Simply Screen Blog

Win a new SS kit!

2010-11-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

The new kits for Walmart are in and hot! Run on over to the Paint me Plaid blog and enter to win one! Good luck!

Birthday girl on Girls Life!

2010-11-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

We gonna party like it's your birthday! It's your birthday! Sorry, I couldn't resist those fun lyrics from 50 cent. This is our birthday girl Simply Screen. I see it's on sale here. Molly at Girlslife.com made a cute T with it. Check out her project here!

Screen Printing Cork board... It works!

2010-11-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

It all started with this cork board---which originally came dressed in pink satin with ribbons wrapped around it. $1. I snagged it, trading in the fabric for some time with my favorite Folk Art paints and brush.

You maybe can't see, but then I splashed some extreme glitter round' the edges. I'm not sure if I told you I moved, but I moved somewhere in the last few weeks. Whew. So glad it's over! I thought this cork board would look perfect for my notes and ideas above one of my work benches.

Most days, you can find me whipping up jewelry of some form, so I was hot to try the necklace screen. When you screen print cork, I recommend the brush technique or only squeegee-ing the paint down once.

Spray over the final surface with some matte or gloss sealer if you like.

And there you have it! Cute....and cheap! Two of my favorite words. ;)

Simply Screen - Get the Look Quick Tips Video: Foil Technique

2010-11-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Quick tips video that features all the basics of Simply Screen. Be watching for some killer Simply Screen kits at Walmart the day after Thanksgiving! These would make a fun gift from Santa or a unique activity during your holiday vacation. No holiday vacation is complete without a family silk screening night...I always say! ;)

ThunktUp!

2010-11-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled on this site with a bit of quirky info. For example, who invented those cute little tree air fresheners in your car (SnoopDog has at least 8 hanging from his rearview mirror)? I like the yellow, vanilla ones by the way. Or how about, who came up with the "cone of silence?" And hey, they even tell you who invented Simply Screen? ThunktUp has the answers to things I might not've thought about. Fun!

His and Hers...

2010-10-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

It's October 21st and not to speed up time or anything, but it occurred to me that it's pretty much, well, 2 months until Christmas. I can't believe it! The holidays bring entertaining and gift giving. This towel project might fit the bill for guys and gals. I found micro-fiber towels at Walmart and was amazed to find how nicely they screen print!

For Him: Sporty screen prints (sans ribbon) would make a great bar towel. Throw a can of cashews in with a few towels and bingo!

For Her: Screen print and finish the edge with ribbon (you could use fabric glue, or machine stitch in place). How about a couple towels and some nice lotion or hand soaps?

Monograms

2010-10-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

It all started with this nifty little three pack of notebooks. I liked them for three reasons: 1. they were good gifts for guys or gals, 2. the covers were non-glossy so the paint would soak in nice and easy and 3. can one ever have enough note pads?! These came from Target by the way.
I cut out the letter screens and stuck them in place. Be careful here--they need scooched more to the corner than I originally thought.
I used a brush to pull my paint across. Metallic paints looked super snazzy against the matte background, I have to say! ;)
And here ya go... I'm tucking these in some goody bags for some of my gal pals. Love fall and all it's pretty colors!!

Party Time!

2010-10-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but you've got to check out Chica and Jo's Halloween dinner party post. I can almost hear the leaves rustling under the party goers feet from the pictures. From party favors, to napkins to the Simply Screened table runner--IT. IS. AWESOME!!! Tons of great tricks and treats! Now all you need is a costume!

*My month of October feels jammed at this point for creating a dinner party, but I was thinking you could also do this in icy colors for a winter dinner party...aqua, silver and white, maybe? Keep it cozy.

Dorm Room Decor...

2010-10-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my grandparents were heading down to visit my cousin, Mary at school. This is her first year at college. Grandma whipped up a sweet treat to take her and it made me smile because I remember care packages and visits when I was in school. Seems like yesterday! Eh. Anyhow, when I looked at this project, I immediately thought.....dorm room. Mary would love these. If you want a really easy to hang piece, try stretching a silk screened fabric panel around a Styrofoam* piece to get the same look. You can hang it easily with the poster strips. Voila!

Make your own screens!

2010-09-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

(image from Craftgrrl/girlx512)

I found this really nice tutorial for making your own silk screens for screen printing this morning. Thank you for posting it Kristi--the embroidery hoop frame is genius! I've heard some good stuff about Simply Screen paints working with handmade screens so I hope you'll think this is as cool as I do. I think a nice image of my dog Rocker would be awesome for this. Don't you?

