camping birthday party: behind the scenes

I was happy to have an excuse to try some new craft projects and do some screen printing. I was out of photo emulsion and didn't want to buy more (screen printing can be an expensive hobby!) so I decided to DIY it and made my own screen with an embroidery hoop and sheer curtain material. I drew the bear on the screen and then painted Mod Podge everywhere that I didn't want to print. The Mod Podge blocks the ink from getting through the material. And that's it! Once the screen is made, printing is the fun part. Anybody want a bear printed on something? I still have the screen...

I found a guy on Craigslist who had cut down some trees and was giving the wood away for free. Ben stopped by and picked up some nice stumps to use for our fire pit seating and a few extra to carve up for decoration and my cake stands. If your party prep involves a chain saw, you're off to a good start.

Cutting fabric with my Silhouette. Still amazed by this crazy machine.

The fire pit turned out to be a super easy project. I think Ben built it in about 30 minutes. Most of the effort was in hauling the bricks from the car to the backyard.

Frosting and assembling the cakes took much longer than I thought. I really don't know much about building/decorating cakes. I snapped a few photos while I was doing it in case something went terribly wrong later (like dropping them while carrying them outside).

screen printing: scarves

I love the handmade gifts I get from my siblings. This Christmas I received a beautiful bracelet, an alphabet book a year in the making, and the coolest snowman kit ever. And of course the fairy house. I try to come up with a handmade gift each year. Sometimes I do (muffin tin advents and pendant necklaces). Sometimes I don't. This year I decided to screen print something.

My dear friend (and master screen printer) Kristilyn printed a fantastic scarf for me a few years ago and I wear it all the time. I decided to try and print some myself. I used the American Apparel jersey scarves which are super comfy. Although next time I think I'll attempt to buy fabric and cut my own.

There are always a few goofs along the way, but generally they turned out okay. I printed a few totes for the girls too.

here we come a-wassailing...

We decided to go old school (circa 1850) with our neighbor gifts this year. My sister-in-law had made us a yummy wassail mix a few years ago so I used her recipe to mix up several batches for friends. I packaged some in jars and some in bags from last year's screen printed neighbor gift. And threw on a bundle of cinnamon sticks for fun.

We probably should have sung a few old-timey carols when we delivered these...

Screen Printing: Coasters

For our Christmas gifts to neighbors this year, I wanted to screen print something. I'm always looking for an excuse to produce something in mass quantities so I can make good use of a screen. I came up with four Christmas designs for the screen and decided to print them on coasters. I also found little bags to print on and then put the coasters in the bag and attached them to a bottle of sparkling cider. I made tags that had the same designs on them.

There is something so satisfying about removing the screen and seeing the printed result.