Cricut Circle T-shirts on the Yudu!

Oh, I love my Yudu!  I am working on more projects for the Cricut Circle "Road to CHA" Crop and today is the day for t-shirts!  Ever since I saw the heat-transfer-vinyl shirts that a Circle member made for the Northern California meetup in May, I have wanted to try a two-screen Yudu project with her design.  You can see Cindy's shirts pictured on her blog, Scrap-Obsessed, by clicking here. 

I liked this design because it would allow me to experiment with two screens without worrying with registration and lining up the design.  I loved that Cindy used a green shirt and knew that is what I wanted to do too.  The pink Circle logo is a darker color than the green, so I didn't worry about having to screen it twice.  Topping with our names in black worked well for the same reason. 

I started with the design.  I used the Cricut Everyday cartridge and cut the logo at 9-1/4" on my Expression out of black cardstock.  As I mentioned in my last post, you will need to use care to change that size if you are using an E2 or Imagine, as the sizes are not comparable to the Expression.  If you measure your emulsion after applied to the screen and subtract 1", you will get the largest size recommended for your design.  You can then set paper area on your Cricut to that size and use the fit-to-page feature to obtain the largest size possible for your screen!

I am now only using direct emulsion for my screen printing.  This is the liquid kind of emulsion that is applied to both sides of an upright screen.  I love this method of applying emulsion because it is so much cheaper and easier than the capilary sheets.  The liquid emulsion is also light-sensitive and available in formulations for water-based inks, like the Yudu-branded inks that I love.  The direct emulsion I use is the SWR-3 by Ryonet.  This product looks purple before adding the diazo, then turns a gray-green.  Unexposed dried emulsion at this stage is army-green.  After it is exposed to light, it looks indigo-blue.

Yuduing is like cooking with a wok; you need to have everything ready before you start!

Basically, you pour the emulsion into a screen coater...

...place the screen onto a screen stand, tip the screen coater against the back side of the screen (also known as the shirt-side), starting at the bottom and working up.  You are placing a thin layer of emulsion on the screen and will hear a 'zip' sound as the screen coater glides up the screen to the top.  Then, you flip the screen over and do the same thing on the front (shirt side).  I learned how to do this application by watching a video (click here) on the Ryonet website.  It is so easy to do, but you must watch the video to see the process in action!

I pop the screen with the freshly-applied emulsion into the Yudu drying rack to keep it in a dark, safe place...

then I clean out the screen coater, using a plastic spoon to pour back any unused emulsion.

Then I pull the wet screen back out and use a hair dryer to dry the emulsion on the screen.  I use the 'cool' button on my hair dryer.  I can tell you from experience that a screen dried with a blow dryer on the HOT setting is very, very difficult to reclaim.

I burn the logo image in the screen as usual and rinse the emulsion off of the unexposed (green) areas.

Afterwards, I use a hair dryer to dry the screen.  Again, I use the 'cool' button.

Next, I worked on the screen for the names.  I applied emulsion as described above and dried it.  I placed it in the Yudu for safe-keeping while I created the names that would be burned into it.  (Letting the Yudu dry the screen works fine if you are doing other projects.  If you are ready to use it and it is still not dry, you can always shoot it with the cool air from a blow dryer!)

I created the names by printing them on the computer using Microsoft Holiday Springs BTN.  The names "Donna" and "Nadia" were printed at 250 point; "Granny Anne" was printed at 150 point.  I printed them first on regular paper and checked them against the Circle logo to be sure I like the two scales together...

..then I printed them on transparencies, setting my print quality for photo paper and 'high print quality'.  My goal was to get all three names on one screen, and since these are transparencies, even if they don't fit on one 8-1/2"x11" transparency, I was able to slide them around on the space to fit them within my emulsion-covered screen.


I used transparencies I purchased through Ryonet for this project.  They work just like the Yudu-branded ones-but quite a bit cheaper.  You can lightly wet a finger and touch each side of a corner of the transparency.  The side that sticks is the side to print on! 

I repeated the process outlined above for applying emulsion and burning the image, followed by rinsing and drying the screen.

I move the transparencies around to use the length of emulsion while not getting too close to the edges.  If you have to squeege over a taped area, you will not get a good application of ink on the shirt; for this reason, try to keep your image at least 3/4" from the edges!

I keep aluminum foil over my pint of emulsion to be absolutely sure that no light gets to it.  That, my friends, is called over-kill!

I Yudu in my kitchen so my food processor is my weight to keep the lid down while burning the image on the emulsion!

I screened the logo on each of the three shirts.  I do not place the platen inside the shirt.  When we were at the Cricut Circle crop in Louisville, Shannon Lerner of Provocraft told us that, unless we were screening tissue Ts, we could simply lay the t-shirts on the platen and that is how I have done these and my previous Yudu t-shirts.  This means that I do not need a platen for each shirt I screen and that I can move the shirt around on the platen to get it where I need it -- this is especially important for the second screen of this project since the names are in different places on the screen!