Have fun!

Screen Printed Leggings...

2010-09-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

Ok. I can't believe it. It works to screen print on leggings! Chica and Jo came up with this super cute idea! They also put together a cute video how-to. Thanks girls! Target has cotton leggings for $6.00. Who's in?

Simply Screen Giveaway!

2010-09-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

My pals Chica and Jo are giving away some Simply Screen goodies!!! Pop on over here to this link and leave a comment for a chance to win! Good luck everybody! And have a great Sunday!

Laughing is good!

2010-09-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

From "I Wear Your Shirt" guy, Jason Sadler! Thanks for the giggles, Jason!

Touchdown T!

2010-09-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Ok kids. I bought this T for 2.50 and I was so determined to make something fun. Here goes. Touchdown!!! T!!!

Somehow I managed to squegee in an arch around the helmet. You can use your favorite team's colors together too! I have to admit...I wasn't quite sure of my color combo. I'm crafty, not sporty! (but I am proud of our Colts!)

I handpainted the letters in silver with a wide brush. Before I forget to tell you, this screen set comes with three screens-touchdown, football, and football player. The size of screens makes it great for decorating small clothing.

No joke, this took about 10 minutes with cleanup to make. Will that ever not surprise me?!!?

The shorts were also on the clearance rack. Why not?

I screened the brown paint and then hand brushed over the design with copper....because I couldn't help myself. It looked good with just the brown. ;)

Here's a snap of the player screen. I was tempted to put it above the football, but then I stopped myself. Less really is more.......sometimes. ;)

Chicago Craft Social...

2010-09-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Simply Screen will be at the Chicago Craft Social!!! September 24th---one week from tomorrow!!! Check out the details here. It's gonna be fun!!! We will be using Simply Screen to make funky dish towels. Hope to see you there!

Sweet Dreams...

2010-09-16T04:48:00.000-07:00

Cathie Filian made this fun pillow case. She called it the "doodle pillow case." I love that because the design really does look doodled... The trim on the edge makes it extra special. Pillow cases are a great project for a slumber party or to make as a gift for a young one (or actually, I'd love to get one). The instructions are right here!

Lightning Fast Shoes!

2010-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Cute shoe project over on the Family Fun site using more Simply Screen glitter! Here's a link to the instructions!

(photo copyright FamilyFun)

Cheerleading Shirt...

2010-09-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

Gooooooooo team!!! It's spirit day over here on the Simply Screen blog and we're making DIY Cheerleading shirts!

This is the cheer design which comes with two stencils---the cheerleader seen here and the "it's a cheer thing, you wouldn't understand." Will we ever tire of that saying?

I'm doing this one in my cheer-friend's school colors.

The letter stencils make it easy to add individual or team names. I started with the middle letter centered at the bottom of the cheerleader. Print it and leave to dry, then add the outside letters.

I wanted the poms to be glittery so I put the screen back in place and screened the glue over the pom-poms only.

Sprinkle the glitter on while the glue is wet. This might have been my favorite part. ;) Shake off the extra glitter (outdoors) and leave to dry.

Lay the parchement paper over your design and heat set.

Check out the sparkle!

And to that I say Go! Fight! Win!

One More Pocket!

2010-09-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

You may have seen this silk screened design being embellished in the car on our Facebook page. I stitched the red button on as an after thought. In the last post, I used a patterned bag vs. this solid one. Any design works on a solid bag which is awesome. I kind of wish I would have done initials or a bolder design on the patterned bag so it shows up better. Wahhh, lesson learned, right?!?!

A Touch of Sparkle!

2010-09-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

Let's add some sparkle finally to this bag I've been fussing with. I use the tip of a paint brush to apply the glue like this.

Then plop your sparkle into place! Did you know you can use Simply Screen's adhesive to glue the flat back crystals on?

This is the full pocket. I still have high hopes of embroidering around the pocket and butterflies.

I scored some metal embellishments on the clearance rack at Walmart. I like them because they add texture in a subtle way.

But then again, I really love the sparkle! Flatback crystals really are a crafty girl's best friend. ;)

Bag Embellishing Part I

2010-08-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

This bag was $3.24! I couldn't leave it behind (or the two next to it)! The front pocket was begging for embellishing. I set to picking out paint and screens.

This is going to be a gift for a "tween" so I opted for pinks and purple butterflies and flowers.

It's easier for me to use a brush to paint in the smaller stencils. Cosmo pink and sugar plum butterflies....sounds like a fairytale!

