Gel Printing x Daily Pages
I spent this week gel printing my older photos into scrapbook-style Daily Pages (and how you can too!)
Hi friends,
It's been a wonderfully messy, paint-covered week here, and I'm excited to show you what I've been up to. I've spent every day this week playing around with gel printing and using those prints to make scrapbook-style Daily Pages. It started because I've had a stack of older photos just begging to be documented, and my Daily Pages notebooks felt like the perfect, low-pressure place to dive in.
All week, I've been making gel print daily pages (total accident). I especially love the scrapbook-style pages, because I’ve been on a kick of telling some old photo stories.
I love gel printing because it's incredibly forgiving and endlessly fun. It's also super flexible—perfect whether you're into full scrapbook layouts, quick Daily Pages, detailed art journals, or something totally unique to you.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this email:
How gel printing brings your storytelling to life
Simple steps to document your memories with gel prints
Creative inspiration from my Daily Pages this week
Ready to get your hands a little painty? Let's dive in! 🎨✂️📆
Gel Printing: Telling Your Stories Your Way
Gel prints are like pizza toppings—you can customize them exactly to your taste. 🍕
✨ With gel printing, you're not stuck with store-bought patterned paper that maybe fits your stories. Instead, you're in total control of colors, textures, and patterns, so each piece is uniquely yours. matches your memories. Instead, you get colors, textures, and vibes that speak directly to your story.
Think about a photo or story you've been wanting to document, but haven't yet because the supplies never felt quite right. Gel printing is your answer. It lets you create backgrounds and embellishments that feel uniquely yours, tailored specifically to your story.
This week, I played around with gel prints in a few different ways, including matching some prints to older photos in my orphaned photos queue, and the results feel fab.
Your Turn: Which stories or older photos immediately come to mind for your first gel prints?
Step-by-Step Gel Printing for Your Stories
Here's how you can quickly jump into gel printing and use your prints to document your memories:
Set Up Your Space Cover your table, grab your gel plate, paints, and brayer, and you're good to go. The mess is half the fun!
Make Your Prints Roll paint onto the gel plate, press your paper down, and lift up something unique every time. Add stencils, textures, or stamps if you're feeling fancy.
Document Your Stories Cut or tear your dried prints and use them as backgrounds, embellishments, or layering elements. Pair them with photos, journaling, or stickers for personalized storytelling.
Using gel prints was such an easy way to add a current unique touch to older stories. They're quick, easy, and ground each of these pages in the current moment.
If you want a deeper dive into gel printing for beginners, check out this post I wrote up a few months back.
Getting Started with Gel Printing: A Complete Beginner's Guide
Hello friends! I’ve been playing around with gel printing for the last few months, and I wanted to create a post with everything I’ve learned as a beginner and pass on that knowledge to you. Gel printing is such a great way to make papers that match your particular style or using your favorite colors.
Creative Inspiration from the Week
Here's how I've been documenting my stories with gel prints this week in my Daily Pages notebooks. Each day had some new experiments and ideas—take a peek:
Daily Pages: Hearts as Shamrocks
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. I hope you’re doing whatever things you like to do today. I grew up in a big Irish area, so SPD was a big thing, and people went crazy for corned beef and cabbage.
Daily Pages: The Art of Messing Up
Today’s page is so fun. I really love how the background came out. It wasn’t the first gel print that I created today, but it is the one that worked with today’s page.
Daily Pages: One Page, One Formula, Endless Possibilities
I love today’s page. After I was playing around with the gel prints and Sharpie Creative Markers in yesterday’s page, I wanted to pivot a little bit and see what it looked like when I used the marker on the gel print first—instead afterwards, like on yesterday’s page (see below).
Daily Pages: Why Foam Stamps Are Underrated
Apparently, it’s a gel plate week? My pages for the past few weeks have been very different. Each day of the week had it’s own little thing going on. But this week it seems to be all gel printing all the time. And I’m definitely not mad about it.
Daily Pages: TGIF (in gel print)
Another gel print today. I figured I had to keep the streak going. Today I did some experimentation with paint I left on the plate overnight, and some different techniques with white paint acting as a barrier layer.
This week's gel printing adventures reminded me how joyful playing around with paint older stories can be. It felt amazing to finally give those memories a home. If you've got photos or stories waiting around, gel prints might be exactly the creative spark you need to dive back in and make them relevant to how you’re feeling today.
Weekly Resource List:
The Basic Guide to Daily Pages (7-minute read): Everything you need to get started with Daily Pages.
Gelli Arts Instagram: Endless ideas for gel printing.
Birgit Koopsen: Bold, bright prints you'll adore.
Gelli Plate Printing by Joan Bess: An excellent guide for beginners, offering step-by-step instructions and project ideas.
Gelli Arts Printing Guide by Suzanne McNeill: Learn all about gel printing from the biggest brand in the business.
Online Tutorials and Courses: Places like YouTube, Get Messy Art, Michaels host tutorials ranging from basic techniques to specific projects.
A few of my favorite gel printers on Instagram: - Gelli Arts, Birgit Koopsen, Marsha Valk, Mary Begss Bosley, Tania Ahmed, Drew Steinbrecher
Daily Pages 5th Anniversary Celebration
Mark your calendar! On Saturday, April 5th at Noon ET, we’re celebrating FIVE YEARS of Daily Pages with a big, free event. 🎉
💡 What to expect:
✨ A look back at how Daily Pages has evolved over the years.
✨ Special surprises + creative inspiration.
✨ A chance to make a Daily Page together, live!
This is an open-to-everyone event, and I’d love for you to join.
Here’s what we covered today:
Gel printing lets you make totally unique supplies to use for your stories.
Super easy steps make gel printing accessible & playful (perfect for Daily Pages).
My Daily Pages inspo to kickstart your own gel printing journey.
Action step: Grab your gel plate this weekend and make one fun, messy print!
Talk to you next week!
xoxo,
Kristin
P.S. If you’re enjoying these newsletters, please consider sharing this edition with a friend who might need a little creative boost today.
And whenever you are ready, there are 3 ways I can help you build your creative habit:
Upgrade your Substack subscription and join me Monday-Friday at Noon ET for my Daily Pages creative time (bring any project you’re working on). And—join us on the first Saturday of the month. for our live masterclasses, a new topic each month on building and sustaining your creative habit. See the full archive here.
Check out the free Awesome Ladies Project community + app and join us for weekly challenges, free stickers, and amazing friendships!
While shifting things around in my studio, I stumbled across my gel plate and thought that it’s been a long time since I’ve used it. Perhaps it’s time.
I love that you went back & did the building white!