10-4 Good Buddy!

So I had this idea rolling around my head forever and was happy to finally get it designed and printed. I had bought a little Silhouette vinyl cutter about a year ago and was able to use that to cut the stencil (I laid out the design in CorelDraw). I had seen a tutorial about using vinyl as a screenprinting stencil and was a little skeptical - but it worked!

 

When I was a kid I wanted to be a truck driver like my dad, but the problem with driving a truck is that you have to drive a truck and I have a hard enough time trying to handle my mid-size vehicle. I finally came to grips with the fact that I am not "semi competent".

 

How I made my screenprinting stencil...

I cut a mirror image of my design. The areas that printed got pealed (weeded) away.

 

 

The vinyl was applied to the bottom of the screen - I took care to make sure all the little pieces were firmly applied. The rest of the screen was taped off so I didn't get ink all over my shirts (you can see that I did that in the next photo).

My screen is from the Yudu printing kit

 

 

I put a piece of tape in the approximate spot that I wanted the print to land. I marked on the bed of the printing unit (I have the Yudu) where I was going to put the shirts when printing. To keep the t-shirts rigid I used the t-shirt cardboard cutouts from the t-shirt craft section of Jo-Ann / Michaels. 

 

 

 

Once everything was taped and lined up, I printed my shirts!

 

Clothespin Bags - Yay!

I don't really have much to say other than - I got 'em done...

 

Back at it...

Hi - my name is Andrea and it's been 1.5 years since my last post...

After a few years of getting craft crazy, I decided to take a break and did very limited sewing/making/crafting in the past year. At the end of 2014 I came up with some new ideas and now I'm back in making mode!

In the year ahead I am hoping to get some more patterns put written, get my stuff in a couple more boutiques and design a few more items. I also have a few more design ideas for my Yudu screenprinter and if all goes well hopefully I will be able to have access of a little bit larger printing facility for larger runs.

Here are the items that re-sparked my interest at the end of 2014...

Old fashioned ornaments (a spin-off of my t-shirts)

 

 

Wine / bottle gift bags - designed and printed by me! 

 

 

Another batch of clothespin bags that will (WILL!!) be finished this weekend (I bought the fabric in June for crying out loud!)

 

Summer Updates

Earlier in the year I offered to assist a friend with there weekly booth at the Appleton Downtown Summer Market in exchange for being allowed to sell some of my wares in the booth too. Of course I could have easily worked on a little bit every week over the past several months, but as it was in high school, then in college, then anytime I have to fill out a form for work, I waited until about 10 days ago to go into a sewing frenzy. I must say although I'm a little burnt out, I am pleased at the progress I made. I wish I could say I was done, but there are two very patient ladies that have been waiting for custom bags that I plan on having done soon...ish.

 

The pile of fabric that had been sitting on my cutting table has been transformed into another group of big eyed clothespin bags, 6 of which have already found homes over the weekend.

I was kicking around the idea of getting a little vinyl plotter and found this Silhouette Cameo that is able to cut 12"W x 10'L. Of course I had to get it right away, but haven't had much time to do more than do a few test cuts to figure out how it works. I guess, like the rest of my crafting toys - it'll be here when I'm ready to use it :)

 

I printed up a bunch of cat toys - I printed some of the old favorites as well as a few new designs including El Gato, the kitty luchador.

 

 

Last night my husband and I hosted a party and Vertigo 1894 in Menasha to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We had a great turnout and a really good time. My husband (keyboard) and dad (sitting w/ guitar) took advantage of the open mic stage and entertained the crowd with a few tunes.

It's Eventually Going to be Sunny

I used the excuse of it being constantly gray outside to raid the shelves at the fabric store to find fun and whimsical colors to use on this year's set of clothespin bags. I have started to cut them out and will hopefully have them done in the next few weeks.

 

The fabric above will soon(ish) be clothepin bags...

 

 

A few members of last year's clothespin gang

 

 

I only had to go as far as my "small piece bin" to find fabric for my mini-wallets. I hadn't made them in awhile, therefore I felt the need to make one of every color combination. I think I only finished about a third of them.

I know you are looking at my photos above and asking yourself, "where can I find Mauk's stuff?!"
Well, I'll tell you...
- I will be co-vending with my friends from Mind & Body Products throughout the summer at the Appleton Farm Market on Saturday mornings.
- Michelle from Dainty Daisies has decided to close her brick & morter location and move on to new adventures. Although I will miss Dainty Daisies, I am happy that Cathy from Blue Moon Emporium is taking over the space and will be selling all sorts of fun goodies, including handmade items from moi.
- I recieved a wholesale order for some wristlets and cat toys from Brilliant Stranger in Fish Creek / Door County (photo above). The retail store will open for the season in May

 

All that craftin' can wear a girl out, and what better place to relax than in the backyard (it has to warm up sometime). The best seat in the house, err - yard is under my big maple tree, so I was excited to when my new swing arrived today. I put on old shoes and trudged through the muddy lawn to hang it up. The only thing that could have made it better is if there was a little sunshine and a Berryweiss involved :)

Wristlets, Vines & Rushes...

 

I finished up my new batch of screenprinted wristlets for my first show of the year - Fall in Love with Handmade which took place last week. I must say in addition to how fun the wristlets turned out, the show itself was a blast. I got catch up with some old friends as well as meet some new crafty buddies. I was also pleased to find that there are so many other people out there that are fans of the old fashioneds (everyone who saw my "Old Fashioned" t-shirts had a story to share).

 

The front panel is screenprinted by me and the back is a fun/funky fabric.

 

 

This time around I made microbusses, cameras and the popular boomboxes (no batteries required).

 

Speeking of fun shows - Amy from Ripon Art-a-Fair saw my stuff at Christmas and invited me to vend at their spring show that's going to be held at Vines & Rushes Winery.

 

 

The Ripon Art-A-Fair is a seasonal art fair celebrating the talents of local artisans. The Spring Spectacular Art-A-Fair will be held on March 9, 10 am-5 pm, at the newly opened Vines and Rushes Winery on County Hwy E, North of Ripon, also the home of Prellwitz Produce. The art fair will feature an eclectic assortment of quality, handmade items from 14 vendors including jewelry, accessories, handcrafted wood pieces, candles, and so much more. Vines & Rushes Wineries' Wisconsin grown and produced wines will also be available for sampling and purchase.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

But new colorful shirts are so delightful...

 

 I need to restock my "Old Fashioned" shirts, so I ordered a variety of colors and sizes - I can't wait to get printing!

 

Lindsay was just happy to have a new box to sleep in

 

The snow on Thursday made driving conditions pretty precarious, so I opted to take a vacation day and work on some stuff indoors rather than in the ditch (I hate driving in snow). I used the unplanned free time to start a project that's been rolling around my head for the last year - a step by step pattern for my fun and sassy wallet. I would have finished it on Thursday had my sewing machine decided not to take a vacation day of it's own.

 

The cover page of my new pattern

 The falling snow piqued Anderson's interest, that is, until food was invovled.