Yudu? I du... I think. Tips I figured out in the first couple hours of using the Yudu

Okay, now I am not one that usually does alot of research. All of my projects and my creations usually come from my own trial and error. Which is great for things like knowledge but not so great for things like money and time. So, I thought I would share with you what I figured out and found out and then once I get all of my materials in the mail I will take pics and put them up here so you guys can see them and let you know how everything works.

Reading the Yudu reviews was enough to know that the emulsion sheets that it comes with (2) weren't gonna work. All of the reviews talk about people ruining both that the machine comes with and then one person ruined an additional 5 more before getting her 8th to work. Which is all fine and dandy, I mean everything has a learning curve right? But not at $10 a piece. Not to mention that it doesn't even come with the stuff to clean off the screen after you do mess it up. So, if you didn't buy everything with the machine at the same time you bought the machine, you have to stop and go to the store to buy the emulsion remover before you can even try another one! I don't know about you but I do lots of my crafting at night after my daughter goes to sleep. So, it's not like I can just leave and go to the store at 10pm. Which to me would be extremely frustrating!

I started reading up and watching youtube video after youtube video on the Yudu back when I first started wanting one. I figured that if I ever saved enough up to get one I would want to know how to use it immediately... no readin instructions for this chick! But along my Yudu journey I read about the products, the prices, and the pros and cons... and on alot of them the cons... were a big list. Enough of a big list to put it on the backburner of things I was to purchase.

The problems (a condensed list):

1) The good reviews and the only people that would endorse the Yudu products were people that Provocraft supplied the machines for them to write reviews.

2) The squeegee is crap. I honestly don't know, I haven't used mine yet. But, I bought another one here : http://diyteeshirts.com/products/11

3) The emulsion screens... I guess this is where I am even a bit confused. The website diyteeshirts.com claims to have the Yudu Hack. It makes sense to me. And, all of the other videos and everything else I have watched say the same thing... okay, all of the people that actually do screen printing say the same thing. The emulsion paper is easy to ruin and expensive. There is a way to do it yourself and videos are all over the internet on how to do it. But the DIYteeshirts.com people have a kit that you can buy... not sure how much it is, either $65 or $69 and in it is a container of the emulsion and the spreader and the emulsion remover concentrate (enough to make a gallon) and an informative dvd... well... you can buy the same products on the same website minus the spreader and the dvd for $35.00 so I went that route. I got those here: http://diyteeshirts.com/products/6 and here http://diyteeshirts.com/products/36 and I got the spreader thing here: http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/site/799934/product/SC16

I then purchased the transparencies from DIYteeshirts.com because they are 10 for $11 when from Yudu they are 5 for $11. And, I purchased all of my paints from www.silkscreeningsupplies.com. Because they are the ones... Ryan (he's cute) I believe that had the best videos on youtube and he told me in the videos what he was using and that it was still Yudu compatible. The reason I did not buy the squeege from them is because you buy it by the inch off of there website. Makes sense... but I just need someone to make that kind of decision for me. And the emulsion and emulsion remover... well, that is because they have soooo many different kinds. I didn't know which was right if it even mattered or any of those other questions in between. So... since the other website only had 1 type to choose from and they said that it was Yudu compatible, well... then that made it alot easier for me.

Over all I probably spent an extra $160 in materials. It seems like alot... but I got things like a pint of paint for twice the price of what I would have paid for 6 oz. of Yudu stuff. I shouldn't have to buy new materials to screen print with for a long long long time and even when I do the cost should minimal compared to what I spent at the store on Yudu stuff.

I will let you know when I get everything how it works, what it looks like... where to get it and all of that good stuff. And, who knows... maybe I will put up some Youtube videos of my own! :)

First Craft Show... What to do?

Okay, so my first craft show is this Sunday April 25, 2010. I have no clue what to do. I got 2 card tables that I can use I am pretty sure and I have someone looking into borrowing a 6 foot table for me. I need to borrow my mom's Explorer to fit a table like that... Um... probably the least of my worries! What do I take? I have no idea. It's Tuesday... half way through the day even though I have only been up for 2 hours. Late nights and recovering from the allergy problems has taken it's toll on me. I don't think that I slept a solid 2 hours any night last week because I couldn't breathe. Great. So, now since my daughter is content playing upstairs I am in fact updating my blog instead of sewing.