The hair dryer really comes in handy for these projects when you are clustering screens because sometimes the screens overlap which could smear the paint. :( Instead, run the hair dryer over your design for about a minute to set the paint a bit and carry on screening without smudging.

After the base layer of paint has dried, you can add details with other colors. A small, pointed liner brush works great for this. This butterfly has a striped border, and inside wing design which adds a lot to the basic silhouette.

Stay tuned for Part II....

For my mom...

2010-08-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

The other night was our library's Crafty Book Club. This meeting focused on t-shirt decorating, altering and fabric painting. Yep, you guessed it! We broke out the Simply Screens! My mom always helps with the meetings and I wanted to make her a special T to wear. She also works at the local high school where they sport the school colors every Friday--Orange and Black. This is a T she can wear over and over all year long!

The Chandelier screen placed on the shoulder was a fun change. I found that the chain at the top needed to be positioned closer to the neck than I originally thought (if I had to do it over again). Tin Foil (metallic silver) shows up really well on black too. Once it's dry, you can glue crystals on top of the design, or stitch vintage buttons in place. If you opt for crystals, try Gem Tac to glue the crystals on. One t-shirt + one screen + one bottle of paint + a few crystals = a happy mama! Yay!

Tip!

2010-08-22T19:51:00.001-07:00

Here's a tip for you! no pun intended, of course ;)

But! Did you know you can remove the end of the bottle tip, making a larger hole so it's easier to put extra paint back? I actually just discovered this myself. Waste not, want not, right?

Peace Pack!

2010-08-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

Today was the kids first day back to school. Sigh. The school buses were glowing like giant fireflies. The kids were busting out their new school clothes and gear. It reminded me of this cute backpack project using the peace screen and funky metallic paints. And to top it off, I saw a leaf go swaying to the ground on my way home from breakfast. At that point I thought to myself, "ok! I get it! Get busy and live up the rest of the warm weather because it is going to be over before I know it!" So to that I say bring on the remains of summer fun! Strawberry shortcake, a cannonball jump off the high dive at the local pool, or maybe just a lazy read on the ol' porch swing...

Carmi Screens it Pretty!

2010-08-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

Our girl Carmi goes to town again, this time with the Random Hearts Stencil! I'm intrigued with all the colors together---and it works! How do you do it, Carm?!? If you are looking for awesome ideas and tutorials, she has the coolest blog. You can also learn about how she decorates shirts with the flat back crystals and embellishments. XOXO.

Simply Screen: Brush Technique

2010-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

To get a crazy custom effect, try using a paint brush to fill in all the areas on your screen. I recommend practicing first to get the feel of how much paint and pressure you need. You can layer paints to get a shaded look too....check out this video to see the full meal deal! Delicious!

More Back to School...

2010-08-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've always been a sucker for school supplies. Maybe even more so since I don't have to actually go back to school... ;) These pencil bags were a buck a piece which was great because I've never actually screen printed on nylon, so I wasn't in a lot if the project flopped.

It worked just fine! You can brush another color of paint on the pouch before screen printing to make it extra cool. For the pink one, I brushed cosmopolitan on first then screen printed it with silver. The metallic paints looked really good on the nylon. Sporty screens are great for the boys! Sometimes it's tricky to make stuff for boys---this was easy!

Yearbook style! 2 sweet. 2 B. 4 gotten. Oh Yeah!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Notebooks Screened Rad!

2010-08-06T13:28:00.001-07:00

The stores have been hopping with back-to-school shoppers. I found these updated composition notebooks for 25 cents each! Crazy. 25 cents?!? I had to have some...

So fun and fast...use whichever screen you like! I used the multi-color technique on each of them. It took me around 20 minutes to do all three including clean up.

This checker pattern makes me think of Vans shoes back in the 80s. I sealed each print with a layer of varnish such as Royal Coat so the screen printed design is protected. "Write" on!

Riding the Crazy Craft Train!

2010-08-01T06:24:00.002-07:00

Last week was crazy! I took off for the Craft and Hobby Association Show last Sunday. It's non stop craftiness at this show, from scrapbooking, painting, glitter, glue, glass painting, jewelry making, clay, sand art, yarn and I could go on and on and.....on. Not to mention your favorite crafty celebs! It was great to see old friends and make some new friends. I passed out lots of Simply Screen samples too. Free stuff! Yay!