I was careful to floodfill the logo after each screening to prevent the ink from drying on it-- I do this even for the last printing.  I used my hair dryer again to partially dry the ink on the shirt while still on the platen. 

I lifted each shirt off and laid it aside and prepared the next. 

After the logos were screened on all of the shirts, I washed out paint on the logo screen and dried it with cool air. 

I started prepping the screen with our names on it.  I decided that the safest way to play this was to tape off one name at a time, screen it, wash out the screen, and dry it with cool air, change shirts, and tape the next name.

Cleaning off the ink after each name did mean that I had to take extra time rinsing and drying, but I had the peace of mind that I wouldn't accidentally get ink from a previous name on the next shirt!

Drying the screen with cool air made short work of drying it so I could do the next name!  Use a back-and-forth motion when drying the screen, just as you would when drying hair!

I allowed the shirts to dry for a while and once they were 'bone dry', I heat-set the ink with an iron (no steam), using a piece of printer paper as a press cloth. 

I chose not to remove the emulsion from my screens just yet, thinking that I might play around a bit with some other inks and these screens.  For your notes, however, you should know that once the emulsion is removed from the screen, you can use hot air on the screen to quickly dry it; it is the emulsion that you are protecting from the heat!

For my notes from the Shannon Lerner demo on using capilary sheets, for my notes on using direct emulsion, and for my sources, including a link to Ryonet, please check out my Yudu page (see the tab above) or click here!

These turned out just as I had them in my mind-- that rarely happens!  I hope Donna and GrannyAnne like them!  Thank you for visiting my blog!  My next Yudu project involves glitter!!!! 

Cricut Magnet Swap!

I am busily crafting in preparation for the Circle Crop in Mason, Ohio, that is fast approaching! It is the Roadtrip from CHA for the Provocraft folks so that is the theme of the event. One fun thing we are doing is a magnet swap. I just finished mine and wanted to share them with you.

When I think of 'road trip', I think nostalgia. That is because when I was a kid, we called them 'vacations' and now I call them 'traveling for work' but I remember my grandparents referring to 'road trips' so I immediately get a picture of the 50s in my mind! I decided to run with that and use the car icon on Nifty Fifties. I copied the concept from a card I made last year. You can see that post by clicking here.

I decided on a rectangular shape, using the George cartridge on page 112, cut at 3". 

I knew I wanted my finished magnet to be very sturdy.  I decided on magnetic discs for the backs (instead of sheets of adhesive magnetic material) and wanted the base to be strong enough to be handled as it gets pulled on and off of a magnetic board or fridge.  I used an artist board that I found at Hobby Lobby with the drafting supplies.  It was #918 and such a wonderful learning experience;  I found something too thick and hard to cut properly on the Expression!  I got out my deep-cut housing and blade, I used multicut 4... still too thick.  I found that a new (very sticky mat) was a true requirement!  I learned that the high pressure setting does not work with the deep blade!  I used a new blade for this project.  I did find that it did a better job of cutting when each shape was cut individually, not with autofill.  Autofill caused the blade to drag and mar the surface.

I also found that the machine handled it better on the sides.  Middle cuts were especially poor, and the machine often could not duplicate the cut for the multicut process when cut in the middle of the mat. 

Multi-cut 4 did not cut all the way through the material, but I knew I was testing my Expression and didn't actually need the backing for this project, so I was happy to peel away the majority of the cut, leaving the backing behind.

A thinner chipboard would have been a better choice, but I was happy with the core that I now had to use!  I cut a backing for my project out of white cardstock using the same cut and size from the Geoge cartridge and applied it with double-sided tape with my ATG.

I bought one of those 'create-your-own-stamp' kits at Walmart to put my name and blog address on the back of the magnets.  Although I usually print this kind of info on my computer, I thought this would have an old-fashioned look.  It was super-easy and kind of fun.

Using that same cut/size/cart/machine again, I cut a front from black cardstock, applying it in the same way as the back, with ATG tape.

I wanted a blue background for my car image like my original card had, but I also wanted a map to emphasize the road trip theme, so I picked up a couple of maps at AAA, cut them on my Expression machine (same shape on George but cut at 2-3/4"), and spritzed them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Electric Blue.  This makes a sunny blue that I really like.  I over-saturated the papers to get a nice overall color.

I attached these over the black, leaving a border. 

My car was cut from Nifty Fifites on my Imagine at 1.4".  I omited the windshield and headlight layers to simplifiy it since it was cut so small.  I used colored cardstock.  I created a plume of smoke by cutting a cloud from Serenade at 1" on the Expression. 

