Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Beyond Excited!


I have been wanting to learn how to screenprint for years now. I finally took the class last weekend, gathered all my supplies, and went for it!

Let me point out that immediately upon my first step, I messed up (added too much water). I forged ahead anyhow with fingers crossed.

So, what started as a little doodle:


...was turned into an transparency:


...was developed into a screen:


...and became these!!:


Here's a closeup of my first one on paper:



And by the last one, I must have been pressing too hard or made too many passes with ink:


And it even looked great on fabric (my eventual goal):

(woops, accidentally enhanced this photo)

I am squealing and high-kicking with excitement! YAY!!! Ok, what's next?

I'm A Winner!

And, frankly, this is how I feel about the whole thing...


One of my very favorite blogs, Pink Chalk Studio, had a big giveaway last week. And I won! There were actually several winners, but I think I won the best prize of all - $10 to her fabric shop.

Kathy's blog was one of the very first blogs I ever read, and this project in particular sparked this project of mine...and, well, the rest is history.

By the way, I AM working on something at the moment, I just won't let you see it until it's finished.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Screen Printing Class

My family bought me a screen printing class for my birthday. I was SO looking forward to taking this class! It was this past weekend and it was pretty much rad. I can't wait to get my hands dirty making stuff... By the way, I highly recommend this class (and this instructor) to anyone interested.

The process is a bit more involved than this, but here's the general idea.

First you make the screen (once you make it, you have it for a while):


Then you burn your image onto the screen:



After rinsing and scrubbing a little, you have your screen ready to go:


Then you ink your screen and squeegee it (make it snappy!):


And voila! Here are the finished products. Mine is the one on the far right. It turned out a little light. I gotta use more muscle next time!


The instructor saw my tears of disappointment (kidding) and offered to trade his for mine. I've already been proudly toting my bag all over the neighborhood. I love it! *high kick*


Oh, the possibilities!!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Butternut Squash (Love) Soup


I've got a sick one here at home. I made this soup especially for him. It's the Butternut Squash Parmesan soup from one of my ultimate favorite cookbook, The Daily Soup Cookbook.

I've been on a bad cooking streak, so I think I redeemed myself a little with this soup. Plus, a cream heart on top is worth a couple points.

p.s. except for the cream heart, this soup is really low fat! If you're trying to stay slender through the holidays, this is a good soup to try. And you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Little Red Ramekins

I can't believe I haven't blogged about these yet. They're my newest favorite things!


I actually bought them at an antique store at the Marin Art & Garden Center (we're 99% sure we're getting married there!!). I have visions of baking little individual macaroni and cheeses with crunchy bread crumb topping. But for now, I mostly just eat yogurt and cereal from them.

I wish I had about 8 more of them, but I'm obsessive like that.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

In the Spirit

(Pun totally intended)


We're having a holiday craft/bake sale at my work next week. I made these little Halloween-themed pennant cards. But this time, I was not too lazy to put them through the printer (pat on the back). I swear, these are so easy to make!




The back (though centered):


I hope they sell like hotcakes!