In my constant endeavor to find something positive in this highly unusual (okay, CRAZY!) year, at least we have a day dedicated to making cards! Right? So I spent today making a few gel plate prints and then I made three cards with some of them. Here’s what I did.

Above you can see the prints I made, using leaves from plants growing in my yard. Nothing exotic, to be sure! The difference in this gel printing experiment is that I used mini Distress Ink cubes direct to the gel plate to create kind of a geometric pattern. I didn’t brayer the ink out, but left it for a more distinct pattern.

I then placed the leaves on top of the inked plate and then pressed the paper over. Then I removed the paper and the leaves and replaced the paper, lining the paper onto the plate as it was before. This partially defined the leaves with remaining ink.

Here are the cards I made from the prints seen above.

I used sentiment dies respectively, from Sizzix, Elizabeth Craft Designs, and My Favorite Things. I layered the prints with cardstock and added some sequins. The center card also has ribbon and a border made with an EK Success “Fleur de Lis” border punch. I definitely shopped my stash with these cards!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy World Cardmaking Day!