Craft Must Have #2

Sure, so I can probably fill my entire blog with a wish list, but the Imprintor is really special. And so is the next thing on my wish list. Again, it will allow me to craft while making money. How awesome is that?! Follow your heart! Find a job that allows you to do what you love! And then incorporate MORE of what you love into what you do! Seems like a recipe for success for me.

Other than trying my hand at silk screening in my high school Visual Communications class, I had no interest. Why? The process was long, messy and complicated. And it just didn't hold my interest. When I first found out about Gocco, I didn't start off as being super enthused. Silk screening? I thought I crossed that one off my list! But after seeing the machine in action, seeing the projects and its versatility, I changed my mind in a hurry! Now that I'm firmly bitten by the silk screening bug, it doesn't take much to get me going.

My husband and I were walking through Micheals Craft Store in Edmonton. He was there to help me with my halloween tombstone decorations, or something similar. He's ALL into crafting with powertools. And he doesn't call it crafting. That's not manly! When I spotted this wonderful little machine: Yudu™ Personal Screen Printer. It is advertised as such:
"The Yudu™ screen-printing system is the easiest, cleanest way to let everyone know who you are—and how you see the world. Don’t settle for what everyone else is wearing or spend hours futilely trying to find a t-shirt that expresses the real you. With access to a computer and an ink-jet printer, you’ll be able to create and print your own designs not only for t-shirts or other apparel, but also for home décor, art prints, posters, cards, schoolwork, and much more! With this revolutionary personal screen printer, you can let your voice be heard today, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Unsilence yourself today with the Yudu™ Personal Screen Printer."
Unsilence myself?! Yes! Let me scream my identity from the mountaintop! Or, my t-shirt. And again, I can see myself making MONEY with this beauty! It's so shiny! And purple! And the accessories - oh my! Oh my is right. Like all other craft obsessions I am known to get into, this one comes with many many many accessories, which all cost money. Darn. But I'm saving up. I just don't know what I'll get first - the Imprintor or the Yudu.

Tell me about YOUR favorite craft or craft machine or hobby! I want to hear all about it!

Alana's Next Craft Must Have

Okay, I know I've said that about a million times. "I would be the happiest crafter in all the world, if I just got (insert item du jour). I said that every time I walked into a craft shop as a kid, and especially when they had sales. Fimo! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fimo Oh, how I loved that stuff! I would make beads until I didn't know what to do with them anymore, I made intricate designs in a jelly roll of the stuff, and cut it into slices and smoosh it onto glass jars that would light the room when you put a candle in them. I would spend hours with my sister making seed bead necklaces (mine never were as beautiful as hers). Melting chocolate sculptures and cake decorating kits and learning to sew. Every new craft I fell in love with would come with an entire barage of tools of the trade. Yes, the craft world is my oyster and I just need to get inspired, and then a bank loan.
I said that with the Gocco Printer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJzkhfWwrXM after a friend of mine introduced me to this ingenious Japanese silk screen machine. She made cards, and wedding invitations, and I fell in LOVE. It didn't hurt that I worked at a print shop where I could order any of the marvelous papers we had access to!
It was after I graduated from college that I realized the most awesome thing ever would be to combine my love of these things into a money making venture (okay, I figured that out in grade six also when a friend and I started a "company" selling bracelets made out of that plastic lace that was marketed as "Gimp". But that didn't work out, and our working relationship ended when the afternoon recess did).
I was doing freelancing graphics for friends and family. I used my Gocco Printer (a birthday present from my craft-savvy mom) to make wedding invitations, napkins for parties and other things for profit. I started selling Stampin' Up (I ate up all my profits in personal sales). If I worked at a craft store, I would have to explain to my husband why I never brought home a paycheque. So being able to combine my wedding invitation side business with the print shop I own is great. Sure, I might swear when I'm madly silk screening wedding invitations at midnight to meet a deadline, but it allows me to craft at my job, and I love it.
So while at an industry related trade show in Las Vegas, I discovered this wonderful machine. It can print on pens! It can print on mugs! It can print on GOLF BALLS! Stress balls, shot glasses...Anything your heart desires, this machine claimed to be able to do. And it wasn't enough that they had all this information on it - they actually had a demo model of the machine - they were showing people how easy it was to do and ... step right up and TRY the thing! In the exact same way I fell in love with other craft projects, I fell in love with this. The Imprintor. Sure, I was impressed, but with the purchase of the shop fresh in my mind and on my pocketbook, it was a look but don't touch prospect. Sigh. But while cleaning up my office, I discovered the brochure, and checked out the website and fell in love again.
Meet my new love interest the Imprintor: http://www.imprintor.com/
I figure I can turn heavy duty crafting into even more money, and have a blast doing it. Who wouldn't want a machine to make their very own golf balls? Shot glasses for that special ladies night out? Stress balls that can tell you where to go and how to get there. Nevermind all the clients I can sell promotional products to. I can see spending the first batch of supplies on me and my own personal projects. Now if I can just convince someone else that it's fun so that when my arm gets sore (and it WILL get sore) they can take over for me...
Anyway, that will remain on my wish list for the time being, but you'll never know when things may change and you get a pen from me saying "You stole this pen from Alana's office". Ahhh.
Have fun crafting out there!