Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Napkins
I used my Yudu again tonight. I am getting more used to the feel of it and my prints are cleaner and more consistent.
Monday, August 30, 2010
50% off shopping
There are very few things in life I like more than getting a good deal. I feel the same about finding something that is old, used and dusty only to realize it's a gem. Today I got both!
Value Village had everything 50% today, I waited patiently until the kids were asleep and my husband was home so that I could catch the last hour of this 14 hr sale. Good thing there were still many hidden gems to be found!
I stared at these canisters for a long time, not knowing what I should do (they were excluded from the sale and cost $15 for the set). Once I got them home I knew this was where they were meant to be. These were made in Canada and are hand painted. Super cute mushrooms with little snails on top. They work perfectly with the colours in my kitchen, even the orange accent. The only reason I hesitated in purchasing them is that I hate mushrooms!
Another gem, an original Vera metallic gold silk screened napkin. Cost me .50 cents, but don't tell anyone.
Oodles and oodles of vintage napkins. Most of them are linen, in a variety of colours; brown, orange, pink, baby blue, green... I am going to have fun screening patterns on these. You can also see some doilies in the box, thought I'd try screen printing on them, just to see.
I picked up a grab bag that included a set of vintage flash cards. It wasn't until I got home and opened the box that I saw these illustrations! Perfect for screen printing. My favorite is the cowboy and Indian card...
Value Village had everything 50% today, I waited patiently until the kids were asleep and my husband was home so that I could catch the last hour of this 14 hr sale. Good thing there were still many hidden gems to be found!
I stared at these canisters for a long time, not knowing what I should do (they were excluded from the sale and cost $15 for the set). Once I got them home I knew this was where they were meant to be. These were made in Canada and are hand painted. Super cute mushrooms with little snails on top. They work perfectly with the colours in my kitchen, even the orange accent. The only reason I hesitated in purchasing them is that I hate mushrooms!
Another gem, an original Vera metallic gold silk screened napkin. Cost me .50 cents, but don't tell anyone.
Oodles and oodles of vintage napkins. Most of them are linen, in a variety of colours; brown, orange, pink, baby blue, green... I am going to have fun screening patterns on these. You can also see some doilies in the box, thought I'd try screen printing on them, just to see.
I picked up a grab bag that included a set of vintage flash cards. It wasn't until I got home and opened the box that I saw these illustrations! Perfect for screen printing. My favorite is the cowboy and Indian card...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Yudu
I bought my Yudu 2 days ago and have been itching to open the box and start printing! Tonight was the night. I made my first set of prints and learned a few things along the way. Here is how it all came together.
This is Julia (who's almost 4) watching me set up my Yudu machine. I explained it was a special craft machine just for moms. She sat and coloured while I made my screen. Julia LOVES to colour and does so 24/7. Even when I put her to bed tonight she said "But mommy, I don't want to sleep, I just want to colour." A girl after my own heart.
Yudu machine unpacked. Julia showing off the next picture she's about to colour.
Here is the first batch of designs I tried out. Of course there is a specific brand of Yudu transparencies that are way over priced. I picked up a set of regular transparencies at Staples and they work just fine. The screen is 11 x 14 (odd size for printing) so I just printed 2 - 8 X 11 sheets and put them next to each other when I exposed my screen.
First I had to put the emulsion on my screen. Unfortunately my emulsion paper was wrinkled on one side, so it's didn't work properly there. When I first applied the emulsion it looked very rough and I didn't actually think it would work, but it did.
I exposed the screen with the Yudu, washed it off and my pattern showed up. Here is the finished screen all taped off and ready to print! When I was finished screening my prints I washed my screen and will save it for another day to try out the other patterns on the screen. Tonight I only worked with one.
Placed my mustard yellow napkin on the sticky surface.
Applying ink.
Flooding the screen.
Very first print!!! I was so worried about not pressing hard enough I went way too hard and the image bled.
I printed a total of 8 napkins, not one was perfect, but they were getting much better with each try. The last one was almost perfect, crisp and clean just a little spot that didn't have enough ink.
In the end I think I am going to be very happy with this machine. Like a lot of the reviews say, the fan really doesn't do much of anything. I ended up using my hair dryer to finish the drying process.
