Limited Edition Elsie-May Team Gear!

Because I love my new little niece, I decided to make “Team Elsie” shirts and onesies that put to shame anything Edward or Jacob could throw at us. Team Elsie members include her two loving parents, all four grandparents, and her two uncles (one of which is me!). The green logo represents Greenbaum, which is German for green tree, within the tree is her Chinese name which means Lovely Silk (“Yee” Ai-Shi). The men’s heather shirts are the result of a two step printing process. The green logo was printed first, which is relatively small on it’s own since it was intended to fit on a onesie. As a result, I created what you now see as the blue and white split fountain image flanking the green tree to beef up the design. With the women’s coral shirts, I printed the green tree below the left shoulder and the split fountain image on rear lower right waist. And of course the onesies!

I am quite pleased with the results! All for you Elsie :0)

I experienced love in a new way this weekend. In a way that is undying and and has no horizon. Love can get sappy, and even annoying sometimes, but true love never gets old, just wiser and deeper. I love you Elsie! Congratulations Joyclyn and Jay, you both did a great job in creating a little person that I can love with all of my being!

I experienced love in a new way this weekend. In a way that is undying and and has no horizon. Love can get sappy, and even annoying sometimes, but true love never gets old, just wiser and deeper. I love you Elsie!

Congratulations Joyclyn and Jay, you both did a great job in creating a little person that I can love with all of my being!

These are the shirts I made during my last two screen printing classes. I was able to make a larger image by stacking two 5X7s. However, this led to poor registration, but I’m happy with it nonetheless! The design is of Progresso lentil cans, it is my parody of Warhol’s Campbell’s soups. I think the reason the Campbell’s pop art became so famous was because it reminded that generation of their childhood, growing up on Campbell’s soup stuck in their memories as a simpler time, but here it was in bright and new colors! For me Progresso lentil soup reminds me of my childhood, I have a specific memory of my mom making it for me after I got a cavity filled, and I continue to eat it today because of this memory.

Lastly, a picture update of my garden, I’ve been diligent of watering it and aside from a few insects gnawing at some leaves, its doing beautifully!

The March Merchandise is in for my non-existent brewery! Get it while it’s NOT! 

The product of last weeks screen printing class, I did a two color of the hops logo I made, and printed on shirts, and aprons for Karthik and I to use while brewing. We got to test them out last Wednesday while making my (but not Karthik’s) first all grain mash for our Leap Day Midnight Stout!

The first image has my 4 panel black and white of pictures from my recent camping trip to Joshua Tree. I also made a couple of t-shirts one a couple of sweat stained old hanes shirts. One of which I gave to Rob (teeth-brusher), who was apart of the art.

The second is the digital image I made for our grayscale dither project. Screen printing with a grayscale image was difficult because it responds drastically to uneven pressure in pulls. I had some success but didn’t bother to take and pictures of the final product.

Crafts & Projects for 2012

My broad resolution for this year has been to implement past projects, delve into my creative side, while maintaining my previous interests/hobbies.

The last category consists of surfing and brewing. Keeping up with surfing is relatively easy, but Karthik and I have yet to brew in this new year. There is finally space in the kegerator again, now all we need is a whiff of inspiration and time.

Now the implementing past projects includes many things, one of which is to start gardening. And as of today (Superbowl Sunday) I have finally begun! Last weekend while I was at work I noticed some nice wood and pallets in the delivery area of my company and saw an opportunity to make a raised garden bed. I began construction last Sunday and completed it yesterday. So as not to settle and just being content of its completion I made sure run to the Home Depot garden center to pick up soil, plants, and fertilizer to fill the damn thing. The starting line-up includes Swiss chard, spicy globe basil, orange bell peppers, black krim tomatoes, and ichiban eggplant.

Salvaged pallet and wood.

Completed garden bed.

 

Garden bed in action!

As a kid I always enjoyed drawing and trying to be creative but never found a true outlet for it. Now that I’m older, more patient, and have the means to feed my interests I hastily decided to sign up for a screen printing class at the UCSD Crafts Center. I had flirted with the idea of making my own t-shirts in the past, but never gave it more than 5 seconds of thought, this class came to fruition through boredom, timing, and class availability and the 3 classes that I’ve had so far have been a blast.

 

In our first class we randomly ripped paper to create a negative (orange ink) for a design on cardstock. Our homework was to create a stencil to overlay the first design. 

The left card is a result of the my original stencil. We had time to print a second color in class so I tried to make a complementary design which didn’t turn out the way I wanted (right).

