Those of you following me may have been wondering where I’ve been. I have the most spectacular news…but first, the non-news…

For the Holidays, my theme is buttons! I wouldn’t normally take myself for a button person, but after I started making my own out of clay, felt and (pictured above) screen printed fabric I was hooked. Now I search thrift stores for the coolest buttons to fill out the collection.

You may remember my foray into wallet making. I started with Vinyl (read about it here) then graduated into sewing felted wool sweaters. Pictured at left is one of my wallets with a sculpted porcelain button. I’ll have this and others for sale at the upcoming Crafteria at Frances. Cyndi and I were thrilled to be of of the 40 chosen out of the 150+ makers who applied. It takes place the First Friday in December~
Friday, December 3rd, 6-9pm. Below is the close up…

Finally, my favorite of all my current makes~the button bracelet. All my buttons come together in one fun grouping that are selling like hot-tamales this season. I thoroughly enjoy the process of choosing and tying these little bundles of delight. They are available on my Etsy site >> Click here!

Okay, now the big news. Let me start out by saying that I am a graphic designer by education and trade. I gave it up five years ago because I no longer found it fulfilling or fun. Since then I have painted large canvases that hang in private collections and several galleries around the country, written a novel, got hired by Provo Craft to create crafting content (how-tos), and remodeled a vintage Airstream to inspire my creative heart. As for working in the design community~I never looked back.Then, a few weeks ago, the most extraordinary connection happened and I was asked to join the creative team at philosophy inc.

I never expected to find such an awesome group of people in my life. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work for a premier skin care company with the nicest, most talented people I have ever met. So, in light of that, I may not be posting as regularly as I used to. I’ll keep you posted on my making, though. Tune in soon~

xoxSarah

Last Saturday I ran a YUDU workshop. Here are pictures from the event. I will be holding three events in October, and two each in November and December. They are Holiday themed, so join me for the fun and leave with gifts or decorations for your home! Follow this Link to the calendar of events >>

This is the YUDU 101 class:

Here we are discussing the various parts of the YUDU.

In the photo below, I am arranging cut paper on the light table. The screen with emulsion on it gets placed over this, and then the image is burned into the screen. The bats are cut on the Cricut Expression with the Happy Hauntings cartridge.

Once the screen is exposed to light~which hardens the light-sensitive emulsion~it is time to wash out the screen in the sink. This basic laundry sink is a perfect size (below).

When the screen is completely dry it’s time to tape off the areas of the screen we don’t want to print (anything that appears white~that is the bare screen).

We only want to print one bat. Below, you can see that everything is taped off except what we need. Put the screen into the YUDU machine and get ready to print.

We printed napkins for an upcoming Halloween Party. The photo below shows placement under the screen.

Squirt out a good amount of ink~enough to run a thick blanket of ink over the image (this is called “flooding the screen.” The next swipe is with enough pressure to push the ink through and onto the napkin.

In the photo below, students try their hands at screen printing. It is a viscerally exciting process. So Fun!

Be sure to join me at my upcoming workshops~Screen Printing is one of the most fun crafty things you can do, and you’ll leave with some cool stuff!

I am psyched to post this journal/book I made with the Yudu screen printer and the YourStory book binding machine. The cover has a pocket for me to collect things to journal about, or pictures to include. I plan to fill the pages with all the photos of the fun we had this summer on our trip to Colorado.

I added a pocket to the front by simply folding over some fabric and gluing it to the front (and wrapping it to the inside made it a breeze). The clouds and bike are Yudu screen printed. The grass is a paint pen—easy! This makes me so happy, I want to make more!

Every time I screen print I use up the last little bits of ink on scraps of paper and fabric. These bits and pieces are super handy when I am looking to put my signature on some project. One day last week I was covering buttons with fabric and turned to my box of scraps to see what was there. I was so delighted with the buttons I wanted to put them all together! Follow this link to a tutorial on how to make fabric covered buttons.

I just love the YUDU. The ink colors are beautiful and non-toxic. The set up is so easy I can break it out and have it all cleaned up in under 3 hours. (That includes designing, burning screens, and going to town on anything within arm’s reach.)

Since I like to do things differently, my annual screen print for our 4th of July Party is a spin on the concept of “Freedom.” In this case~as all kids feel in the summer~bikes are the ticket to freedom. I’m an adult and I still feel that way!