I cut a bug head from Cricut Everyday.  This was another lesson learned!  I discovered for the first time that 1" on my Expression is not the same as 1" on my Expression 2 (E2) or my Imagine.  As often as I use my Imagine and Expression on the same projects, I have never had the need to duplicate the same cut on each macine.  Check this out:

You can see that the cut from the Expression at 3/4" is larger than the shape cut at 1" on the E2 and the Imagine.  You can also see that 1" on the E2 is the same as 1" on the Imagine.  A few folks on the Circle message board confirmed for me that their machines copy this model!  I had no idea!  This and all future posts from me will include not only the cut sizes, but also from which machine my cut was made.  I like to have all the machines humming when I can so knowing this info is very important to me!

I evenutally decided on the 3/4" cut on the E2 for my bughead.  I didn't need his antennae since he would be driving the car, which is fortunate since the cut at this size was too small for that detail!  I cut a hand for him from the Sentimentals cartridge, page 25 shadow feature, on my E2 at 1/2".  I trimmed off the cuff and tucked the hand inside the car to make my bug look like he is waving.

I finished the projects by applying the remaining layers for the car.  I used Dew Drops clear flat-back embellishments for the headlamps and googly eyes (3mm and 4mm) to the bug head, applying them with E6000 plastic adhesive to ensure that they wouldn't pop off the finished magnet.  The finished cars are popped up with 1/8" pop dots. 

I attached the magnetic buttons to the backs.

I learned so many things from this project!  Even with peeling away the backing of the core material, my swap magnet finished very sturdy and substantial.

I was so glad to have these done for the crop!  I popped them on a magnetic board to store them until the event.  I think this will be a fun way to take them to the event as well!

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Thank You Gifts (also known as putting all of my domestic 'eggs' in one basket)

I just finished some thank you gifts for some folks who looked after our home while we were away and I  wanted to share the details with you.  The gifts themselves are a combination of fresh-baked bread, fresh strawberry refrigerator jam, and hand-churned butter.  I also created a little basket liner by screen printing with my Yudu on a plain cotton bandana ...and of course I added some tags and a card made with my Cricut die cutting machine!

I decided that I wanted a "neighborhood" feel somehow combined with the idea of food.  I figured out that I would use red, white, and brown for my colors.  For my basket projects, I chose images from Cricut cartridges Pop Up Neighborhood, Jubilee, Preserves, Picturesque, and Country Life. 

My card was created by cutting the tree and tire swing image from Pop Up Neighborhood at 2-1/2".  I hand-cut the squares to mimic a checkerboard and to play off of the gingham pattern I would be using to decorate my food containers.  I also moved away from my usual use of computer-generated text and actually used hand-writing on my card and tags to give everything a more 'homemade' feel.

Next, my basket liner...
I knew the Yudu element would take the longest due to drying times.  I loved using the Jubilee village font for this project.  This font is the reason I purchased this cartridge so long ago!  I cut my elements for the Yudu screen out of vinyl and adhered them to a piece of acetate in order to burn my design into the screen.  I taped the acetate to a cutting board with a measuring grid so I could line up my elements.

The Jubilee village font was cut at 1"; the trees on either side are from Pop Up Neighborhood, cut at 1.3", flipping one; the decorative element at the bottom is a corner from Picturesque (page 45), cut at 2.5".  I used transfer tape to apply the weeded vinyl to the acetate.

To see the steps to using the Yudu, check out my Yudu page on this blog.

I used direct (liquid) emulsion for this project and I am in love!!!  The emulsion that I purchased was from Ryonet and I watched the video on this link to learn how to apply it on the screen.  (The same link will take you to the product that I used).  You must give a good amount of pressure in the process of applying the emulsion and you will hear a 'zip' sound if you are doing it right.  It is a very thin layer of emulsion that you apply first to the back of the screen, and then to the front. 

Once my design was burned on the screen, I pressed the cloths for the basket liners and screen-printed each corner.  I figured out that if I taped the placement for each corner of the napkin on the platen, I would be able to quickly place them perfectly each time.

I also figured out that a blow dryer was perfect for this project since I needed the prints to dry quickly so I could do the next corner.  (It is important to remember to flood fill the screen after each printing and before using the hair dryer so that the ink does not dry in the screen.)  I also lifted the cloth and forced heat under it too.  The ink had bled through to the platen and this did the trick to dry the ink and didn't seem to have an effect on the stickiness of the platen, unless it actually made it a bit stickier.

After finishing all corners of both cloths, and before heat-setting the cloths with my iron, I cleaned my screen.  Using a tip I learned about cleaning the Cricut mats with an alcohol-free baby wipe, I was able to clean off all of the ink and lint that had been accumulating on my platen.  It was perfectly sticky after it air-dried!