In my third class, we were given the task of stenciling on Rubylith, which is a plastic film overlaid with a red emulsion to create a positive image instead of a negative like my first stencil. I decide to make a logo for Karthik and mine’s brewing endeavors. I’ve been imagining this hop flower design for a while now and was glad that I could finally get it made. World, I introduce you to DK Brewing!

Anyways, here’s to a crafty 2012!

In a turn of events„ I came home the other and saw on the house bulletin/white board a note that read along the lines of “Daniel, the neighbor came by and wants you to come over again”… not knowing really understanding what it could be, I went over tonight. I rang the doorbell and was greeted by the wife first and then the elderly man came. He had a smug smile on his face and reached out his hand. I put out my hand to shake his and was pulled in about a foot at the same time. Mike, as I later discovered was his name, apologized for the other night and explained that he was thinking clearly the first time I came over. He said that he went to the trash can the next day and fished out the soggy red envelopes and retrieved the money inside. He told me he had to dry it out and smiled again as he produced it and handed it to me. I thanked him and rambled about how that I had already put the loss out of my mind, but that it was a pleasant surprise. I went back home feeling a lot better about how this year is unfurling, and since I already came to terms with the loss of this money, I felt like it could be put to better use than buying my next meal, beer, or whatnot. Instead I want it to be used to directly help brighten a person/persons day. So I ask you this, what would you do with $20 to help brighten someone’s day? I will be thinking about this too and update when I’ve done it. 

In a turn of events„ I came home the other and saw on the house bulletin/white board a note that read along the lines of “Daniel, the neighbor came by and wants you to come over again”… not knowing really understanding what it could be, I went over tonight.

I rang the doorbell and was greeted by the wife first and then the elderly man came. He had a smug smile on his face and reached out his hand. I put out my hand to shake his and was pulled in about a foot at the same time. Mike, as I later discovered was his name, apologized for the other night and explained that he was thinking clearly the first time I came over. He said that he went to the trash can the next day and fished out the soggy red envelopes and retrieved the money inside. He told me he had to dry it out and smiled again as he produced it and handed it to me. I thanked him and rambled about how that I had already put the loss out of my mind, but that it was a pleasant surprise.

I went back home feeling a lot better about how this year is unfurling, and since I already came to terms with the loss of this money, I felt like it could be put to better use than buying my next meal, beer, or whatnot. Instead I want it to be used to directly help brighten a person/persons day. So I ask you this, what would you do with $20 to help brighten someone’s day?

I will be thinking about this too and update when I’ve done it. 

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No. Luck! but there is hope in site!

No. Luck! but there is hope in site!

Happy Chinese New Year?

I am not having the most auspicious start to this New Year of the Dragon. This morning I woke up with some New Years snacks to take to work and wanted to display some Red Envelopes. I had remembered that they were in the breast pocket of my jacket but when I reached inside I found only 2 of at least 10-12. I gave it not much thought and assumed I had left them back in LA. 

When I got home this evening I decided to go for a run after two weeks of athletic protest (by sheer laziness), and when I got home was greeted by two of my roomates, Will and Jess.

Will wastes no time and says: I don’t mean to sound racist, but this morning I saw a bunch of red envelopes on the neighbors driveway.

Before he can continue I grimace and say they were mine.

Will: Well I picked them up and handed them to the neighbor, since they were in his driveway.

I think, no worries, I can just go over and ask for them back.

I walk next door and ring the door bell. I am greeted by an elderly man and explain the situation. He takes a moment to respond, before he states that he kept the two dollars (Yes, two dollars for my family), that Will and shown him in the morning, and threw away the rest. With my luck today happened to be trash day, and it was early enough in the morning that they were in before the trash was picked up. My neighbor then disappeared, and re-emerged with the two dollars that he had kept. He said sorry, and I said it’s alright.

I calculated in my head how much money had literally gone in the trash, and estimated it was about $30. Now, I’m not so concerned by how much it was, but more by the fact that as a second generation Chinese-American, I can’t help but consider this as a sign of misfortune and foreshadowing of what this year will bring… or potentially lose. 

In order to test my fortune I decided that I’d take my two returned dollars and buy some lotto scratchers… I have yet to go and buy them, but I will update you all soon.

Since I was still dirty from my run I proceeded to shower. After showering I felt that my contacts were dry and decided to take then out and put in some eye-drops. As soon as I took out my left contact it popped off the suction cup and dropped straight down the drain. While I’m not one to publicly complain about my misfortunes, I thought these sum of events warranted committing to the web and my first post in the Year of the Dragon. 

Anyways, here’s to a great year to come! Gong Xi Fa Cai!