailed stencils on top of the color blocks.

Next, we’re creating a layer that’s packed with small designs, shapes, and marks. Tip: Try rotating your paper as you work. This will help keep your work loose and playful. I like working my way from the background to the foreground. I find that it’s easier to create a sense of depth and dimension.

Allow the paper to dry for a couple of minutes. 

Step 3: Trace the inside part of the stencils/masks to create abstract shapes.

Trace the shapes onto colored tissue paper, then cut them out. This will be our collage fodder. I love the transparency of tissue paper because it lets the background layers peek through, adding visual interest to the piece.

Adhere the tissue shapes to the large paper. Put them in random spots or feel free to place them wherever you like - it’s totally up to you! 

 

Step 4: Place masks on top of your paper and cover them with paint.

I like using a sponge roller for two reasons: 1. It gives a grunge-like, speckled texture (whereas a rubber brayer creates a smooth texture), and 2. I can achieve transparency so that the background peeks through. This effect depends on how much pressure you apply as you’re rolling it across the surface. 

Step 5: Find the sweet spot! Position your panel on an area you like, then trace around it, leaving ¼” around the panel on all sides.

Step 6: Use a sharp utility knife (or scissors) to cut out the paper.

Step 7: Apply a generous amount of gel medium to the wooden panels.

Carefully place your paper on top of the panel, leaving a ¼” overhang on all sides.

Working from the center out to the edges, smooth the paper out to release any air bubbles. I prefer using the side of my hand for this. Allow this to dry before proceeding to the next step. If you cut while it’s still wet, the paper might tear and create jagged, frizzy edges. No bueno! 

Optional: Scribble with paint pens and markers to add more of your personal style. (I used Posca paint markers to add geometric shapes and hand-lettering, and a pencil to create drop shadows.)

Step 8: Brush on a thin layer of gloss gel medium to seal your work. Notice how those colors shine! 

And there you have it—a simple, creative way to turn gel prints into vibrant, stencil-layered panels that bring your favorite colors and memories to life.

Remember, this process isn’t about perfection—it’s about capturing the joy of making and letting your creativity surprise you. Even the simplest techniques can spark something magical.

I’d love to see how you bring this tutorial to life! Share your finished piece with me or tag me online so I can cheer you on. Thanks for stopping by today! 

Find me on Instagram @MarticeSmithArt

My stencils are on sale! Use this code to get 20 percent off: MS20  

Shop here 👉🏽 https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-martice-smith-s/2164.htm

Stencils designed by me are on sale with code MS20:

L863 - 70s Play 

L864 - Hole In The Wall

L865 - Bubble

Other stencil used for this project: (Note, this is not on sale.)

L426 - Kilim Pattern

Guest Designer Frieda Oxenham

A big clear up is happening in my studio at the moment,  and I’m discovering lots of things I had long forgotten. One of these were 5 left over 5 x 7” watercolor cards, cold pressed, by Strathmore and they seemed very suited to my June Project.

Here is the tutorial:

1.     Using a 5 x 7” gelli plate, brayer on 3 colours of acrylic paint in horizontal layers and take a print. Do this for every card. Clean your gelli plate and brayer on a sheet of copy paper after every colour change.

2.     Using the 5 x 7” gelli plate, brayer on transparent gold acrylic paint and take prints of the entire plate on all the cards.

3.     Again using the 5 x 7 gelli plate, brayer on a small horizontal layer of paint in different colours for each card and including black and white. Put a stencil on top and take a print on selected areas of your cards. Then remove the stencil and take another print on the left over paint on another card. I used stencils S898 Abstract Water Surface, S423 Grindstones C small and the medium stencil of the December 2017 StencilClub. Again use the copy paper sheet from step 1 to clean plate and brayer.

4.     Stencil partial text to the cards using blue acrylic paint, a cosmetic wedge and stencils L827 Emotions and Feelings 1 and L318 Wall of Words.

5.     Using the sheet used for cleanup in step 1 and 3 together with stencil L583 Figments of Imagination, outline some of the figures onto the sheet with pencil and cut out.

6.     Mark out outlines from stencil L888 Mid Century Modern Circle Patterns using a pencil and paint them using permanent paint markers.

7.     Glue on the figures cut out in step 5 onto the cards.

8.     Outline the figures with a white permanent marker and the circle patterns with gelli pens. 

9.     Glue on transparent tissue paper fragments (mine are by Tim Holtz). 

10.  Using the same stencil as in step 5 to mask the area around the figures, put stencil S423 on top of the figures and spray through the stencil with a blue sparkling spray paint (I used Perfect Pearl Mist). 

