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Archives for 2010

Cigar Boxes & Labels

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I love lining my studio with pretty things. I try to keep anything vintage, colorful in plain view (and hide all the plastic bins behind closed doors!) Cigar boxes, covered with vibrant labels, are perfect for storage.


I just use a label maker to identify what is in each box:


I love the varying colors and graphics……


…….and the plain wood ones are just as interesting.


I collect vintage cigar box labels. I use them to cover smaller boxes and also for layering into artwork. I think I picked up most of them through Silver Crow Creations.


To make smaller storage containers, I start with a small plain box:


I use Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish……


……to glue small label pieces to the top of the box (you can substitute Mod Podge):


I wrap a label around the outside to cover all the raw edges and fold the excess into the box:

A finished mini-cigar box…..


….vintage and perfect size for small trinkets!

Silk Screening Dimensional Monograms – Tutorial

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I made this little bubble racer back for Boo today and added her initials to the front. We tested out the water in the pool…..still a little cold, but getting warmer!



The initials have a dimensional 2-layer look to them.


First I printed out the initials I wanted to use:

Then I used double sided tape on the back of a sheet of contact paper…..


….to keep my initials in place on the back of the contact paper to make them easier to cut out. I used a razor blade to carefully cut them out.


You can read my full tutorial on screen printing with contact paper, but in a nutshell I placed the contact paper stencil on the back of my screen and applied a glob of white screen printing ink at the top. Note: I’ve used many different kinds of white screen printing ink…..all with different results. I love the Versatex white ink because it doesn’t crack and is very soft when washed.


To get the three dimensional look, I pulled the ink DOWN the image and then repeated several times using enough pressure to bleed some of the ink under the contact paper. Then I repeated the same process pulling the ink from RIGHT to LEFT over the image to get the ink to bleed under the other way.

Note: You might want to practice this on a scrap piece of fabric to get the pressure right…..but since the ink is going under the contact paper you will need to wash and dry your screen for each print.


The finished print has a slight “shadow” to the left and bottom.


The finished dress!







Now onto my next project…..adding initials to our bedding!

Correcting/Repairing Images for Screen Printing

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I tend to reuse my screens multiple times over for my prints and sometimes the images start to deteriorate as some of the photo emulsion starts to erode and wash off. There is a really simple solution to touch up these images: screen filler


I use a small detailed paint brush to apply screen filler into the areas where the emulsion has started to disappear to clean up my image:


Another problem I run into: the glass I use to create my prints is slightly smaller than some of my larger screens so a small amount of light is diffused leaving a faint line in the final image:


When this happens I just use screen filler to touch up the image:


You can also use screen filler to free hand a design onto a screen. You would apply it anywhere you don’t want ink to pass through. Happy printing!

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