typewriter print

Many labor-intensive hours later... a print is born.

At long last... my typewriter print is complete! This photo was my first print with the carving, or "practice print" if you will, which I use to show me what needs to be touched up. Granted, there is still some work to be done, but I just got so darn excited, I needed to post it! Although it's probably looked down upon in the art world to show work before it's finished... the few touch-ups I need to make are minor and probably only visible to me, anyway.

At least I hope so.

At any rate, I spent so much time on this print, that I simply couldn't wait any longer to share it! Of course, I'll post the real finished piece, too, but for now, I'm happy that I've made it this far, since I've logged twelve hours on this puppy (which equals a lot of callouses!)

Enjoy!

diy fabric printing

Tools of the trade: inking plate, fabric ink & brayer

You Will Need...

Heavyweight fabric

Large piece of cardboard that will completely fit under your fabric

Fabric ink (Speedball has some good varieties, available at most art stores)

Brayer or small paint roller

Inking plate (or another piece of cardboard will work, too)

Block design (Note: if you're unsure how to make a block print, stay tuned for my post on that. In the meantime, you can try carving a simple design into a potato with a sharp knife. Just like kindergarten.)

Iron

Now to Proceed...

Lie your fabric out on the cardboard and iron out all the wrinkles. Remove any loose bits of string or fuzz.

Using a small scrap piece, or the corner of your fabric, test your color prior to printing. For example, the first color I chose ended up having a weird consistency and it would have been difficult to change colors halfway through. Prep steps are a necessary evil.

Pour a small amount of your ink onto your inking plate and roll your brayer in the ink until you have a light, even layer. Roll your inked brayer over your block (or potato) and wipe up any globs or drips. Then, start printing! Use even pressure and apply your block to the fabric. While you may be tempted to double print (print twice without inking the block) don't do it. You'll get an uneven and sloppy-looking piece of fabric.

Keep printing. Yes, it takes a long time, but put on your favorite tunes and enjoy yourself! Print in straight rows (unless you're doing a sporadic design) and don't sweat the little mess-ups... it's part of what makes your fabric unique.

Et voila! When you're done printing the entire piece of fabric, wash all your tools in warm water (use soap if necessary) and allow your fabric to dry for at least an hour. Have a cup of tea. When your fabric is dry to the touch, flip it over and iron the back side with medium/high heat to set the design (be mindful of what your fabric can handle.)

And there you have it! Stay tuned for more on simple upholstering, space-saving tips and how to design and carve your own block print!

old chair / new chair

My favorite part? It's totally unique!

My internet has been down for the past week, so I had to find some other things to do with my time. Things like completely organizing my entire apartment, donating old clothes and trying out some new (and some ew) recipes. By far my favorite project this past week was this little chair I got a few months ago for $2 at a thrift store. It had brown vinyl covering it and it was horribly stained.

It just needed a little love.

When I brought it home, after giving it a thorough cleaning, I found that it actually folds up (with the help of a lot of WD-40 and elbow grease!) There's something so satisfying about taking an object that is clearly discarded and unloved and giving it a new home and new look.

My favorite part about this little chair's makeover is that I hand-printed the fabric with one of my lino block designs! I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I just decided to go for it... and it turned out way better than I thought it would! Now not only do I have a sturdy, useful little chair, I have a cool new way to showcase my designs!

Stay tuned for: diy fabric printing / reupholstering!

color me superficial

Yeah... totally bought the pomegranate for it's looks.

I realized something the other day. OK, actually, I realized it a long time ago, but I was unwilling to admit it until now. *sigh* Here goes:

I am a superficial produce buyer.

Seriously.

As much as I advocate being comfortable in your own skin and beauty being more than skin deep, I totally buy my fruits and veggies based on appearances. Sure, there's the obvious color-buying: yellow bananas are ripe and brown strawberries are bad. I get that.

This is more than that, though. I get completely wrapped up in a color scheme in my head and buy my produce accordingly. I've arranged bowls upon bowls of colorful fruit displays, only to realize that I don't like oranges, or that I have no idea how to do anything, whatsoever, with a starfruit.

I guess it's not all bad. I mean, it does get me eating a lot more fruits and veggies than I would if they all looked like potatoes. Surely I'm not the only person who buys produce they can hardly pronounce, much less prepare, because it looks really, really cool. Or am I? Color me chagrined.

hello again

Moss... Like the kind that's been growing on my blog. ;)

Well, I'm back.

Please excuse my hiatus from the virtual world... the real world became much more jealous of my time.

The past few months haven't been easy, but one thing I've learned thus far in my limited knowledge of life is that pain is often accompanied by growth. I'm not entirely sure how I've grown yet, but I feel that all-too-familiar ache of outgrowing the Old Me.

This is a good thing. For one thing, I outgrew an old flame and my heart is now - finally - free. Even though it hurt to open up the old wound, it ultimately resulted in healing. Sadly, I've also outgrown my sexy jeans and henceforth will be endeavoring to take better care of myself physically. I've also been outgrowing my old ideas about God, and I'm attempting to read some (previously dreaded) literature to dig a little deeper into the matter.

While I shy away from making any sort of New Years Resolutions, I think that 2010 is going to be a year of immense growth. I can already sense the moss of 2009 being pulled out of the crags of my life. I don't think it will be easy, but I think it will be freeing.

A good friend asked me what my word for 2010 would be. Just one word to describe what I want this year to hold. All sorts of happy words came to mind instantly: joy, hope, peace, love, contentment... but I know in my heart of hearts, my word is, simply, grow. It's not the word I particularly want, but I have a feeling it's the word I really need.

new perspective

I've been doing a lot of hiking... not so much blogging.

They say life can pass you by if you're not careful. Luckily, I've been living a very full life these days, but my blogging and etsy online life has suffered. I haven't been very active in any of my etsy groups, and I'm finding that I'm getting stressed out about my flagging online participation. Isn't that odd? One would think, "Yay! I'm living a full life and I don't have time to read and comment on dozens of websites!" But the reality is that I feel terrible. Like I'm letting down the online community, even though I'm just this one tiny little shop, with one tiny little blog.

Maybe I feel burnt out because I just recently carved so many lino designs for my portfolio. I'm not quite sure. All I know is when I feel that something is expected of me, it takes all the joy and impromptu-ness out of it. My muse doesn't like to be forced. She likes to slip in quietly and surprise me. That's when I create.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm not in a place where I want to quit ennaneve, not at all, but I'm in a place where I'm feeling overwhelmed by expectations... most of them my own.

pumpkin cookies

These cake-like cookies are a sweet Autumn treat!

My mom used to make these for us every Fall, and I absolutely loved them! She would shape them into little pumpkins and let us decorate them with frosting, M&Ms and chocolate chips to create our own personal Jack-O-Lanterns. I left off the frosting this year to cut back on excess sugar, but the cookies are just as delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 cup oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup butter (or margarine)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips

2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two cookie sheets.
• Mix together the flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon and set aside.
• Next, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar with a mixer.
• Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue to mix well.
• Alternately add one cup of the flour mixture and one cup of the canned pumpkin until all ingredients are well incorporated.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Use 1/4 cup per cookie and shape into little pumpkins (optional).
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they no longer look wet.