I have tons of onesies to make. Tons of hairclips to make. Tons of tutus to make... probably not lots of tutus... but so many things on my mind that I want to do and get done. I don't know how I am going to accomplish all of it including making a Sleeping Beauty outfit by Friday...

I also keep coming up with all of these new ideas... started a few last night because I was burnt out on my sewing machine from making a Belle and Snow White costume last week. I got about 2 hours of sewing in and said screw it. I need to do something else!

So... I don't know if anyone reads this... ever... I don't do anything exciting... I think that I got pics up once... and you have any ideas for me to do for my first show... or maybe rather if you have anything that I shouldn't forget to do :) Those comments would be most greatly appreciated!!!!!!! :)

Um... a Bustier Onesie?

So... I get my ideas from things in my wardrobe and things that I see on the morning TV shows. Usually Today has some sort of fashion segment. Which is awesome because I can get the most interesting ideas watching just a 5 minute segment. It's about all my brain can handle really. I get so many random ideas from just watching that 5 minute segment it's amazing! So... now I have in my head a bustier onesie. Now, I know that it is not a cutesy and the idea of exactly a cute onesie should be... but it sounds like fun :)

Also on my plate... Princess dresses. I have to make Belle for my niece Jordin by Saturday. Sleeping Beauty for my 2nd cousin Kyndal by the following Saturday and then I think for my little girl I am going to make Snow White... because she actually has brown hair. So, hopefully I will have some great pics to put up and show you. I am not in any way shape form or fashion using a pattern! I have already tried to make a skirt, and well... instead of a princess skirt it looks more like a princess punk rocker skirt! It's cute don't get me wrong... but not the fairy princess skirt I had in mind!

Okay... It's April 14th... I just realized I haven't done my taxes... Oops! Peace out!

Argyle Onesies Anyone?

 
 
 
 

So, this onesie as well as two others I worked on tirelessly yesterday! But, I like em!

This argyle onesie with the green was just a cotton fabric that I found at Hancocks a month or so ago and loved! I basically cut a large diamond out of it (super easy because the pattern was already on the fabric) (I actually used that fabric to make my other template!) and then like one set of the pattern in I made a fake machine embroidery satin stitch. I mean, it's not fake persay, I did do it on the machine but I did not attach it to the onesie that way! Then a little closer to the edge after heat n' bonding that argyle piece to the onesie where I wanted it I just sewed in the same green thread around it to attach it leaving about 1/5 of an inch on the fabric raw. My hopes is that after this onesie is washed the fabric will fray up a bit and give it a roughened up look to it :) I then took coordinating green embroidery floss and hand embroidered using a back stitch two other argyle pieces to complete the look :)

So, I've Never Been a Blogger...

And, by no means am I claiming to be one now. I think I actually always had so much going on in my life that I thought someone should just write it all down for me... Hm... I dunno. I have actually had several people tell me I should write a book. I got the stories, but I don't got the skill. But, I have recently (yesterday) started looking at other peoples blogs and the content and they are sooooo elaborate and there is so much to look at and so many places to wander from them... Holy crap! As soon as I start to figure one thing out you mean that I have to learn something else? No wonder I feel like I am treading water all the time! Good grief! But, also no wonder my blog gets no traffic... well, that and my general lack of topics to write about and interesting things to talk about... and... well, we could go on and on, but shouldn't I be spending this time to try to figure some of this stuff out? Yea... I'll go do that!

Blah Hah Hah Embroidery!

This blog is a recant if you will of the blog I posted previously today... Um... embroidery looks fun. I think I'm gonna give it a try... even if it is old and boring as I previously stated.

BERNINA and VIKING/HUSQVARNA Universal Foot Attachments!

I am posting this because it is information that I wish I could have found on the internet!  And, it's something that took me over an hour in a store to find out.

I bought a $20 some odd dollar ruffler foot to attach to either a BERNINA machine or a VIKING/HUSQVARNA machine, they have two kinds available... either a slant shank foot attachment or a low shank foot attachment.  Although every single tutorial I saw said that you should be able to use the attachment on a VINKING/HUSQVARNA, I infact could not.  I believe that I bought the slant skank first and then when it didn't work for either machine I went and bought the low shank one.  I couldn't get either to work on the VIKING/HUSQVARNA at all.  Don't know why... nothing lined up appropiately despite all of the tutorials I had seen that stated otherwise!