11.  Drip down silver pearlescent acrylic ink onto the cards. 

12.  Glue on text (from magazine) and outline it with a black Stabilo All pencil

13.  Edge the cards with a permanent black inkpad.

Frieda Oxenham © 2024

Gel Printed Holiday Tree Cards

Hello! Nicole here back for my last blog post of 2023! What? This year has flown by, hasn’t it? If you’re anything like me, it’s the middle of December and you either ran out of time or completely forgot about sending some holiday cards. I always like to have a few on hand for neighbor gifts and friend get-togethers plus some for mailing.

Ever since I began making my own cards, I just can’t purchase them. I think that also adds a bit of pressure to create a work of art on a card. 

Recently, when I was playing with some StencilGirl® stencils, I applied paint through the Butterfly Rouen Tile stencil and thought it looked like snow and/or the pattern on one of those ugly Christmas sweaters. I immediately wanted to spray paint white through it and brainstormed how I could make that work for a card design. Then, it hit me. Trees! 

I could add some trees and make a snowy winter sky background. So, for this year’s card I had the idea to gel print some papers and turn them into trees with the spray-painted background of course!

 

My first step was to gel print a variety of papers in all shades of green. I wanted to layer different patterns, colors and sizes of trees in the foreground.

 

I printed on white and kraft colored card stock to add to the variety and for a tiny bit of pop and thickness to the trees.

 

The gel print process was simple. First layer down some green(s) on the plate and brayer them to a thin coat. 

Place a stencil down and pull a first print on top the stencil. 

This print isn’t always a great one, depending on the stencil style, but it makes a great first layer!

Then, remove the stencil and pull a second print. 

I repeated this process several times with different shades of greens and stencils.  Once in a while I pulled a third print to layer on one that just didn’t look right or flipped the stencil over to use the paint again on that side. I let the paint, stencil, and results determine my next steps each time. There are no rules, and you can watch my simple process in the video tutorial.

 

Sometimes when I was unsure of how the pattern would look for a tree, I isolated it with a piece of paper that I had cut a triangle out of. It’s amazing how different just a slice of the print looks and makes the perfect little tree.

While I waited for the prints to dry, I cut my base cards and spray painted through the Butterfly Rouen Tile stencil.

And, while those dried, I added some white splatters to the envelopes. I just simply sprayed some of the paint in a small cup and added some water to it. I repeated this process on both sides of the envelopes and also the back of the cards.

Finally, it was time to cut out the trees! I cut out some small tree patterns to make this process easier. Using the patterns, I was able to ensure that the trees would layer ok on the card fronts.

Once I had millions (ok, maybe just a hundred) trees cut out, I placed a large one on each card and then picked out all the little ones to go with it. I originally planned to put three trees on a card, but I couldn’t resist changing that to five trees. 

When the trees were perfectly placed, I quick snapped a photo just in case. Then I carefully piled the cards up and began the process to stick them down.

Looking back, I wish I had printed a few more trees that were a little more solid in color with small pattern. I like how they anchored some of the card fronts. 

 

To finish the cards, I knew I wanted to add a “Merry Christmas” sentiment with my typewriter, but I also decided to add some red berry garland to one tree on each card. If you don’t have a typewriter, you can print words from your computer or find some stickers. 

I added the simple berry dots with the end of a paintbrush.

I really enjoyed how these came together, even if my husband calls them mountains instead of trees. Maybe that’s one reason I decided to add the berry garland! 

The best part? Besides the fact that I have a bunch of cards to send, I have a lot of leftovers. So, I think I’m going to also make some small tags for packages as well.

Check out the entire process in the video below!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and maybe I just helped remove a little of the holiday stress by not only giving you a card idea, but some moments to just sit down and create.

-Nicole

Connect with me on

• Instagram
• YouTube
• My website

Stencils

• Quatrefoil
• City Map Mask
• Scribbley
• Tripwire
• Curvy Lattice
• Maltese Mix
• Art Deco Fairview
• Winter Berries Mask
• Scribble Scratch Handwriting
• Chain Mail Large
• Words to Live By
• Butterfly Rouen Tile 

Supplies

• Card stock (white, dark blue, kraft)
• Green acrylic paint of all shades
• Red acrylic paint
• Typed sentiments 
• White spray paint (I prefer the Liquitex brand)
• Gel plate
• Adhesive tape
• Scissors
• Brayer
• Envelopes