On to making the butter... 

While I was recently at a trade show working with my husband, a couple at our booth started talking about making butter with me--I have no idea how we landed on that subject.  (I often happily attract crafty folks and foodies at venues which wouldn't seem to foster that).  They later sent me a link to Robert Krampf's video on making butter.  He is a scientist, so with scientific explanation in easy-to-understand language, he gives his recipe on the video.  Decades ago, my aunt taught Pioneer Living to middle schoolers from curriculum she created and I very well remember how long butter took to churn!  Robert Krampf's video promised butter in just a few short minutes so I had to give it a try!  His secret is to set the heavy whipping cream on the counter at room temperature for 12 hours to allow the lactic acid to build and the butterfat to crystalize.  He also uses a controlled "shake" that breaks down the fat more effectively.  I am not sure if it was really his better methods or if my memory was tainted by my kid interpretation of time, but this did seem to happen pretty darn fast! 

Now, I will say that he suggests shaking the jar for two to three minutes.  After three minutes, I had this:

After another minute, I had this:

After one more minute, I had the proper consistency that matched what he showed on the video.  (Yes, I was using a timer!)  The buttermilk is separated from the butter!

I poured the buttermilk off and washed the butter as instructed.  It was perfect!

I made a second batch since I had two gift baskets to complete.  This time,  I set my timer at 4 minutes.  What was the difference you ask?  The second batch took one minute less but my arms were more sore!  Maybe he had some genius in his version of the recipe, forcing me to add a minute at a time.  Either way, you can think of it as a homemade Shake Weight (which you will definitely need if you eat much of the butter).  The funny thing to me was that from two half-pints of cream, I filled two half-pint jars with butter and had 1 cup of buttermilk for baking! 

I did vary from his instructions a bit; I used a strainer fitted with a coffee filter to remove a bit more moisture from the butter since I was going to be using some cute, clear glass, wide-mouth, half-pint jars for packaging and I did not want any liquid to be visible!

My tag was created from the Country Life cartridge, page 45, cut at 4-1/2".  I attached it with some of the wonderful baker's twine that baker-extraordinaire, Diana Carter, shared with us at the Cricut Circle Crop in Louisville.  (Now that is a woman who knows how to make a cookie!!)

On to the jam!  I completely cheated on the jam.  The way I see it, if you have fresh berries and sugar, you can't go wrong, so I got some instant pectin and freezer jarrs.

I found some cheap child labor (who had just returned from Princess Day Camp as evidenced from the blue hair and tiger stripe nail polish) who was willing to "work for food"....

...and followed the instructions on the package to create the quickest strawberry jam ever.  It was quite a bit thinner and less sticky than jam should be so I will probably be going back to my cooked jam recipe that I have used since I was a teenager, but this was a good effort, I think, for the very little bit of time invested!  ...And it was quite yummy according to the hired hand!  It used just over 1 pound of berries, made just over two half-pints, and looked perfectly festive with the green freezer jar lids.

This tag was cut from the Preserves cartridge, page 53, at 4".  I pinked circles out of the cotton gingham for lid toppers and used more of Diana's twine.

The bread was next.  Again, I was cheating by using my bread machine, but this is a really good recipe (my daughter's favorite, in fact). 

Bread Machine Potato Bread
(for a printer-friendly version, click here)

11 ounces water, 80 degrees F

2 tablespoons butter

3-1/4 cups bread flour

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

2 tablespoons dry milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

1-1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add water and chopped up butter to pan.  Add dry ingredients, except yeast to pan.  Tap pan to settle dry ingredients, then level ingredients, pushing some of the mixture into the corners. 

Make a well in center of dry ingredients.  Add yeast.

Lock pan into breadmaker. 

Program for1-1/2 pound loaf, basic bread, medium crust.  This recipe is suitable for time delay.

This tag was made from Country Life, page 45, cut at 4-1/2".  I cut more gingham with my pinking shears to make a fabric ribbon to tie around the wax-paper-wrapped loaf.

I used a red tray in lieu of the willow basket on this one.

I began to panic as I realized that today I was supposed to deliver cookies to my daughter's school for one of their summer fund-raisers.  I recruited my busy husband to deliver thank you baskets as I set to work on my next project (a recipe I made up based on what I had in the pantry today and due to the magical and surprising success of it, I feel utterly compelled to share with you now):

Devils Food Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(for a printer-friendly version, click here)

1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devils Food Cake Mix

1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco sticks

2 eggs

1/3 bag semi-sweet chocolate chunks

plus 2 squares chopped up Sharffen Berger semi-sweet Dark Chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix.  This makes a very stiff, glossy dough.

Use your nifty Pampered Chef cookie scoop to drop the dough by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 10 minutes and allow to rest on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Thank you for visiting my blog!