Friday, April 15th, 2011
I’ve always wanted to try screen printing, but my major problem was space. I really don’t have a place to store and dry screens the traditional way. I fell in love with Yudu, hearing about it on various craft forums. The major draw for me was the drying rack inside the machine.
I purchased the machine from Michaels during a sale. Normally, it costs $399 CAD but it was on for $129, one day only. I purchased it on the spot.
The box does not say what is included in the kit, so I didn’t buy any extras. I didn’t want to be stuck with duplicate accessories at full price. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with much: it includes one emulsion sheet, one transparency, one bottle of ink…basically, if you make a mistake, you’re kind of screwed until you can get back to the craft store and get more supplies. Which is what happened to me. I definitely recommend buying an additional emulsion sheet and remover at least, because adhering the emulsion is the hardest part of the Yudu process.
I like the Yudu a lot, but my review is probably going to sound pretty negative. There are many improvements that could be made.
The Machine
The Yudu machine is huge. HUGE. I was expecting it to be somewhat large, as it had to be big enough to hold the screen, but it seriously takes up some major real estate. It’s approximately 26″x17″x8″. There was no way that it was going to fit on my craft desk. I had to clear off a wide, low bookcase in the bedroom to fit it and place it sideways. Even then, I can’t keep it there because I can’t open the dryer door. I have to move the machine onto the floor every time I use it. This is no issue if you have a lot of space, but my apartment is crammed. I wish the dryer door was width-wise instead of length-wise and that the buttons were on the long side of the machine.
The Instructions
The instructions leave much to be desired. First, the DVD. I figured this would be the best way to go because I could play the instructions and pause it with the remote as I did each step. I would not recommend this. You really need to supplement it with the instruction manual. In addition, you want to supplement the instruction manual with the FAQs on the website. Really, I think that having to search for everything is poor. A really well executed instruction manual should be all you need, and the DVD should have the same instructions as the manual.
The Emulsion Sheets
The emulsion sheets are slightly smaller than the screens. You need to tape over the unused portion of the screen. Is this badly designed, or is there a reason for this? I’m not sure. I’ve read a lot of blogs online that suggest using liquid emulsion for a more cost-efficient screen.
You really need to get your screen wet for the emulsion sheet to adhere properly. In the DVD, the instructor doesn’t look like she sprays that towel very much. You can always squeegee off excess water. It was too late for me to pull off the emulsion sheet on my first try, so I tried to dab it on the back with water like she shows on the DVD. This resulted in my emulsion pulling through the screen (slightly green wet paper towel).
After adhering the emulsion steps, be sure that your emulsion is completely dry. If it’s not dry, the clear plastic film will not come off easily and the emulsion may crackle. Just put it back in the dryer for a few more cycles. When you wash out the emulsion, it needs to be completely dry or else when you rub it with the sponge it was peel off.
The following photo is very embarrassing…but hey, why not share my disaster with the internet?
This is what happens when A) you don’t get your screen wet enough causing the emulsion not to adhere to the screen so you rub the back with a wet towel, and B) what happens when you try to pull the plastic off too soon. Haha, learn from me!
I didn’t buy any emulsion remover so I just figured I’d go with it. I knew it was a lost cause until I got more supplies, but oh well.
The Transparencies
The Yudu transparencies have a nice coating which makes your prints super-black. I needed a bigger design so I pieced together two regular 3M transparencies.
You can put multiple designs on one screen, then cover up unwanted designs with clear tape while you are inking them. Works great!
The Ink
The kit only came with one bottle of black ink. It seemed to work well, but I’m looking into other screen printing inks because the Yudu brand seems far too expensive to stock up on.
What Is Not Included
Two features of the Yudu which are not included are the emulsion remover and the registration guide. The emulsion remover lets you reuse your screen by taking off the layer of emulsion. I can understand why they don’t include it because you might not need to reuse your screen since the kit doesn’t even come with a second emulsion film sheet. The registration guide, however, seems pretty basic. It’s a clear grid that’s placed on the glass to help you line up your design. It seems like this could have easily just be printed on the glass to start with, and it is a silly additional expense.
Overall
I think there are aspects of the machine that could have been done better. Mostly, I think the instructions are to blame for many issues I had with my first screen printing experience.
Considering how badly I screwed up my screen, the ampersand turned out pretty cool looking despite the unintentional vintage vibe.
Yesterday, I picked up some additional supplies: more emulsion sheets, emulsion remover, and three coloured inks. My screw ups taught me a lot about what not to do, so I’m fairly confident that it’ll be better next time. I’m so excited to try out the Yudu again tomorrow on my day off! Wish me luck – I think I’ll need it!
