2016 #3 Gelatos Notebook {by Anneke de Clerck}

 2016 Topic 3: Wax

Hello everyone Anneke here.

I'm happy to be back here tonight with a blog post about Faber-Castell Gelatos.

In case you're not familiar with the Gelatos, these are creamy sticks infused with brilliant and rich colors. You can blend them smoothly without water, just by using your fingers, that's how soft and creamy they are! 

I love working with Faber-Castell Gelatos. They come in lots of awesome colors and they are very versatile, perfect to use on backgrounds, to color images, to stamp with...The fact that they are water-soluble makes them ideal for all kinds of techniques such as drippage, water coloring, reverse stenciling...The possibilities are endless. Because of their tiny size they are suitable for art-on-the-go as well. If you never worked with Gelatos you definitely have to try them if you get the opportunity. 

This evening I'll show you how I made a notebook using those cute creamy sticks. 

Let's get started.

I did all the coloring on the booklet with Gelatos. I used Lime, Green Tea and Spearmint for the grass, Cotton Candy, Acqua Dolce and Blueberry for the sky, Blood Orange, Bubble Gum, Tangerine and Guava for the flower and Squid Ink & Coconut for the shading.

For the covers I used 2 pieces of PaperArtsy heavy grey/white board, tag 9 size (17,8 x 9 cm). As I had the intention to bind the little book with my Zutter Bind-It-All I decided to punch the holes first. To start I applied an uneven layer of gesso on the covers with a flat brush. Priming with gesso creates a super blend-able surface for the Gelatos and the gesso 'marks' provide a nice texture once colored.

Next I started the coloring. I first made some scribbles at the bottom with the lightest green color and blended this immediately with my fingers. I continued by adding darker green colors on top, starting from the right hand side (as I wanted the shadow on that side).  For the sky I started with Acqua Dolce, then added darker colors. Gelatos blend perfectly by using your fingers or some tissue paper. A damp brush works well too but the water takes away some of the color. As I love bold colors I prefer the dry method. It is easy to create an ombré look by using different shades of the same color.

Gelatos do react with water so they are perfect for what I call the "take off technique" = creating patterns by taking off color through stencils instead of adding color.

I've layered the Tim Holtz Layering Stencil Schoolhouse over the covers and used a baby wipe to remove some of the color. This technique works so well with Gelatos. When peeling back the stencil I'm always surprised.

Next I added some stamping by using the spiral stamp from the EEG07 set. 

I did the stamping with Versamark and heat embossed the stamped images with WOW embossing powder 'Opaque Bright White'.

Another advantage of the Gelatos: you can stamp with them. Here I used Blackberry to add text from the EEG14 set. The small dots are from the same stamp set and were stamped with Archival Ink 'Cornflower Blue' and overstamped with Snowflake.

I stamped the smallest flower from the EEG14 set 4 times with Archival Ink 'Jet Black'.

I did the stamping on gesso-ed paper. I colored one of the flowers with Gelatos, did the blending with a nearly dry brush. I again started with the lightest color and continued building up layers and shading with darker colors. To finish the flower off I added some white accents with a Sharpie.

I arranged the flowers on top of the front cover as shown. 

I layered the orange flower on top of a white one, made the white one slightly larger by cutting it in half.

For the inside pages I used cream colored cardstock.

I did the binding with my Zutter Bind-It-All machine using 1/2 inch black wires.

 

I decorated the inside of both the front and back cover with green handmade paper.

This notebook fits in my handbag easily, I'll carry it with me wherever I go :)

I'm fond of making small books for all sorts of purposes. I will use this one to write down ideas, quotes, to do lists....I do love the size of the heavy grey/white board, it's perfect for a notebook. The board is sturdy so very suitable to be used as covers.

When making books I'm always working on both covers at the same time. This helps me to end up with two approximately equal-looking covers.

To bind single sheets of paper this kind of spiral binding is ideal. If you don't own a Bind-It-All, ask a friend if you can use hers. Or you can easily replace the binding by using metal rings or ribbon.

If you never made a book before you certainly have to try it, this one is so easy to do! Or dig up those Gelatos and start scribbling, I would love to see what you come up with :)

Have fun creating!

Anneke
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I think the first time I saw your work you were using gelatos, so I always, in the back of my mind, associate you with using them a lot! The colours of gelatos appeal to me as they are always so bright and fun, and what a fun idea to layer Emma's flower that way to make it look bigger and quite different! And yes you have also reminded me I have a bind it all hidden away and a lot of wire too! Thanks for the inspiration Anneke! ~Leandra

We would love to see how you interpret this Wax topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #3: Wax, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The 'Wax' link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, February 21st. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.