I was excited to meet the Craft Critique girls finally! They did a fun review of Simply Screen. It's cool to see how different people approach screen printing.... You can check out the review here. As for me, I'm going back to nurse my crafty hangover with a little "nip of the dog"...screen printed note cards. ;-)

Carmi's got the Magic Touch...

2010-07-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Carmi Cimicata, you are amazing! I can't get enough of this shirt and all the little details. What a great way to use the necklace stencil and that stash of pretty whimsies. Check out Carmi's tutorial....and blog for more pretty things.

What's Cookin'?

2010-07-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hey Good Lookin's! Check out this cute screen printed apron! This one was made with a blank apron, any stencil, metallic plum Simply Screen paint, and embellished with flat back crystals. You could screen print one bold design or tile the design like this one. Either way! Fun and fresh for your favorite baker.

I just picked up some blueberries at the farmer's market for some fresh muffins. Oh summer, will you stay forever? This is my Grandma's recipe... Let me know what you think!

Candie's Grandma's Blueberry Muffins-

The thing I love about these muffins are A: they're grandma's homemade blueberry muffins and B: they are not ultra sweet, but more of a delicate sweet...like not steroid sweet. Know what I'm sayin?

Makes 2 Dozen, Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Sift together: 3 C. flour, 1 C. sugar, 4 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp salt
Mix in: 1/2 C. shortening, 2 eggs, 1 C. milk
Gently fold in: 2 C. blueberries
Fill muffin cups at least 1/2 to 3/4 full and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes.

A handmade apron coupled with homemade muffins??!? Yum. That's all I can say! Have a fun weekend!

We've got some winners!

2010-07-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Good evening...sorry for making you wait ALLLLLL day for the winning names! The suspense, right?!?!

I'm excited to say that:
Neeley, Aliera, binabug, edcards, fabulous, sondra, Ty, munzie, joshua, sigourney, Ann, lolamichele, rayven, jeff/rey, starr fish, debbie_h2o, scrapaholicaef, dolly, diane and blessed

have won some Simply Screen awesomeness!! Send me your addys stat!

simplyscreen(AT)candiecooper.com

If you didn't win, don't be sad! We'll be launching some more Simply Screen into the virtual stadium soon! And don't forget to friend us on Facebook, because we do giveaways over there too! :-)

Win Big-Time! Because they rock our stuff!

2010-07-16T04:28:00.001-07:00

They're wearing our shirts today, now let's party and give away some free stuff!!! So here it is, kids! A chance to WIN enough Simply Screen screen printing goodies to make a truck-load of shirts (like at least 40 anyway)! Tell your friends and neighbors I've got 25 goody packs, each containing 1 stencil and 3 paint colors to give away! Free! With that much product, you can even make grandma a shirt!

IWearYourShirt.com fans welcome and thanks for making the trip! Can I just say that I'm so happy those crazy, gaudy shirts I made for EVAN and JASON's live show didn't scare you away!?! BTW, if you missed them testing out Simply Screen live (which happens today at 12 EST), you can see the archived show here. It's pretty addicting...their show and screen printing. Just a warning. ;-)

Ready to win? Just leave a comment answering one of these questions:

Have you ever fooled around with Simply Screen?

Do you have any experience with screen printing?

What do you think about Simply Screen?

Your comment will enter you to win one of the faaaaaabulous 20 prize packs here on the blog. Hey! We're also giving away 5 more goody bags (Jason's idea) on our Simply Screen FACEBOOK page. So let's do this! Leave a comment!

*Please note: Stencil design and paint colors will vary from the photo above (that's a fancy pants stock photo fo the goods), but I promise each will have 1 screen and 3 paints. Hope that's cool!

Teens and Screen Printing...

2010-07-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

Good times at the teen Simply Screen night! This was organized through the teen summer reading program at the Carnegie Library of Wabash. We had 17 delightful young people sign up to decorate their Ts. Remember those endless summers when you hung out with your pals, before you could drive, passing the days with the occasional baby sitting gig and reading junior novels??? I thought you would.

Everyone brought two Ts---one for practice and one for real. We used the LOVE and the FLYING GUITAR screens. My mom and Laura from the library washed the screens in between prints. It's key to have a couple people to do this job if you plan to make more than one T at your party.

Designs were screen printed on the back, off sides, at an angle, at the bottom, front and center and just about anywhere you can think of!

I always see the coolest finger nail paint jobs when working with teens!

Yep, the ol' ribbed tank works too!

Completely hand painted with tons of detail!And there were tons and tons of smiles next to the finished Ts. The end...

Thanks to the Carnegie Library of Wabash for having us!

