A short blurp of silk-screening advice..

Wow! We’re already in the month of July?!?

How did that happen so fast? In a little more than a month the kiddos will be back in school again, and then we start the cycle all over again…

It’s been a very eventful summer thus far. It’s just too bad it’s passing by so fast. We’ve already had our share in sunburns and soon those fun days will be over.

In the meantime, we’ve been keeping busy with the summer plans & of course, our crafting on the side. It’s really nice to schedule a day just for crafting, but it’s hard when it’s so beautiful out and all I want to do is play.

So far, I’ve learned how to use liquid emulsion with the yudu & yudu products. I’d make a video of it but I think there are plenty of tutorials online that are pretty self-explanatory. I would only make a tutorial if I could add more valuable information. The only advice I have is BE PATIENT. Silkscreening takes time & patience. You aren’t going to learn how to do it overnight. It’s a “practice makes perfect” kinda thing. Even after 3 years of experience, I still screw up & sometimes I just don’t want to bother with it at all. We have a love hate relationship, and although I keep insisting that I WILL do this.. It sneaks up on me and says, "oh hell no bitch, not today" & there I am with a sad face and another ruined screen to try again....  =/  Although the yudu commercials make it looks so easy, trust me when I say it’s not. This is where the internet comes into play, check out “hacks of the yudu”, discussion boards, and tutorials on liquid emulsion, etc.. etc… It’ll all be worth it when you use your money wisely instead of blowing it on brand name products that don’t work properly. I’ll admit, the yudu is convenient because it puts everything in one spot, but you don’t necessarily need to have that to make a simple screen print. Depending on your design sometimes you just need contact paper and your design.. I’ve done that too!  My love pillow.... &  My Aloha pillow for example! 

If you decide to try out liquid emulsion I absolutely encourage it.  You can buy a cheap $20-25 starter kit, and advance to the huge jug once you’ve mastered it…  Read the little pamphlet that comes in this kit. It has a lot of valuable information which I wish I could have had when I first started silkscreening…

I am proud to say I can use the liquid now, and I can’t wait to make more shirts… The sriracha shirt is still in demand, and so that’s a good thing for me.

At this current time, I’m testing out a “brine” technique to make the shirts I print on softer, and more vintage-y feeling. I’ll know by the end of this week, if this is a favorable method I’d like to continue.  You think my customers will appreciate this new method too? I hope so…

This weekend is the Obon Festival in SJ’s Japantown. I’ve been taking the kiddos to practice at the buddist temple, and so we’re excited to take part in it this year. Usually we’re just spectators. Sam will be dressing up in a yukata outfit which with some local expertise, we were able to put together. We managed to avoid costly purchases, and I made a few articles of clothing for her outfit.  We’re doing a dress up rehearsal tonight, just to make sure we got everything.

Other than that, more sunburn is in store for tomorrow. I took the days off because we had originally planned on going to SD for comicon.. Didn’t happen this year, but next year for sure. We’re planning on staying there for a few days..

I’ll end for now. Hope everyone is having an amazing summer.

Drink lots of water, and have an amazing time with your friends & family!

Bye for now!

shen