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Saturday, February 12th, 2011
I’ve never really had a matching bed set before, but I fell in love with this set from Walmart of all places. I like the modern print and the little birdy pillow is a cute touch. I have a bedframe from IKEA which is supposed to be used with just a mattress rather than a boxspring set. Because of this, I couldn’t use a traditional gathered bedskirt that comes with most bed sets. This one is perfect since the bedskirt is flat style that can be tucked into the frame.
Mostly, we bought it because it matches our cat. Haha!
This was my last major purchase that I’ve made recently. I’m trying to put myself into a low-spending high-saving budget so that Justin and I can work towards getting a place of our own.
My biggest spending problem is craft supplies! I always want more even though I have more than enough to last me for years. I should just focus on finishing what I’ve started. My goals:
- Finish my Moda Christmas quilt. I’ve sewn about half of the squares into rows. So basically, everything still needs to be done.
- Start sewing my ambitious tiny-square quilt. I’m following a tutorial from a magazine and have everything cut out…but I’m scared to start!
- Finish the green and pink baby blanket for Kristy’s baby…who thankfully isn’t born yet, because I was late making this for the baby shower. Whoops…
- Start sewing the Super Mario quilt. It’s all cut out too. I love cutting out the fabric the best, as you can tell from my to-do list.
When will I find the time? I don’t know. I have way too many hobbies on top of work and school.
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Sunday, January 23rd, 2011
March 2010 was a long, long time ago! Apologies!
It’s been a while since I last blogged. It’s been so long that I’m not sure exactly where to start!
My two part-time jobs finally become one full-time job. Since I started, I’ve received two raises and, finally, benefits. Yay, discount glasses and drugs! I’m pretty happy with where I am financially, although I’m not settling. I enrolled in a part-time college program to become an editor. I hope this will utilize my English degree well! Last semester was pretty tough because of the amount of hours, plus the commute to school was long. I only have one class this semester, so it’s a lot easier to cope with the stress.
I’ve been struggling to figure out what I’m doing with my portfolio. This blog is too casual, while Thought Bubble Art is too commercial. I wanted a place where I could send people to look at my work without bombarding them with price tags. So…
pange.ca is born!
Please check it out!
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Monday, March 8th, 2010
I had an amazing weekend!
- Friday: Received my promise ring. <3 Happiness! I got the call while I was at work so Justin and I went to the jewelry store to pick it up when I was done. It’s so beautiful! It’s a white gold band, simple and pretty. It was surprisingly difficult to find something without any detailing on it.
- Saturday: I went to Casinorama with Justin and Dave where I watched everyone else play and didn’t risk anything myself, haha. Watched Justin rake in a $1020 jackpot on the slots. :O Stayed overnight with the winnings!
- Sunday: Went to Toronto with Justin for an impromtu outing. I bought myself a fancy but tiny little keyboard so my keyboard and mouse can finally both live and fit together on the pull-out shelf in perfect harmony. Getting used to only have one CTRL key on the right is a challenge! I didn’t realize how much I used that key until I started using the computer beyond basic internet-applications. </geeky-talk >
I made an appointment with a bra fitting place downtown and bought some great pieces with my vacation pay. Poor Justin had to sit and wait for two hours while I tried on lots of stuff to get the right fit. (My body is really weird to fit.) I was so happy that I was fit with Freya bras. I absolutely love that brand and at the last place, the girl was certain that their styles wouldn’t fit me. We tried on a few sizes at that original boutique and she told me they wouldn’t work. At this boutique, the girl was very patient and found the correct size for me. Typical appointments are 45 minutes but she spent two hours with me. I bought Freya Pollyanna and Freya Estelle. It’s a little more expensive than buying from the online shops, but the personal attention to fit makes it worth it!
We ended the day by going out for dinner to a Korean restaurant and it was so delicious! I got chicken bibim bop which was great but huge! I had to take most of it home with me, hehe. It was the perfect end of the day.
<3
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Monday, February 22nd, 2010
I couldn’t resist: I ordered some more fabrics online. I couldn’t help myself! A few weeks ago I bought three quarters of a meter of Rosie the Quilter fabric from a $3.99/m sale. Don’t know who I’m talking about? It’s the quilting adaptation of the American cultural icon Rosie the Riveter.
