screen print weekend

I spent this weekend screen printing t shirts at the studio where Charlie works. His boss wanted shirts for their whole crew that works there and some extra ones to give away. Here's a little bit of the process. I'll show you the shirts we made tomorrow! (Image heavy)

Positives all ready to go!


Ink mixing station.


Exposed screen, front of the shirts.


Exposed screen, back of crew shirts.


Setting up exposed screen to dry.


Getting the screen aligned.


Setting up for registration.


Getting a shirt boarded for printing.


Registering a shirt with acetate.


Pulling a print!

It was tiring but I think they came out pretty good. :)

How was your weekend?

kites and apple trees

I've been wanting to try etching glass for a while now and finally picked up a little kit the last time I went to the craft store! I grabbed a glass jar I had with smooth sides and sketched out an image I wanted to put on it.

I didn't take any process photos because I was really just winging it but I just measured out the area I had for a design and sketched an illustration on some paper. Then I drew it on clear contact paper, peeled it, and wrapped it around the jar. I grabbed an xacto and started cutting out the shapes that I wanted to be etched. This was a little difficult and some pieces didn't come out exactly how I wanted but it was good enough for a first try. Then I just followed the directions on the package and painted on the etching cream over the images. One minute later, just wash it off and peel off the contact paper. There's your image!

Thinking about April, I drew a girl flying a kite. The kite wraps around to the other side of the jar.

Here's the little kite string with bows on it.

Here's the kite with a little bunny staring up at it. :)

And an apple tree on the other side.

This was crazy hard to take photos of. There was either not enough light or too many reflections or too bright/complicated of a background to see the images. The inside is also a little murky because I put a candle in it last night to see how it would look and then did a bang up job trying to get it out. I need to find one of those sponge on a stick things you clean glasses with or something. Oh well. It cast some pretty cool shadows though..


Like I said before, not perfect, but a good first try I think! Definitely learned some things I'd do differently next time. I have a bunch of the etching cream left so I'll probably try it again soon.

Have any of you been tackling new projects lately? How's it been going for you?

Happy Friday!!

p.s. Thanks for all the crate training support and puppy love. It's hard training puppies!! At least I'm getting experience for when I get my own when I move. I won't be caught completely off guard now. :)

puppies

I've felt like such a terrible blogger as of late. I keep promising to show this and do that yet nothing seems to get done and then I feel even worse. So I'm going to blame these two fur babies (new favorite phrase courtesy of Lynn) though it's only partially their fault. I figure soft fluffy puppies usually make everything all better. :)

Meet Bill and Ted. Yes, as in "Excellent Adventure".


Bill is black and Ted is tan. Easy enough right? Here they are taking naps in their crates. Ted sleeps in the craziest positions. I think he's part cat. They wear each other out quickly. They're always playing tug of war with toys or just trying to pin each other with some sweet wrestling moves. Such boys. :)

Where did they come from you ask? Well Charlie's parents were feeling a little too big of a hole left by Molly so they got these two pups to give their love to. Since my schedule is pretty flexible right now, I volunteered for pup duty a couple days a week so they don't have to work from home everyday. I'm here to keep them on their schedule and fed and entertained and to be a ref and clean up after any mishaps. They're being crate trained, which I know some people don't agree with but Molly was crate trained as well and she was such a happy pup and lived well beyond her years. To each his own. It's funny that when one has had enough of the other (usually when Bill has had enough of Ted) they'll go into their respective crates and chill out with a bone or a toy.


I can't completely blame these guys for my slackerness though. It also has to do with classes coming to an end and having to figure out my class schedule for the summer and fall and figure out when I can get down to the city to take the Praxis and then formally apply to the education program. There's just a lot going on right now and I'm trying to devote enough time to, ya know, passing my classes as well as keeping up with my blog because it's something I love doing. I'm making such amazing friends here and I don't want to alienate anybody so I'm trying to keep up!

Anyway, enough of all my reasoning. I tried etching glass yesterday for the first time so I think tomorrow when I'm off pup duty I'll show that off. It's nowhere near perfect but I think it's pretty fun for a first try! Also, yes that giveaway. One of those things I keep mentioning and keep putting off. Not because I don't want to do it, but because I want to find an adequate prize for such awesome readers. I'll figure it out before my next hundred posts go by. ;)

Hope everyone's having a good week!

featured over at active for fashion

Your comments the past few days have been amazing! I was so happy to find out so many of you also suffer from Chronic Bitchface. You guys had me laughing just like when I first spotted that amazing illustration. I totally agree with Thursday, there should be buttons we can all wear so that people back off!

I also wanted to say thank you for the sweet comments on Molly's post. I showed them all to Charlie and he was so moved that some lovely ladies from across the internet cared enough to share their stories and thoughts and sent virtual hugs and well wishes. Thank you! It meant so much to him. They made me tear up too! :)

Today you can find me over on the lovely Lauren Calderon's blog, Active for Fashion, giving my two cents on the creative life and other things. Check it out!

I'll be back tomorrow with info about that giveaway that I mentioned for my 100th post! I didn't forget! Life just got a little.. life-y.

Happy Monday!

chronic bitchface

I know I said I wasn't going to post today but I've got time before the boy comes back from New York. I wanted to take this time to spread the awareness of what I now know is called Chronic Bitchface.

Illustrator and photographer Kris Atomic hit the nail on the head with this one. Chronic Bitchface is plight where one has to deal with numerous strangers and loved ones commenting on their bad mood or telling them to smile due to the look on their face, despite the fact that this individual is perfectly content or maybe even downright happy.

Illustration by Kris Atomic

As a sufferer of this condition I am beyond stoked that someone has finally addressed it! I was really starting to feel like I was the only one in the world who was dealing with this. I can be in the best mood, but while I'm walking down the street (esp. in the city) all I'm thinking about is getting from A to B, how I'm going to navigate around the family of ten that feels the need to walk side by side at a snail's pace while avoiding the woman who's practically spinning around on the curb because she seems to have no idea where she is, all without losing my stride. Yes, I walk with a purpose and I like to be able to get around people on the scenic route. And apparently this produces a bitchface.

Now I'm stuck with strangers approaching me and telling me to smile. Or friends saying they saw me on the other side of the street and I looked mad about something. This also occurs when I'm just working or concentrating on something. So if I don't walk around with a big fat cheese plastered on my face all the time, I must be miserable? What crazy logic is this? I'd prefer to not be approached by strangers. Why does my apparent bitchface make them approach me like a sad puppy? Why doesn't it scare them away? That would be a more practical bitchface. That's one I could get behind!

I swear, I am a very happy person, despite what my serious face might say! If I'm among friends and having a good time, I never stop smiling! Sorry that when I'm by myself, working, or just on a mission to get somewhere I don't look ecstatic about it. If any of you reading suffer with Chronic Bitchface, you are not alone. If you see someone who you think may have Chronic Bitchface, leave them alone!

This has been a public service announcement from Tenpenny Splendid.

;)

But in all seriousness, do any of you share this ailment with me? If so, you know the feeling of wanting to punch the next time some says, "Hey sweetie, you're too pretty to look so sad!" or "Smile darlin', it can't be that bad!"


So happy Friday everyone!! Hope you have a great punch-free weekend. ;)