I spend my Saturday at the YMCA in Lynn tabling for my workplace. I got to meet so many RAW Families and kids. Hopefully I got a few parents to sign their kids up for our program!

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Last night I did some one:one teaching on letterpress printing. The person mentioned repeatedly that they could see how letterpress could be addicting. Their layout looks good and locks up tight. The blocks will get hand carved images and we're going to talk about coloring and how we'll print the final pieces. Colored paper? What colors of ink? So many choices. #letterpress #teaching #art #artistsofinstagram

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I made myself some labels for our cold brew- I'll let you guess which one is for decaf and which is for regular. I've been making fresh cold brew with the @puckpuckme contraption for a few weeks already and it's making me so happy. I do with they'd make one that had a north America thread so I could more easily get a replacement bottle. (I know I know, I could just buy the puck puck top!) Anyway, I've been using a china marker for the label and it just looked wrong. Now we fancy. Laser print on vinyl. #makergonnamake #maker #artsyfartsy #labels #coffee I might make a whole different version later. Who knows.

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Trask ink- I scrape all the leftover ink from the kid's projects into a tub I call my trash ink. The kids laugh but get it. Ink is expensive. This is a"custom" blend of @speedball_art professional series water soluble inks. That is all the inks we own mixed up in a random assortment.this is a really nice green grey shade that works. Sometimes trash ink is more red or black but the kids are printing with a lot of blue and green. Anyway I've been saving my used masks and printed these up today. I'm going to print on the same sheet with another shade but with ear loops pointing in. Layers I dig 'em. Had a bunch of kids get a bunch of work done so I decided to treat myself to an hour on the press. Glad I did. #printplay #print #printmaking #trashprintmaking #reliefprinting

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I found this antique gem of a pencil in a baggie of donated pencils and brushes. A @generalpencil Rooky circa WWII judging by the plastic ferrule, state of the paint, a d the buttery smooth graphite inside. I want to use.it but also want to preserve it. Super cool. #pencil #antique #graphite

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A little DIY for Saturday. I've been hooked on Comply foam tips for my in ear true wireless ear buds. They keep the buds in place like nothing else. Silicone tips just slid out (there a lesbian joke in there somewhere) and I nearly lost the JBLs a few times to the train. Foam solved that issue. The problem? They range from $15to just over $20 for a 3 pack and if you are like me, and need small and mediums you are shelling out $30 to $40 for 6 pairs. The JLab cloud are a good cheaper option but are $7 for 3 pairs (for me) it's just a lot. Enter the DIY solution- cheapo ear plugs for sleeping. Super soft and available in a wide range of colors, I went with neon pink (yaaas). Each pair of plugs make 2 pairs of tips, when you cut them down each end can be used. Full how to on the blog next week. But smush and use a tool to punch a 2 to 3 mm hole the full height. Let it expand again, and use sharp scissors to cut to size. Cut a bit of extra length and then stretch and pull that bad boi over the stem where tips usually go. The tiny hole holds the plug to the stem with a vice lock grip. Roll and install in ear holes. They locking place as well as the Comply and are as comfy as the Clouds. Also hot pink. Cost? $5 with a coupon. Tools? Scissors and a hole punch. #diy #maker #makergonnamake #cheapass #soundsgood

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Ive been doing some research into bleach printing. And whooooaaaaa boy, you can screen print with Clorox gel toilet cleaner. You get a nice crisp print if you have a properly prepped fabric. Also writing with the gel in a squeeze bottle with a fine tip gets some nice results. It does take some time for the color to bleach out but what a cool effect.

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Some adventures in rough leather work.this is buck skin, so very soft. I did consider giving it the boil treatment but chose to just let it be super soft. I have gotten a few key cards to gain access to a few buildings. The work card holder was made of a soft flexie plastic that hardened and chipped away. I decided to make a new case from the buck skin and some hand stitching. I considered holding off to go to the brickyard to use their industrial machine but opted for the hand stitching. Anyway. Simple folded over leather and rounded corners and eyelets to secure the card inside. I also have wanted a key holder that lets the keys swing out easily. I can't find my screw posts so this will have to do for now. Basically the key holder will keep the pockets of my jeans from shredding over time. The raw key card has red stitching and the brickyards has black. #makergonnamake #maker #leather #keymanagement

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I'm trying so hard to stick to the plan. Bacon, egg, and cheese baked egg "muffins". A small amount of corn starch helps them keep their shape in the fridge. I make a 4 pack of these every other day. Keeps me from picking up a breakfast sammich as often as I want. 4 eggs, beaten, tsp of Greek yogurt (or sour cream), half tsp of corn starch (helps the muffins stay fluffy over night and helps the eggs get lift, salt pepper, other herbs if you like. Beat well . Pour I to 4 muffin tin sprayed well, add bacon or ham etc and a sprinkle of cheese, bake at 350° for 15 to 20 min or until golden brown. Stores for a day or so in the fridge covered. #food #foodie #changingmydiet

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Thanks to work, I'm a member. ❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉 I'm pretty excited at the zine making and printing opportunities that are here... Also... I've always wanted to learn how to weld. It was never something my dad taught me despite having the tools. So... It might happen. #makergonnamake #tools #playtime#alsowork

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My patchwork shirt has gotten to the point where I can no longer stitch it by hand comfortably. The bulk of the shirt is just too large for my hands. Also... The actual stitching kills my wrist and fingers. I can do 2or 3 small patches... But I resorted to the sewing machine this weekend. Which I still find relaxing but in a different way. I also stealth patched a hole in my second fave pair of jeans with the machine. Very smooth and comfortable. I need a new spool of variegated blue thread though. I think I paid 5 bucks for my current large spool many years ago... Now the same spool is $12. Sigh. I also added a stealth stress patch to the groin area of my fav pair of jeans. The old converse one star that I've altered to a perfect not quite straight but also not a skinny fit and wore out in grad school only to then add in sashiko style patches. The stitching on some is wearing thin which means they'll need more patches. I'll be working in small patches so I can keep them sashiko style. #stitching #morebadchoices #wristpain

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I carved a pineapple with a pizza the other day. I cleaned it up today (my wrists are screaming at me) and then layered it with @posca_usa and caran d'ache crayons. Then I used the lino block to demo how to print a block with some of my students who laughed at the ridiculousness of my humor. Several also yaaas'd the idea. Several icked it. Im gonna try to clean up a good photo of the sticker and try to print some of these for print pack supporters. Might make another version of it. I'm digging the idea of ridiculous stickers. #blockprint #linocut #wristpain #imakebadchoices

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