Little Birdie Gel Mediums Review

Hi Friends,

I had a blog post recently on the Itsy Bitsy blog about Little Birdie’s newly launched Acrylic Gel Mediums. You can read all about this most versatile of Art Mediums also on the Itsy Bitsy Blog here

Gel Mediums work like Glue but not like the white Glue. There are different types of Gel mediums and the difference is to do with :

A) Viscosity, i.e. the thickness of the Gel medium. : This has two variants ….

(i) Soft Gel Medium great for collage making, gel transfers and gluing light papers and embellishments.

(ii) Heavy Gel Medium for gluing thick heavy elements and embellishments

B) Lustre

(i) Gloss Gel Medium and

(ii) Matte Gel Medium

There are two Gel Mediums in the Little Birdie’s range…………………..
Little Birdie Acrylic Soft Gel Medium – GLOSS–Water-based, Transparent, Archival safe, Non-Toxic, dries with Glossy Finish

Little Birdie Acrylic Soft Gel Medium Gloss  is light, water based and transparent, archival safe and non toxic acrylic medium. It dries clear and glossy and is permanent after drying . It acts as a sealer and liquid glue.

It is also used to increase transparency and add gloss when added to acrylic paints.
Little Birdie Acrylic Soft Gel Medium- MATTE

Water-based, Transparent, Archival safe, Non-Toxic, dries with Matte Finish

Little Birdie Acrylic Soft Gel Medium Matte is light, water based and transparent, archival safe and non toxic acrylic medium. It dries clear and Matte and is permanent after drying. It acts as a sealer and liquid glue.

It is also used to increase transparency and adds a matte finish when added to acrylic paints.

Because acrylic paint is already naturally glossy, matte medium is handy when a more subtle, non-reflective finish is needed. You can also mix gloss and matte mediums together in equal parts to achieve a kind of semi-gloss. This fluid medium can also be used as a ground (like clear gesso).

How to use Little Birdie Acrylic Soft Gel Mediums Gloss

1. Use as a Collage glue for paper, tissue or light embellishments
2.  Acts as a resist for non-permanent water based mediums sprays and inks. Create a texture or pattern, seal it with Soft Gel, and then add another layer on top to get a beautiful layered effect. Use a permanent ink like Archival ink or Acrylic paint if you want to add a stamped sentiment on top of the Soft Gel. Make sure to dry between each step
3. Use as a sealer or top coat to seal your work
4. Use as an adhesive to add Little Birdie range of Glitter, Texture Sand, Mixed Media stones and crystal drops to your projects. You can apply the Gel Medium in places you want to add these light textural elements and sprinkle them on top or add these elements with gel in small containers and use.
5. Use as a topcoat or mix with Acrylic paints to increase their color transparency
6. Use as a decoupage glue and sealer
7. Use for Image and photo transfer techniques: Print image with laser printer or take a photo copy, or choose a magazine print. Spread the Soft Gel on the print with a paintbrush and place image print-side down on the prepared background. Smooth with a waste credit card  and dry completely. Spray with water and rub paper off with fingers. Dry and seal with a layer of Soft Gel.
8. Use as a barrier between solvent-based products
9. Use to create your own customized paints:  mix with colored pigments, inks, watercolor paints, acrylic paints to create customized paints and gels. You can even make sprays with diluted gel medium and dry pigments to create custom spray colors
10. Use as varnish or sealer for any project with crackle medium as some crackle mediums tend to chip off after drying
11. Use as a spray fixative when thinned with water 

How to use Little Birdie Acrylic Soft Gel Medium Matte

Matte Medium can be used similarly as Gloss Gel medium with one additional use…. Matte Medium can be used to create a clear ground instead of gesso.  It has tooth to grab the paint or spray ink without losing the image background. Use Matte Medium as a clear ground( Clear Gesso ).

You can see this earlier post of mine where I have used Matte Medium as clear Gesso to seal simple cardstock and then worked with sprays and wet mediums without any warping or seeping of inks, a quick look at the page….

Difference between Gel Medium Gloss and Matte Medium

Difference between Gel Medium Gloss and Matte Medium is in the finish of end product. If your project used shiny metallic paints or mica sprays, glitter and bling then it is better to use Gloss medium to add embellishments etc. If you want a non-shiny Matte finish, then use Matte Medium.

Projects : I am sharing few project pics here made using Little Birdie Acrylic Gel Mediums Gloss and Matte , you can see the details on the Itsy Bitsy Blog here ….

Project I- Image transfer on a Alcohol Splash Background………….

I have sealed the Alcohol Splash Background with Gel Medium Gloss, then used Gloss medium to add the laser print image face down on the background. After completely drying wet the paper and peel off paper carefully , Sealed with Gloss Medium. I have used Gloss Medium here as the Alcohol Splash by Itsy Bitsy have a lovely glossy sheen.

Project II  –  Visiting card holder and a small hand mirror. 

 Adding small embellishments like Little Birdie range of Glitter, Texture Sand, Mixed Media stones and crystal drops to your projects. You can apply the Gel Medium in places you want to add these light textural elements and sprinkle them on top or add these elements with gel in small containers and use. Here I have used Little Birdie Two Step Crackle medium on a visiting card holder and a small hand mirror. The visiting card holder was steel and the mirror was faux leather. To prepare the surface for Crackle Medium, I have given a coat of Matte Medium and then used Little Birdie tinted Metallic Paints in Teal and Gold .

Added small Mixed Media stones with Gloss Medium , dry brushed with Gold Metallic……….

Project III- Altered Bottle 

Last but not the least, you can always use your imagination and think up multiple ways to use these Mediums, like I had put the Gel medium to a very unusual use in this post here to seal and impart strength to Terracota clay without baking ………….some pics below and if you want to see full details you can click on the link given above …….

Some Tips: 

Be careful about your brushes and stencils while using Gel Mediums, clean them or dip them in water immediately after use as it will be near impossible to rescue them once the Gel Medium dries.

Use a very thin layer of the medium for decoupage or ink transfer techniques. You may need to thin the medium a bit with water to avoid brush marks. 

Application:

best results when applied with a flat paintbrush or sponge. It can be dried with a heating tool. 

it was such a pleasure to write this post and review for Little Birdie Gel Mediums.. …many thanks to Rashmi Harish and the team Itsy Bitsy for having me here today and for launching such fabulous products at an affordable price.

love

Suman

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