Lots of Embroidery. Not Even All of It

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

I NEED a tablesaw. Need. I can't seem to cut precise enough for my projects and it's bugging me. I have a circular saw and found some tutorials on converting it. This terrifies me every time I use it but man does it scratch an itch. My next project is to make it safer to use. I am pretty happy about this one.

Fit Cargo Cover

I was going to have a suitcase in my car in a mall parking lot that would probably get a lot of traffic whilst I attended a wedding. I'd already had my car broken into for my awesome Star Wars bag and didn't need the heartache again.

I came across a pretty easy tutorial involving cardboard and wood. Except that this guy has tools that I don't. But I liked his description of finding the shape:


http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-interior-modifications/73470-diy-ge8-cargo-cover-lots-pics.html


I didn't start with a big piece of cardboard but that would have been smart. I used produce boxes from Costco that the cat liked to sit in and then abandoned. Using a box knife and a lot of tape I managed to get the basic shape:

 

 

I cut this out of mdf using a jig saw. Then fit and trimmed a dozen times to get it right.  In other versions of this the center had a tendency to bow so I gave it some support.

 

 

 

Then I glued on a $15 carpet from Walmart:

 

 

 

 

 

And spray painted the back, this was due to the wood showing in the gaps with the hatch down. It was good for the parking lot and didn't get any attention that I know of, but I wanted it to look purty.

 

And in the car. There's still some wood showing so I will go back and paint more.

 

 

I saved $200 doing it this way.

Aliens

I got the bluray boxset of Alien/s and watched it all. Even the bad ones. I have a new nephew and he needed something crafty and soft. This led me to try other beasties from the movie and more are coming.

This is Oliver looking unimpressed.

This is Oliver looking pissed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did a short tail because I didn't want Oliver to choke and die from something Aunt Beth made...

 

Playing around with more from the movies.

Only the Worthy May Pass

 

The most common comment I've gotten from sending out 5 of these has to do with whether the 'right' people get the reference. My family is weird.

Leftovers

 

 

I have a ton of endcuts and scraps from various projects I'm trying to figure out something interesting to use them in.

 

 

I came across a bunting with cherry blossoms and tried to make my own. I glued the scrap pile to book pages (leftovers from other projects) and then made a template out of cardboard of a cherry blossom. This was after failing at origami versions. 

 

To glue the pages: One sheet book page, one sheet scrap paper. Paint either with a watery pva -archival glue which doesn't crack when dry. Slap the two together and lovingly cover in wax paper to dry under weight. When not quite dry remove.

 

 

 

They were ok but not great so I looked around online and found a die that did a much better job. Because the pva wasn't completely dry I was able to curl up the petals a little bit. After dried it stayed that way.

 

 

So now I have a ton of flowers. I don't know that I'll do a bunting, I kind of have that space covered with kid drawings from family. But this is definitely a good idea for leftovers.

Making Pirate Maps With Kids

I went through my usual technique of making a map with a sheet of copy paper. They were pretty scared to crumple it up but did it after watching me drawing on the paper.

 

 

The girl drew an overabundance of whirlpools and sharks. Her map is a dangerous place to live. She also suggested a monster castle so now I will add them to future maps.

 

 

Death is everywhere!

 

The boy suggested a sea turtle which I will also be adding to future maps. He colored in the water after he was done drawing everything in.

 

This is his skull and crossbones. So cute!