About
Screen Printed Storage Ottoman with Simply Screen by Plaid
I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do two things: learn how to screen print, and incorporate the lovely birch trees in our backyard into one of my crafts. I have finally done both…all in one project!
In addition to the Simply Screen kit and the toy box, you will also need Simply Screen Silk Screening Paint (I used New Black, Fire Engine (red), and a blue that came with the kit), painter’s tape, a piece of glass (I used one from an 8x10 inch frame), 10-lb white paper (though I just used printer paper, which is 20 lb), a pencil, permanent pen, disappearing ink pen, white cotton fabric and a staple gun.
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Alissa B. favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 23 Jul 19:29
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Pramodini Arela added Screen Printed Storage Ottoman to Marinette's Room (Miraculous ladybug) 08 Mar 01:40
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TARA R. favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 01 Jan 07:18
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Syb' favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 16 Oct 17:21
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Kitsuné favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 21 Oct 02:42
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marceline-the-vampire-queen m. favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 16 Sep 04:00
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Claire M. favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 12 Sep 08:30
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bonii.thomson favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 28 Aug 18:28
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Amanda Wicked favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 20 Aug 23:42
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rachel a. favorited Screen Printed Storage Ottoman 20 Aug 04:47
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Step 1
I found this toy box at Goodwill a few weeks ago. It was in really good condition, and boy do my girls love Thomas. But…I had other plans. I hid it in my bedroom closet with a tablecloth over it, so they wouldn’t see it and immediately claim it for themselves! I really wanted to use it to make something more grown-up for storage. So shhhhh…don’t tell my girls! I should mention that as I’m typing this, I’ve turned my laptop away from my girls who are sitting next to me. Despite my efforts, however, they have caught glimpses of it and exclaimed, “Thomas!” and I had to do Jedi mind tricks to put it out of their heads. Hey, can’t I have anything for myself?
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Step 6
Wait til you are absolutely ready to get to work before removing your screen from the black bag in which it came, to keep it from developing prematurely. The pack that comes with the box comes with a few smaller screens that are great for testing, plus a few larger ones. I was kind of bummed that there was only one piece that was the maximum size, since my design was large. So I was nervous! They did also send a refill pack with a large piece too, but that meant I only had two chances for this design (the nearest Hobby Lobby is 1.5 hours away from me!).
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Step 12
Then submerge the screen in the plastic tub that comes with the kit for 30 seconds, and start scrubbing lightly on your design. You can see on my sponge a little bit of blue on it, and the water will start to become cloudy. You’re basically removing the emulsion (the blue stuff) off the areas where your design has exposed.
What results should be a clear, silvery screen (think about your window screen…it’s like that but finer). I held up my screen out of the water a few times to check if I was removing the emulsion. Sometimes it would seem like I was removing it, but I could see some white residue on the screen still. So I kept gently scrubbing until it was as clear as possible. I think I scrubbed for 15 minutes. I would let it soak for another 30 seconds here and there. Don’t rub too hard or you might start rubbing off the emulsion on the non-exposed parts. When you’re done scrubbing, gently dry off the screen with a paper towel.
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Step 14
Then I taped it down. This is why the instructions say to leave a 1/2 inch border around your design! It was hard to tape it down well because I had no space at the edges. The tape would also serve as extra “breathing room” for painting i.e. to help prevent getting ink on the sides of the design. Oh well. And…for some reason I used my design is upside down. The instructions say you don’t have to print out lettering in a mirror image. I guess the screen works on both sides!
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Step 19
For color, I added some birds to commemorate the ones in real life that visit our trees. Birch trees produce these teeny little pine cones and they love to hang out on the branches and eat the seeds. I burned images of different bird silhouettes that I got from picnik.com. The birds were also my test to see if this would work.