I am excited to get more ink, fabric and screen to print, print, print! It's good to know that I don't have to buy Yudu inks, too expensive. I'll see if I can find Speedball ones online for a decent price. I will gradually stock up on screen and emulsion paper through Michaels' using 40% off coupons one at a time.
This is Julia (who's almost 4) watching me set up my Yudu machine. I explained it was a special craft machine just for moms. She sat and coloured while I made my screen. Julia LOVES to colour and does so 24/7. Even when I put her to bed tonight she said "But mommy, I don't want to sleep, I just want to colour." A girl after my own heart.
Yudu machine unpacked. Julia showing off the next picture she's about to colour.
Here is the first batch of designs I tried out. Of course there is a specific brand of Yudu transparencies that are way over priced. I picked up a set of regular transparencies at Staples and they work just fine. The screen is 11 x 14 (odd size for printing) so I just printed 2 - 8 X 11 sheets and put them next to each other when I exposed my screen.
First I had to put the emulsion on my screen. Unfortunately my emulsion paper was wrinkled on one side, so it's didn't work properly there. When I first applied the emulsion it looked very rough and I didn't actually think it would work, but it did.
I exposed the screen with the Yudu, washed it off and my pattern showed up. Here is the finished screen all taped off and ready to print! When I was finished screening my prints I washed my screen and will save it for another day to try out the other patterns on the screen. Tonight I only worked with one.
Placed my mustard yellow napkin on the sticky surface.
Applying ink.
Flooding the screen.
Very first print!!! I was so worried about not pressing hard enough I went way too hard and the image bled.
I printed a total of 8 napkins, not one was perfect, but they were getting much better with each try. The last one was almost perfect, crisp and clean just a little spot that didn't have enough ink.
In the end I think I am going to be very happy with this machine. Like a lot of the reviews say, the fan really doesn't do much of anything. I ended up using my hair dryer to finish the drying process.
I am excited to get more ink, fabric and screen to print, print, print! It's good to know that I don't have to buy Yudu inks, too expensive. I'll see if I can find Speedball ones online for a decent price. I will gradually stock up on screen and emulsion paper through Michaels' using 40% off coupons one at a time.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Ikea
Went to Ikea today, haven't been in ages! They have some fantastic fabrics there at the moment, didn't buy anything since my 2 children make concentrating an anything impossible. BUT I did pick up a wood frame that is made especially for framing fabric. I will have to give it a try, then buy more!
Ikea Fabric Frame
Ikea Fabric Frame
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Sigg Water bottles
I can order custom designed Sigg water bottles. I was using a Keith Haring one today that I friend gave me as a birthday present. Very exciting to think that I can have my designs on one!
Cafe Press
I've been searching online to figure out how I could order some mugs printed with my designs. When I start creating patterns that I like, I want to print them onto something right away!
After a while of searching I found a place I can print mugs and water bottles. The nice thing is that I can order 1 or 2, but if I order over 15, then I would get bulk pricing (basically half). This makes me happy because I can order a few items to try it out, but still be able to get a large order through the same supplier at a reduced cost.
Then, as I was searching around their site, I came across a section that talks about being able to open your own shop and sell your products. The concept is that people would come to my webstore (that I set up through them) and when people buy items, cafepress prints and ships as needed. Very very interesting. So far all I've seen is an example of shirts, but there is potential for something good. http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/index.aspx?area=learn&page=learn
After a while of searching I found a place I can print mugs and water bottles. The nice thing is that I can order 1 or 2, but if I order over 15, then I would get bulk pricing (basically half). This makes me happy because I can order a few items to try it out, but still be able to get a large order through the same supplier at a reduced cost.
Then, as I was searching around their site, I came across a section that talks about being able to open your own shop and sell your products. The concept is that people would come to my webstore (that I set up through them) and when people buy items, cafepress prints and ships as needed. Very very interesting. So far all I've seen is an example of shirts, but there is potential for something good. http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/index.aspx?area=learn&page=learn
Kitchen Wares
I can see these patterns working very nicely on kitchen canisters, tea towels, mugs, tea pots ex... Here is a quick example.
Mod Flower 7
Now I am taking a few of the different flower shapes and putting them together in one pattern. I like how I am able to put them together like a puzzle.
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