Marshmellow Fluff

I love crafty things.  So the fact that I bought a Yudu a month of so ago meant I could hardly maintain myself from doing anything but thinking about all the things I was going to make.  Initially I set my sights on a Gobo, but apparently they are out of production, hard to find and reliant upon resources on the “endangered” list.  So, I began to research the Yudu, which has mixed reviews at best.  Some believe it to be too costly (emulsion sheets are pricey and pretty user unfriendly), some say the screen isn’t high enough to hold detail and then there are some who think it’s difficult to use all around.  Well, I have to say that using the Yudu straight out of the box, the users are correct.  The ink and emulsion is ridiculously priced, the screen that comes with the device prints  detail and type terribly and it’s a frustrating and expensive learning curve.  Especially those stupid emulsion sheets that bubble, crack and all around suck!  BUT, if you are willing to make some modifications and do some research, you will fall in love with the Yudu, as I did.  Here are the modifications I made:

• Throw the dumb screen it comes with away, its useless and you will hate it so much that you’ll actually enjoy trashing it.  Go online and buy a 220 mesh screen, which will print detail and type wonderfully.

• Don’t purchase Yudu emulsion sheets.  They are terrible.  Speedball emulsion is a liquid emulsion you paint onto the screen and it works beautifully.  With a little practice you will have no trouble.  And, to make it even better, it is way less expensive than the Yudu emulsion sheets.

• Buy a professional rubber squeegee, not the plastic one that comes in the kit.

With those few modifications, I’m sure you will grow to love the Yudu.  I love it so much I’m blogging about it after screening 100 boxes for my wedding invites.  I am tired, my left arm hurts from squeegeeing…that is an impossible word to spell, and instead of going to bed I decided to blog about the Yudu.  My love knows no bounds.