Not quite Martha

New Address Cards
Originally uploaded by emmakat79

Martha Stewart would probably disapprove of my sending out address cards almost a full month after the move actually happened. But I finally got around to making these yesterday and I'm thrilled with how they turned out. I designed them way back in Seattle right before the move, but with everything getting packed away I didn't have a chance to make them until now. I'm sure there are people on my address list that will still appreciate the reminder to update their address books, even if it is somewhat belated!

The design is a fire escape, because Chicago is filled with beautiful examples. This was a two screen project, one for silver (windows and highlighted text) and one for black (the railing & bulk of the text) which I think was well worth it. I even managed to use masking tape to print a few for the shop without my contact info, which should be available soon!

Making Mutilples

That of course comes pretty naturally to gocco. One of the reasons I'm excited about doing a show soon is because it means I can make lots of gocco prints and not think too much about "okay now what am I gonna do with all these things." Sure I can put a few in the Etsy shop but there doesn't really seem to be a great reasons to make lots of anything. Other than the feeling of wanting to get the most out of my screen and light bulbs. But I'm doing a show soon! I need things to show! And a few for the shop, a few for myself....I suspect the gocco machine won't be getting any rest this month.

Multiple Choice
Originally uploaded by emmakat79

I've also had fun making my jewelry in multiples. The same item in different colors is a satisfying result and I can tell that it helps me improve my skills. (should there be a 'z' in skills? Maybe not.) Once I've gotten through all the upcoming busyness (not sure when the heck that'll be) I think making in multiples is something I will continue. It could make the shop look quite pretty!

Goccoing the walls of my apartment

Crafty Jewelry Hanging project
Originally uploaded by emmakat79

I would if I could. Instead last night I made a thing to hang my jewelry on. I just used a sheet of black foamcore, cup hooks and some mirrors from Ikea. And of course Gold Gocco Ink. I think I'm in love with Riso's metallics.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It seems like everywhere you turn there's another article about crafty cool looking jewelry storage. This was somewhat influenced by that, but I think it turned out pretty unique!

The shape I printed with was derived from a pattern (also in black & gold) that I found on a paper I used for some decor above my desk. Yeah, that was another big recent accomplishment.I cleaned and organized my space and actually put up some nice looking stuff above my desk!

Now I just need to try to stay organized.

P.S. I am playing with the idea of having a regular blog schedule, meaning posting certain topics on certain days of the week. I've got a plan of action blog schedule up on the left, and I will see how that goes.

How to catch the Goccoing Bug: Step One

The first step in getting yourself good and infected with an unstoppable desire to acquire a gocco printer is to spend time ogling work of etsy sellers like sarahparrott825. Her shop, amusingly titled "things are better with a parrot," is full of some of the best examples of what this machine can do. Fruits, feathers, flowers, bird and Frogs are all rendered in minimal composition yet the illustrations themselves are beautifully intricate.



sarahparrott825.etsy.com

Sarah hails from Providence, RI and is a member of the Rhode Island Etsy Street Team. It's a small but impressive group of artisans which you can read about on their blog: http://arts-in-ri.blogspot.com/

Diversified

Valentine's Card
Originally uploaded by emmakat79

I officially have more than just jewelry in my shop. Since I started my shop back in October I've been itching to have something more. Admittedly by "something more" I meant goccoed cards and sketchbooks. Fortunately my boyfriend was observant enough to realize this and get me a PG-11 for my birthday. Yey! So after playing with it some for Christmas cards and tags, I've finally gotten around to focusing on making some stuff for the shop. Okay, so I made some of these cards for friends and family as well. Nonetheless, my shop has become slight more diverse!
Look for the new Paper Goods section in my shop!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9052202

Now with Moleskines

Semaphore Moleskines
Originally uploaded by emmakat79

That sounds kind of weird, but point being that I've got some of the 3.5" x 5.5" sketchbooks in my shop. I've been so anxious to finally make something using my gocco machine I could sell in my shop. I finally did! Yey.

Which reminds me I did have a few holiday goccoing projects that I'm proud of but haven't posted anywhere. I managed to work with Chuck (my boyfriend) to make gocco Christmas cards. They turned out well but I haven't photographed them at all! And I made gift tags. I hope I still have a few around I can snap some pictures of!


It's official I'm completely addicted to gocco.

Goccoed Biz Cards Drying

Goccoed Biz Cards Drying
Originally uploaded by emmakat79

This is really the first serious attempt to gocco. Very fun I have to say! We only ran into a couple of little glitches. We intended to print 4 cards at a time so the master had two bars of bead illustrations. The right side did not want to print very well. The original (from the copier) was ever so slightly lighter on that side and we thought maybe that had something to do with it not printing. So we split up the cards even more to print two at a time, just in green instead of green and blue as planned. After that the whole printing process was great.

Then there was the complicated matter of cleaning the screen. My gocco came with a tube labeled on in Japanese and with an icon of a hand with a sponge swiping a white stripe through the black background. Must be the international symbol for "this is a tube of cleaning goo." The instructions we had told us it should remove all the ink in 2-3 tries....but we kept adding more goo and there was still ink. Just as well though, it'd be nice to try making this screen again to see if we can figure out how to get that whole 4 cards at a time thing to work.

Regardless I am ready to go to town goccoing. Next task is our Christmas cards!

First Atempt at Gocco

First Gocco
Originally uploaded by emmakat79

I love 4 day weekends. Chuck and I finally got a chance to play with my new Gocco Machine. We just tried it out. So far we watched the silly 1980s video instructions then attempted making a print with an image off our printer at home. Which they told us not to do several times in the video; Carbon helps in the process or something. I guess the images would probably turn out crisper if we'd followed directions properly. We were both anxious to play, and it was good to see first hand how it turns out. If/when we can get away with using the home printer, it would be more convenient. We also just used paint directly from the tube without mixing...and egad, those are some bright colors. All in all it was a good first go.

Gocco!

I decided to open my b-day presents from Charles (my boyfriend) on my birthday eve, since we have a packed evening tomorrow. I was not surprised, but ridiculously pleased to open the PG-11 Gocco machine! Yey! Just in time to make my own Christmas cards on Thanksgiving weekend!

I've been eying the work in the gocco pool on flickr for a while. http://www.flickr.com/groups/gocco/

I have many ideas....but I'll have to spend some time playing with it and see what I can do first!