I make stuff.
This storage container filled with gold gilding supplies has been on the shelf staring at me for months. I’ve never tried it, but I’ve wanted to for years. I’m finally working on a project I planned on applying gold gilding to a painting. I think I pushed it off for so long because I thought it was a huge process, but it turned out to be really easy and quick.
Mixing colors is hard. It’s a skill I’ve always been decent at but I’ve also never really dedicated time to getting better at it. I was an art minor in college and spent a good amount of time learning about color. So I know how to mix colors, I just never really cared to do it. And for a lot of people, it can be really frustrating.
I go to the art store most weekends. Even if it’s just to walk around and get out of the house for a bit. Recently, I started noticing more paint coming in CMYK sets. I even came across a watercolor set like this. I’m currently in the middle of a painting and decided it might be fun to switch things up a bit and I grabbed a few bottles of fluid acrylics to play with.
It had been a while since I’ve done a painting and I had one that has been sitting unpainted for over a year (see post: Still need a Bob). Linda and the kids have been without a husband/father all this time.
Continue reading “Masking an Acrylic Painting on Gessobord with Cricut”
It Have you tried Urban Sketching? I never did, although I’ve always been interested in it. Every time I browse art books, I often gravitate to the books showcasing urban sketches. I like that they are generally quick sketches filled in with washes of color. They are imperfect and loosely drawn. Or at least most of what I’ve seen is.
Living in Seattle, I’m close to many iconic locations. From the waterfront to the space needle, it is pretty easy to find something to sketch. Many of my friends and past co-workers work at Starbucks and I am no stranger to stopping at the Starbucks Reserve at HQ on the weekends. It’s only a few minutes down the road and it’s a few blocks from several of the art stores I patronize.
Continue reading “Urban Sketching with Water Soluble Supplies”
I have one million watercolor sets at home. I don’t know why since I never really ever painted with watercolor. But I keep thinking I want to try it and I keep buying sets that someone says is awesome. I finally plucked a set of Dr. Ph. Martin’s watercolors off the shelf and decided to play around with them. I figured the best way to start was to create a watercolor mixing chart to see what the colors looked like and how they mix between them.
In my last post, Trying a Punch Needle Kit, I created a little fox. I mentioned in that post that you were basically creating a mini rug. So, of course, I spent days obsessing over rug making. Most of that time I found myself on the Oxford Company YouTube channel watching video after video on the process of making a rug.
Amy Oxford’s videos are really easy to follow and full of information. Her videos break down every step in making a rug, from Creating a Carpet Tack Frame, Transferring your pattern to your material, to Hemming your work and the finishing touches. Even if I was not planning on trying to make a rug, I could see myself watching her videos because Amy comes across very kind and her videos are very slow-paced and calming.
The other day, I stopped into my local fabric store and while making my way back to the embroidery threads I saw this cute fox hanging from one of the aisle end caps. Whelp, I guess I am trying a punch needle kit now. Don’t you hate when you come across something and you know you’re powerless to pass it up?
A few weeks ago, Bramble Berry was advertising their rose gold bath bomb kit and I decided to grab one. I don’t care for rose scented things, but I generally carry most of the items needed to create bath bombs from my other crafts and I thought this might be something I’d be interested in trying. So why not get a kit to try it out.
I paid $28 including tax. Shipping was free for this promotion.
Opening up the box, I found a beautifully packed box. I’ve ordered from Bramble Berry many times in the past, they always pack the supplies well. They even tape the bottles shut in case of a leak.
Continue reading “Failing Hard with the Bramble Berry Rose Gold Bath Bomb Kit”
My soap collection has been slowly building. One thing I’ve noticed is that the bars are rarely uniformly cut. No matter how hard I try that cheap little soap cutter is just doing a poor job.
I’m talking about one of these bamboo box jobbers with a planer:
It seems like it would work well, but there’s too much play in the gap where the knife goes. And these boxes are never tall enough for your soap, so the first inch or so of soap cutting you’re pretty much guessing where you should cut until you hit the slot for the knife.
I’ve been thinking about making cold process soap for years and I often watch videos on soap design on YouTube. When my friend asked me to pick up his favorite coconut soap while I was at the store and I found it was $5+ a bar! $20 in soap later, I decided it was finally time to give it a shot.
Most of the materials below will either link you to Bramble Berry or Amazon. These were the two main shopping sources I used to buy my materials. Bramble Berry is a popular supplier and also happens to be local, so I knew my shipping would be relatively fast.
You should keep in mind that most of the equipment you use will come in contact with lye and should be dedicated to soap making. Don’t eat from, drink from or make food with these tools or in these containers afterwards.
