How to Use Duo Gel for Stunning Card Effects

Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You’ll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencils I used from A Colorful Life Designs.  Follow the link and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

Let’s get Started:

Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

Card Face:  5.25 x 4

Focal Piece:  2.5 x 1 (after being trimmed down)

Sentiment: 1.5 x 1.5 (after die cutting)

Strips:  .25 x 5.25 ( x 2)

Card Face:

  • I laid the card face onto the grip mat and positioned the Mod Rectangles stencil.
  • I applied red ink over all exposed areas,  deepening the colour at the edges to create a border.
  • After removing the first stencil, I placed the Airy Swirls stencil.
  • I covered all exposed areas with Duo Gel, removed the stencil carefully (to avoid smudges), and put the card face down to dry.
  • Once the gel was dry (it goes on white but becomes clear when dry), I laid a piece of transfer foil on top and ran it through the Big Shot.  When I removed the piece of foil, the sticky gel had left those areas of the foil in place, creating the stencilled pattern.

When I use Duo Gel, the stencils go immediately into water once removed as the gel will be almost impossible to get off when dry.

Other:

  • I placed the cardstock for the focal image into my stamp positioner and added the image of the woman with brown ink.  I used my trimmer to cut this to size along the dotted border, finishing with a corner punch to round the edges.
  • I replaced this with the smaller piece of cardstock for the sentiment, stamped it with the same brown ink, then cut it down to size with a die.

Assembly

  • I centered the card face on the card base,  and then added the focal piece towards the left as shown.I glued the two narrow strips to the right of this image.
  • I added dimensional foam to the back of the sentiment and placed it as shown, allowing it to slightly overlap the focal image.   I added three small gold pearls at the bottom of this piece.

Final Thoughts:

Purple and red are a fabulous colour combination, and they work well with this pair of stencils: one so structured and the other so loose and flowing.   

This created a fun backdrop for the tongue-in-cheek, vintage focal image.

Supplies: (and links where possible)

   I have listed which products I have used and where they may be purchased. It’s a huge marketplace, and in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives to choose from.

Stencils

Mod Rectangles,  A Colorful Life Designs

Airy Swirls: A Colorful Life Designs:

Waffle Flower Grip Mat, 8.5 x 6.5, Scrapbook.com

Stamps: Motherhood is a Verb,  Unity Stamps  (retired)

Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up! 

Duo Gel: Decofoil,  R&R Scrapbooking

Transfer Foil: Decofoil,  R&R Scrapbooking

Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon

Do you have comments or thoughts to share on this design?  Drop me a line in the Comments Section below –  I’d love to hear from you!

You can also use the Comments Section  to be notified when I release new work.

Mod Rectangles by A Colorful Life Designs

Airy Swirls by A Colorful Life Designs