Bachelorette Party!

2010-07-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

Our crafty gal-pals over at When Creativity Knocks have a super fun video showing screen printing ideas using the "Bachelorette Party" stencil. What a unique way to celebrate the bride-to-be! Cheers, Ladies!

Amy's T

2010-07-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

We love our Chandelier T's around here... Amy has a fantastic glitter tutorial over on the Think Crafts blog. Glue and glitter---it really doesn't get any better, does it?

Scrap Blocks Screened Cute!

2010-07-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

The other day I was rummaging around in grandpa's garage and came across a box of scrap wood. "Take whatever you want," he says! You don't have to tell me twice when it comes to free crap (sorry, but there is no other word to describe it).

I dove into painting them with whimsical Folk Art paint colors. Swiping and passing around the edges with a dry brush and contrasting color. This took all of ten minutes for three blocks including clean up.

I then used a coarse sand paper around the edges and across the front to remove paint from the corners and smooth. It's important to wipe them with a clean cloth after this because they are mega dusty.

With the size of the blocks, the butterfly stencil pack worked great. I opted to layer a couple colors in the end. My origianl plan was to screen all 3 Bippity Boppity Blue.

Screen print as usual using the squeegee or brush technique.

The first layer is done and I left the little blue butterfly alone.

These are staying on my book shelf. Before I forget, I sealed these babies with some varnish to protect them. If you want, you could put some hanging brackets on the back and tack them up in a snap for some original wall art.

Two is the Magic Number!

2010-06-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Laura's first attempt at Simply Screen-ing. Laura is one of the local librarians in the children and junior section and she always wears a smile. Always! She also arranged for our Simply Screen and teen party. We sat down for a pre-party practice run and when I mentioned I liked the shirt she was decorating she said something along the lines of, "it's the one I sleep in." It was her "practice shirt" after all. And now she has the cutest PJ shirt in the state! She painted the first layer in black and then brushed a few areas with copper penny. I especially love the inside of the "O."

This is another shirt with just two colors. The first layer was metallic Sugar Plum and then Envy Green was brushed around the edges. 2 colors. 2 awesome. 4 ever. Just sayin'. Stay tuned for more pics from our crafty library Simply Screen and teen party!

Sparkle and Pop!

2010-06-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

The fireworks have been starting, so I'm sharing this uber sparkly glitter chandelier T. I love the way the blue color really pops against the black background. Using the Simply Screen glitter is really easy---you just have to make sure to get the Simply Screen adhesive instead of the paint. Check out the instructions here and get your sparkle on!

Cathie screens!

2010-06-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Check out these AMAZING Simply Screen projects by Cathie Filian which she made for Better Homes and Garden. Click here for the instructions. Cathie and Steve from Creative Juice always have the coolest ideas that are so fun, fast, and fresh! I love how this bag has a Simply Screened "patch" that has been stitched in place. Lord knows I need the key-finder too!

Watch Me Screen!

2010-06-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

I meet the coolest people when I help Plaid with their Make and Takes at the Craft and Hobby Association shows! In January, we showed folks how to work the screen to print plain white Ts and it was FUN! This is one happy simply screener. It doesn't take much to get started... For our booth each person got a white T, 1 to 3 paint choices and a screen. She chose to do a one color print in pink and then high-light sections of the L-O-V-E with a paint brush in black. All in all it took her about ten minutes (maybe even less)! Check out this video with Joyce Chen which we filmed on the last day of the show to see just how easy it is... Roll em', as they say!

Hello there!

2010-06-21T08:40:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the Simply Screen Blog! Thanks for stopping by. This is a blog that's all about how to take and make a plain white T (and a few other fashion fabulous items) awesome using Simply Screen goodies. If you haven't seen Simply Screen, it's an easy way to screen print just about anything without a lot of equipment. There are tons of stencils, paint colors, and embellishments that go along with the designs too. I've been showing people how to use the screens for the last year and I haven't met a person who's not amazed by how fast and easy the process is. We're all about having fun this summer and I think you'll find some neat ideas to take and try at home. So let's get this party started!

This is a shirt that already had a design on it. I loved the front and the back...but especially the back with the trickling numbers. The only problem is the tag is now in the front, but not for long. All you children of the 80s out there saw it coming----just cut a simple "V" to remove said tag and while you've got the scissors handy, you may want to cut the neck out completely. Once settled, you can lay your t-shirt out and print whatever design you like. I used the rockin' flying guitar combined with the multi-color paint technique. Blast!