You know, this lovely lady:
The fabric adaptation is super cute, with Rosie toting a rotary cutter in her emblematic fist. Instead of “We Can Do It!”, it’s “We Can Quilt It!” The fabric I bought was an all over pattern with small circular “Keep on Quilting” motifs. I was aimlessly surfing fabric stores online for general pink fabrics to match. My original plan was to simply fussy cut the Rosies and make nine patches out of coordinating prints. But, I stumbled across Rosie panels that I didn’t even know existed!
I ended up buying a bit more than I was originally going to, but I figured if I was going to pay the shipping charge, I might as well get my flat rate’s worth. I bought a bunch of pink fabrics plus two different Rosie panels. I also have a black and white quilt that I’ve been dreaming of for a while that I bought some things for. I hope eQuilter is fast, because I’m pumped to start cutting!
P.S: I quit my part time job and started full time at the day care. Less stress, more money, and more time to sew! Hooray!
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
I love my new job at the daycare, but I’ve been so sick for the past week since I’ve started. My nose is constantly running, I have a barking cough, and an on-again-off-again headache. I enjoy the days when I work solely at the daycare, but the 9am to 9pm two-jobs-in-one-day days are exhausting. I think the schedule will get better once I recover. Today was my day off, so I went to bed early last night around 10pm and then woke up at 3:30pm the next day. So long in bed, but I needed the rest!
Right now I’m waiting for Justin to come home from work so he can take me to the doctor’s. Hooray!
Last Tuesday I stayed home and quilted, and this is what I got done: (I haven’t had a chance to update, except on my flickr, haha)
The final image shows my second photoshop design for the quilt. I like to do a quick mock up either on paper or photoshop. I deviated from the original photoshop quilt layout a bit. The structure is the same, but I decided against the small brick appliques for now, and got rid of the satin-stitch linear embellishments. I bought the backing fabric the other day after work, and yikes: of course, I had to pick the most expensive fabric from the quilt as the backing, yargh! Luckily it was 50% off!
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
I’m assuming that all you sewers out there know the lovely feeling of getting new fabrics! I ordered a few half-yard fabrics from Fat Quarter Shop to use on a green and brown quilt that I’m working on. A few weeks ago, I finished the centre of this quilt, making a large log cabin style block, but with a more modern approach.
I don’t have an iron while I’m sewing at my boyfriend’s place, so excuse the wrinkles! I’m too addicted to quilting right now to not sew because of that reason, so I just have to deal with it for now.
I ordered four green fabrics, plus a random pink one. I was paying $10 for shipping regardless, so I figured that I might as well get something else too! Fat Quarter Shop’s cuts were perfect. I wish I had ordered more! My first time online fabric shopping was a success! Only two of the four green fabrics actually match the quilt, but I will use the other two in other projects. I’ve already cut out all the rectangles from the fabric and I want to sew-sew-sew!
The kitties love that I have fabric everywhere.
In other news, I’ve been playing World of Warcraft a lot lately. I’ve finally gotten to Dalaran so I have been doing the daily cooking quests! I’m a little addicted to the professions in the game…
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Sunday, January 17th, 2010
While I liked the look of my previous blog layout, the colours were a bit dark and bogging me down. I’ve created a new layout for this blog in bright greens and whites to freshen things up a bit! I’ve been in a quilting mood lately. I’ve been sewing like a madwoman on a new quilt, in the same colours as this blog, actually. The patterns on this design are actually taken straight from my fabrics!
Since I haven’t blogged in half a year, I’m not really sure what to say. I’ve finally got a new job at a daycare which I start next week. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m going to be keeping both jobs for at least a while. I’m going to be starting at 9am in the morning until early afternoon, then travel by bus to my other job and work until 9pm. It’s probably going to be a little insane, but I like to keep busy, and I really want to save lots of money right now. More and more expenses just keep adding up.
On a brighter note, here is a quilt that I finished on December 24th. It was a Christmas present for my boyfriend’s mom, and I was a big stressful mess nearing the end of it. I was really worried I wouldn’t get it done in time!
Her living room is painted burgundy with tan couches and floral accents, so I tried to pick colours that would work in the room to use as a TV cuddling blanket. I machine stitched the binding because I was running short on time, but I actually like the look of it a lot and will probably machine stitch rather than hand stitch my binding from this point forward. Hooray!
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Friday, July 17th, 2009
I’ve been back at home for about two months now but I haven’t completely adjusted back to normal life. My convocation ceremony was last month and I now have a diploma tucked into my bookshelf. (Framing has yet to happen.) So… I have an honours degree in English literature – now what?