I had given up and packed up the low shank ruffler foot attachment to take back to the store.  But my first stop was the BERNINA store to see what they had in a form of a ruffler foot.  They didn't... apparently everyone else wants one too!  They were on back order with no date in sight as to when the store would actually be receiving them.  And, in fact, I was the 3rd person that day (it was only 10am!) to come into the store looking for one.  Looks like I was a bit slow huh?  So, I get there and the lady at the store was soooo nice!  She showed me many numerous ways to create ruffles without a ruffler foot... so many ways... but I wouldn't be able to repeat any of those!  Or tell you them!  Sorry, I didn't retain any of that info, because it simply was not what I was looking for!  So, I was about to have her put my name on the contact list for the ruffler foot... oh yea, did I mention that it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $110?  Yea... insane!  It would be cheaper for me to go and buy just a cheap machine with the cheap ruffler foot I had bought and only use it for that than to buy one that I would have to take on and off all the time... blah blah blah... until I told the nice lady at the BERNINA store that I had already bought a Universal (that's the word I was looking for... not generic) Ruffler Foot but it was for a low shank machine and I couldn't get it to work... AHA!!  The reason that it wouldn't work is because BERNINA's are HIGH shank machines... however they do make low shank attachments that you can purchase for $13.82.  Yea... Um... can I get one of those please?  I brought it home... put it on and installed the ruffler foot all in about oh... 5 minutes... We won't talk about the hours and hours I had spent on the two machines combined trying to get one to work... but anyhoo... that is what you need.  A low shank universal foot and a low shank attachment if you have a BERNINA!  Good luck to you!  And if you need anymore information feel free to post/ask I check this thing... alot.

I am Tired!

So, how is it that after 18 hour days I am soooo tired, and everynight I say to myself, Jen... you are going to bed at 10PM tonight... and then I look at the clock an hour and a half later still not fully convinced I did anything worth while so tired and tell myself I am going to go to bed... and I don't... then I start typing away in a blog, because I am convinced that it is yet another thing that I have neglected.  Anyone else have days like that?  I wonder if anyone has ever actually even read this?  Probably not, it's just alot of rantings anyways.  Once I do a tutorial or something, then I will feel that it is important enough for me to publicize to the world that I have created this magnificent masterpiece... but until then, it's just my rantings.

So, am I the only one that has the problem with going to the store to buy one item and then walking out with 10 projects in mind?  I know that I am not, I know that this sort of thing happens to everyone all the time, but how do you harnass that creative energy and actually find the time to accomplish all of these great ideas before you go to the store the next day only to purchase many many more things for completely different projects?  I am still working on learning to control my urges and my impulse buys and writting them down to figure out if I do infact need those items to make my name in the baby boutique clothing world!  Because chances are I won't.

Does anyone else wonder when they will finally make that one thing that everyone looks at and goes... "Holy Crap... I gotta have that"... "And, everyone else I know needs one too!"... I know that I wonder that.  Alot.  I don't know if that time will ever come for me.  I think that I will be happy making all the other things and paving the road to that time... :)

Oh yea, I don't think that I have talked about my Punka Dot Onesie at all... it's totally cute.  Check it out if you get a chance... or just check out my Etsy shop as a whole... I would greatly appreciate it :)  I even added a boy tuxedo onesie on there today... a little slow to getting it listed.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44033910 - Punka Dots

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44258999 - Tux

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EllaJoeCouture - My Etsy Shop

I am also on Zibbet at www.zibbet.com/EllaJoeCouture

And, right now I have a few items that are listed auction style at eBay just search "Ella Joe Couture"

Night all... only almost 2 hours past my bedtime... time to put a movie in... :)  Sleep tight!

Ah... It's Friday...

So, I am sure that if other artisans are trying to sell their wares on the internet that just because it's Friday doesn't mean that it's the weekend!  I always have a plethora of work to be done!  Weather I am concocting new designs or listing the ones I concocted 2 weeks ago but never did anything else with!!! (Including taking pictures)  .  So my question is... does the personal time come when you are watching your kids playing outside on a gorgeous day?  Does it come only when you are sleeping or showering or eating?  I don't get a weekend.  If I didn't have a church schedule I would probably forget what day of the week it was most times!!  So, how do you schedule in personal time while you are working so hard to get all of the things done?