Prepping for more monoprinting

Yesterday I said I would:
1. Put everything away that I took to Kathy's.
2. Check all that fabric paint I have from the 80s and pitch any that is no longer any good.
3. Get material and book pages ready for printing.
4. Go through my stencils, stamps, and other supplies for images to print.
5. Make at least one spread in my Hand AB so I'll have something to show tomorrow.

If you could have seen the mess I woke to yesterday morning, you would have gone back to bed, or if you were a drinker, would have poured a stiff drink. I did neither, but also forgot to take a "before" shot of how the room looked after Dana and I dumped everything on my craft table and in my craft room after we got back from Hutchinson on Tuesday. Talk about messes.

So early yesterday morning, while the rain was washing everything clean and watering my veggies, I set out to find the table top. After about an hour, I was able to mark off the first task: 1. Put everything away that I took to Kathy's.

Next, I did something that wasn't on my list. I gessoed the box I hope to someday turn into a shadowbox. I got the outside done, at least.

Over the next few hours (I sincerely mean hours), I tested each bottle of fabric paint, thus satisfying from my list:
2. Check all that fabric paint I have from the 80s and pitch any that is no longer any good.

As I started checking, I decided why waste paint, when I could make some backgrounds while testing. As I tested, I wrote "OK" or "?" on each bottle. "?" meant it was still good, but too thick to use on fabric.

AHHH the 80s, where pastel beach colors reigned supreme. However, some of the color combinations were OK, even if I didn't pay much attention to color combinations.

Click on any of these for a larger view.

spread all the paint using an old faux credit card, the heavy plastic one, not the cheaper paper ones they are sending in the mail nowadays.

Glitter paint, texture paint, puffy paint, stretchable paint,

if it was good, it was saved.

Not sure I'll use these in monoprinting, but they sure made some pretty backgrounds,

although I have really gotten over my glitter fetish!

So what did I do with all that paint that was dried up? I dug it out of the bottles and set it out to completely dry. I have heard of "skins," so I figure I can use these in my art one of these days.

And finally, I worked on:
3. Get material and book pages ready for printing.

You can see the material and some of my hand painted paper is there, too, along with coffee filters.

And finally:
4. Go through my stencils, stamps, and other supplies for images to print.

At the top right of the page are leaves, doilies, and such. I did not get out any stamps or stencils, because I was just too tired.

Rita asked yesterday in the comments how I made the gelatin. Sorry, I didn't take any photos. Here is my recipe:

Gelatin for monoprinting:

Materials:
Non-stick pan (I used an old cake pan)
2 packets of Knox unflavored gelatin per 1 cup of water
You can find this at any grocery store/market in the gelatin section. Each package contains 4 individual packets (I used four packages, which gave me a total of 12 packets of gelatin to which I added 6 cups of water).

Instructions:
1. Determine the number of gelatin packets you will need by pouring anywhere from 1/2" to 3/4" of water into the pan you will be using.
2. When you have the desired height of the water, which will also be the thickness of your gel block, remove the water to a measuring cup to determine how many cups of water were in the pan. My pan held six cups, so I needed 12 gelatin packets.
3. Pour half the water back into the pan. I put 3 cups in the pan.
4. Add all your packets of gelatin and stir. Allow to swell.
5. The recipe I followed said to pour the remaining boiling water into the mixture, but Dana actually cooked hers on top of the stove. The Quilting Arts article also said to cook on the stove. Since I had trouble getting my gelatin to mix properly, I will do this the next time I try this recipe.
6. Allow to sit for about an hour, then refrigerate. I finally figured out that by allowing the gelatin to cool on my counter, I eliminated any condensation that might have gotten on the gelatin when I put it in the fridge.
7. Allow the gelatin to set up. I left mine overnight, but a couple of hours may be all that are needed.
8. When fully set, remove the gelatin carefully by running a knife around the edge of the pan.
9. Allow the gelatin to sit for awhile so the top dries slightly.

As you read yesterday, I reheated and reset mine by placing it in a microwaveable bowl and microwaving it for 2 minutes. I then poured it back into my pan. Had I been more careful, I would have screened the liquid to remove all the paint from the liquid. Most of it will sink to the bottom, but I have some still on top of mine. I'll take some photos when I do my next set of prints.