Oooh...it's so coool...

I don't know if I just got lucky or what, but I was able to find two packs of Polaroid 600 Film at CVS tonight. I'm kind of impulsive, so I didn't want to order them online and wait for the shipping. Hooray! So I grabbed both and sped back home.

There's a bunch of tutorials on how to modify the sx-70 to use 600 film. Most involve removing the filter from the camera eye, and adding a filter to the lens.

Since my first test was with an indoor light box, I only removed the filter from the eye, and also cut off the "nubs" from the film cartridge so it would slide into the camera. Initially, I used one light to bounce off the top of the box in the darkest exposure setting. But the standard bulb turned out way too yellow in the pictures. So I switched to a daylight fluorescent bulb, and then it became too blue. So ultimately, I used both bulbs and bounced them off from opposite sides. It took a few shots to get the white balance somewhat right. The exposure was left at darkest.

Here's the last and best picture I've got.

I guess choosing Baby for my first run wasn't so smart. Between trying to manual focus on him and keeping him from shredding my pillow apart, the compositions, or lack thereof, were poor. As you can see here.

I liked that final shot though. Hmmm...now what do I do with it?

Our very first Gocco project! Mo and I spent the Saturday playing with each of our newfound loves, PG-5 and PG-11. It was a very educational and emotional experience. We learned a lot on this first double-date. Next time we will be more prepared when the Goccos decide to make a move on us!

I was a slacker and didn't have my design ready before our meeting, so I was still trying to draw up something. My gocco patiently waited for me to get ready. Mo was already starting with the screen burning.

My initial sketch. A simple character. This is to be printed in two processes. One print in gold for the fill, and one print in black for the outlines plus orange for the star.

Finally done with the original. I wanted to save screens, so I decided to put both layers (fill and outlines) onto the same screen. I used the provided carbon pen to finalize my drawings. (I don't know why it has to be carbon, I have not tried other pens.)

Mo looking excited and attempting her first screen. This part was pretty dramatic. The blue filter got into the way and fought a battle between her and her PG-5. Conclusion, don't use the blue filter unless you have a very dark and dense photocopy. The filter is to prevent the carbon getting all over the screen. But if your copy is weak, the screen will not burn fully and you will end up wasting lots of bulbs and screens! Mo and PG-5 turned out victorious in the end. Blue filter got pushed to the side.

A screen was burned, at last, and Mo inked the screen and is printing her first card.

First! It's pretty cool looking, it reminds me of old rusty photocopiers.

Me only just burning the screen. What a slowpoke. I was such a noob and didn't burn the images in the right orientation to allow space for the bigger papers to print. So I had to cut off the holder tab on the screen and rotate it, then tape the screen to the gocco so it'll hold in place.

Checking the results. It burned, but I think if my pen drawing was denser, the screen would've burnt more cleanly. There were a few streaks in the fill area that didn't get burned. It was acceptable in the end though.

Inking and making the first print.

Mo is way ahead of me

Pretty soon we had papers just lying all over to dry. You can see the different colors that were used on the screen.

Final products!

Oh yea, this one is my favorite.

The iPhone is pretty. And the first day I got it, I stripped it naked. No protector, no plastic cover, nada. I didn't want anything masking up its beauty. Bare was best. And then I second thought myself when it was ready to go into my purse to go out.

I know most 'enthusiasts' would scream in fright at the thought of what I almost did. Let alone stripping it of its original packaging before even getting a protector for it. I already knew I wanted to order invisibleSHIELD, mind you. Having had experience with it on the nano, I know it was a worthy investment. But I wasn't going to wait until I get it in the mail to start using my phone.

So what do I do? Do what I do best. Make something. I didn't want any of those ugly hard shells or leather cases for it. Nuh-uh. My phone needs to look as naked as possible. So, I went to my local Beverlys and picked up some vinyl.

Holy crap! Thin vinyl is $0.99/yard there. I cut up a TINY corner out of that yard to make my pseudo-invisibleSHIELD. I ordered my invisibleSHIELD for $43 for two full-body sets (one for someone else).

So I made some cuts, and I poked some holes, and made my makeshift bodysuit for my phone. I relied on the staticky stickiness of the vinyl and a few slivers of invisible tape to keep the thing in place.

Don't laugh too hard. It's obviously not lookin as good as iS. But with 60% effort and less than 10 cents, I was able to walk out the door cradling the phone in my purse (and flash it to all the noobs wishing they had one).

Eventually I got my package in the mail. Ah, they've definitely upped their product packaging since the nano. You can tell these guys have made a lot of money.

Without further ado, the invisibleSHIELD.

Instead of having to use soap and water, now it comes with this spray for moistening your fingers and films. It pretty much feels and looks like water, but maybe it's purified so it won't leave residue. It also comes with a squeegee that works well for squeezing out air bubbles.

And off comes the vinyl!

Honestly, the vinyl feels very very close to the shield. It's just that the vinyl is not as smooth and a tiny bit thicker, and doesn't have the adhesive. But remember, 10cents vs $21.50.

Here's the sheet for the whole backside.

The trick to getting your placement just right is to spray enough of the spray so that the sheet can slide around until you find a good spot for it. The corners will be a little bit tricky, and it'll seem like it'll never look right at first. But once the solution dries out a little bit, the stickiness will return and you can hold the corners in place until they stay. The material is stretchy, so the corner tabs will stretch a bit to conform to the curvature of the phone. Everything will look fine in the end. It recommends pushing the corners into the palm of your hands for a few minutes to make it stay. That helps.

Much better than my original work, eh? Obviously comes with the price. But honestly, I felt like I was just getting a piece of well-cut sticky vinyl. Not that I wouldn't get it again or that there is much better option, but still. They must be making good money considering the fancy packaging they've got going on nowadays.

As good as it is, one thing I don't like about the shield is the tacky feel of it. It FEELS like vinyl. It has that stickiness. Of course we don't REALLY want it to have a smooth plastic feel cause then there'll be a whole ton of people getting product replacements because the phone slipped out of their hands. invisibleSHIELD has a 100% guarantee, you know? If the shield fails to protect your device (under reasonable circumstances), the company will replace the shield AND the phone for free. At least, that is what they advertise...

Pen turning is awesome! Rockler did a good job getting people introduced to this stuff. What a deal, for five bucks you can turn your own pen (up 'til Mother's Day). Buying a normal good pen is more than five bucks already. The instructor was also really helpful (and hawt). It took me over an hour to finish my pen. It was fun. I probably ate/snorted a lot of wood. Now I don't know if I can bear to give it up to my mom...maybe I'll hang onto it til her birthday, haha.

Before

After

http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds

Soooo cool. Imma widdle grandma now in my 90s.