Christmas Screen Printing with Simply Screen by Plaid

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I’m loving this new addition to our Christmas decor this season. A Christmas tree word screen print!! 🙂

I can’t image how long that would have taken me to hand-paint. But, it actually didn’t take long at all because it’s a screen print made with the new Custom Simply Screen Kit by Plaid Crafts (sold exclusively at Hobby Lobby)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kit (which retails for $39.99) itself comes with 3 size screens (plus a test screen), paint pens, rinse basin, sponge, squeegee, the light and box — basically, everything you need to get started.  In addition, I also received a screen refill pack and some fabric ink. The box (which actually doubles as the light box used) has simple instructions on the side and there are more detailed directions inside. Even still, I was nervous. Honestly, even though this thing is called, “Simply Screen”, I was really intimidated.

But, thanks to a few additional tips from Plaid & fellow crafty bloggers, it came out great! The first step was choosing a design. Inspired from a large piece of Christmas decor, I decided to do the word Christmas tree. I made my design on the computer, printed it (on standard copy paper even though the directions call for 10lb weight), and then went over the design in sharpie. *Note: it does NOT say that you have to do this in the directions. However, numerous other crafters seemed to have better luck when the image was darker. Plus, I wanted my letters to be a little thicker.

Then, I followed the directions, plus a few additional tips to make the screen. I stuck my image to one of the screens as the directions show and placed it in the light box. However, in addition, I laid a piece of glass (just a plate out of a picture frame) to cover my print & the screen. This was a tip sent by the folks at Plaid to help the image from lifting off the screen and get a “cleaner” image. It went in the light box, in a dark room, for exactly 25 minutes.After the 25 minutes were up, the screen has to soak for about 30 seconds in luke warm water. Then, using the sponge, I gently rubbed off the blue emulsion. There is a basin included to do this in, but I just did it in my kitchen sink. It worked great!After drying the screen on paper towels for just a few minutes, I was ready to try it out! First up, just a piece of cardstock to make a Christmas card. I used gold dust as the color. Painting was SO easy. Just taped the screen down to make sure it didn’t move, put a line of paint at the top & use the squeegee to pull the paint over the image. Here’s what that first image looked like:I loved it! 🙂 So, I decided we needed a print by the nativity scene. But, I didn’t have a gold frame. So, I made another print–this one in silver! It’s a great addition to our Christmas nativity shelf (since we have no mantel). Now I just can’t decide where to put it next! I was thinking about doing shirts for the boys. Do you think it’s too “girly” in anyway? Or, can the boys wear it? I’m also thinking about doing a pillow or some other textiles. Thoughts?

Review:

  • It worked great for me. But, I can see where there definitely might be some issues & a learning curve. Unlike the average consumer, I had the added benefit of getting tips straight from Plaid and other crafters before starting. The tip of using the glass seems like something that really helped & Plaid should consider adding that to the directions.
  • I like that you only have to buy the kit once. Then, if you want to do more, you only need to buy different color paints or the additional refill packs.
  • It has GREAT potential for projects! You don’t have to use transparencies or make the image backwards. Plus, of course, the beauty of screen printing is that you can create en mass! 🙂
  • It’s totally customizable–you can make WHATEVER you want!  Even your own hand drawn designs if you’d like! The downside though, is that you are limited by the size of the box (which isn’t even a full sized sheet of copy paper).

If you’d like to see a video of the process, you can walk through it with the lovely Kim from Today’s Creative Blog!

Disclosure: I was provided the Screen Printing kit & supplies from Plaid, but my opinions and experiences are entirely my own.

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I’m Sara, a mom to three adorable boys living in the Arizona desert. As a former teacher, I love sharing my passions with others. So, have a look around for creative inspiration about cooking, creating, celebrating, traveling with kids, and more everyday mom endeavors!

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