I’ve been on the hunt for a new job that could somehow be said to be related to my degree, but nothing has happened yet. I’ve had three interviews, two of which I was accepted, but I turned them down because they were no better than what I actually have right now. I work in a retail fabric store, but I actually love it a lot. When I started applying to other retail stores out of desperation, I wasn’t getting many hours. Things have picked up at work and I’m picking up a decent 30 hours a week. For now, this will be okay.
I’m living with my parents for now, and after being with many different roommates for the past four years, it seems strange to be home. Mostly, I find it weird that my living style has changed so much from my parents that I get annoyed with the state of the kitchen – if they were strangers, I’d call them bad roommates about the dishes. (Oops.) I have to get over it through – I’m living rent free for now.
So basically, at the moment I’m just working and saving money. My little tax-free savings account is growing month-by-month (I deposit a fake monthly rent payment in there as if I were paying real rent), my VISA card is entirely paid off, and I’m going to start making payments on my massive student loan soon. I’m studying for my G1 test, because yes, I’m 22 years of age and I still don’t have my driving learner’s permit. I’m done school so it’s time for that obligatory growing up period.
I really want to move into a little apartment (perhaps with my boyfriend, hehe) once I can afford to, but for now, saving is important, and I’m glad my parents are letting me live rent-free so to help me save faster.
Web-wise, I’m working on a new project! It’s the biggest PHP-based project I’ve worked on; it’s much larger than Magitek Designs, which is completely database-driven. I’ve been plugging away at it for about a month and a half now, and I’m aiming to launch August 1st 2009. The basic functionality of the website is complete, but there are many features that I want to code up for it before there are live users on the site. It’s my first time coding a membership system! I’ve had a lot of fun working on it and debugging everything has taught me so much more about PHP. There’s still a hefty to-do list, but I think it can be realistically completed in fifteen days.
Things I’m Working On:
- Sushi-Print Dress: it’s ridiculous. Yup! It’s a classic lolita silhouette made out a silly quilting cotton. It has black bias ruffles along the bottom. The skirt is quite full and will be gathered onto the bodice. I need to make a new facing for the bodice because my interfacing made it way too thick – I think it will be fine without. I will post pictures when it’s done!
- Polka Dot Dress: I bought polka dot material on clearance last year, and I’m finally getting around to making it. This year, I found some white and blue polka dot organza that I’m going to having sticking out the bottom as trim. So cute!
- Scrapbooking University: I’m about 3/4 of the way done scrapbooking my university life. I’ve finished years one through three, but there’s a lot to be done for year four. My scrapbook was getting too thick so I separated it into two albums.
- Scrapbooking The Afterlife?!: Now that I’m out of university, I don’t even know what to call the rest of my scrapbooks. There’s no school-related units of time anymore. But, I’ve started a few pages from this summer already, mostly because there are cute pictures of my boyfriend and me so I couldn’t help myself.
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Sunday, April 5th, 2009
I’m now at seventeen days until I leave my apartment forever. That’s just over two weeks away, but I’m feeling very homesick. I was talking to my mom and dad on the phone yesterday for nearly two hours, and I got really depressed when my dad mentioned that they are going to Niagara Falls to visit Nanny without me. I rarely ever see my grandmother and I’ve never not been there when they travel to visit her. They’re also going to my Poppa’s grave because it was around this time last year that he passed away. I really want to be there because it’s an important time.
I want to be there to hold my mom’s hand.
I talked to my mom about coming too. The day they’re going is on one of the days where I don’t have an exam, so I looked at the bus schedules and worked out a potential plan. I knew I didn’t have enough money though, because it’s a $125 round trip, and I would still have to pay another $15 or so to get from Yorkdale to Oshawa. (I can’t remember how much that bus costs.)
My mom didn’t like the idea because of the cost and said that she would think about it. I was a little shocked because yes, it’s a little expensive, but it would allow me to visit Nanny and be home for Easter, two important occasions. This would be the first year I didn’t celebrate Easter without my family either, just because of the way my exam schedule fell.
I talked to my dad next and reiterated my idea, and he instantly said yes. He definitely took less persuasion! In fact, he told me not to bother about both buses because he would come to pick me up.
I’m so happy that I’m going to be going home! I feel silly because I barely felt homesick the last few years, but all I’ve been thinking for the past few months is that I want to go home. I want to be done school. I want to get a job doing something potentially more than minimum wage, but if not, that’s okay too. (I must sound like a broken record with my blog posts, but this is what I’m feeling, so I can’t help but say it again.)
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