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My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond

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7M views 13K replies 477 participants last post by  teaklight12 
#1 ·
Beginning this Blog

I recently was referred to this site by Steve Good, who has a wonderful, comprehensive scroll saw forum and blog page. Although I have been doing woodworking for almost fifteen years, I have finally reached a point in my life where I am able to make it the main focus of my activities. Since my life revolves around my woodworking and business, I believe that this blog will reflect that very clearly, although it will also be somewhat personal. But I think that woodworking is very personal anyway.

It has been a long journey to get to this point. There have been many good times and some not-so-good ones, but I appreciate every single step because I think that if even one thing was different, I would not be where I am today or who I am inside. It isn't only the positive events in our lives that make us what we are. Many times it is the negative things that mold and shape us and teach us to look at things in a certain way. I try to remember that when things are tough and move ahead.

I have learned that there is only one thing we can be certain of in life: change. Whether things are good or bad, we need to hold on and appreciate the moment, as we can be certain that things will be different before long. This helps us to not only appreciate the good days and things we have now, but also hang on when things are not so good, as we know that they will be different soon. I like this philosophy.

I liked reading about the new contest offered by this site in the newsletter. Fluidity. It is a perfect theme for projects because our existence itself is fluid. I am anxious to see what interpretations are going to be, as I am sure everyone else is. It will be an adventure for all of us for sure.

So why am I starting this blog? The other day I received a call from a customer who had a question for me. He kept saying how surprised he was that I answered my own phone. I have worked as a Contributing Editor for Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine for the past 13+ years and I guess in the scroll saw community, many people have heard of me. It seemed so odd to me that he would think I would have a secretary or staff. We kind of laughed about it, but it really got me thinking about his interpretation of my life. We all tend to form opinions of others from very limited information. We see the outside of a person as they are presented to us and many times are very quick to categorize that person in our minds. I do it myself.

But in my years of talking with and dealing with many people from many different places, I have come to realize that people are like icebergs. We only see the tip of them and below the surface is a vast, complex side of them that is the basis of their actions and thinking.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has traveled a journey. No two people have traveled identical paths. Thus, we are all unique in our thoughts, actions and creative processes. I enjoy hearing others stories. I think that listening to others and hearing their experiences helps us to understand each other. With that understanding, we learn.

I have used the phrase "Knowledge Is Power" in my signature since I have been on the web. Once someone told me that they thought it was quite arrogant of me to say that. He thought that I was implying that I knew more than anyone else and he found that offensive. I told him he couldn't be more wrong. My interpretation of the phrase is that our QUEST for knowledge EMPOWERS us to make better decisions about things in our lives. We are never finished learning. I learn every single day from my friends, colleagues, fellow woodworkers and students. We never know when we will learn something new. Sometimes you can learn from even a seemingly insignificant event. I feel the key is that we need to be open to learning.

Everyone has a story.

So I will close today with those thoughts. I don't know how often I will post here, but I hope to make it a habit. I don't know if anyone will even read this, but somehow it doesn't matter. Writing is a key in self-awareness. By writing things down we categorize our actions and it helps (me anyway) to keep my life organized. Organization leads to peace as far as I am concerned.

I am quite overwhelmed with the scope of the site here. I am still getting my footings and lurking around. I think for the first several days or maybe even weeks I will be more of a passive observer while I find my comfortable position among the others here. I want to upload the new things I am working on here. Like everyone else, I am anxious to see the response they get. I love seeing others projects and could spend my days just looking.

Although it is quite intimidating, the forum looks like it is full of friendly, knowledgeable and wonderfully creative people.

I think I am going to like it here.
 
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#11,681 ·
Main Carousel Construction DONE!

Yesterday was a really good day for me. A milestone even. After weeks of wracking my brain and trying to figure out the best way to build my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel, I finally decided on trying a method and cut out the pieces and THEY WORKED!

With all the woodworking and small project construction that I do on a daily basis, you would think that this would be 'easy-peasy' for me, but that really wasn't the case. If I were making this a one of a kind project that I was keeping for myself, perhaps that would be true. After all - as I said - I have had some experience in woodworking and construction of small projects like this. While I am not ready to build furniture or large, functional items such as that, I am certainly capable of making a project such as this work.

But I wanted to go beyond that.So much of what I create is with the purpose in mind for others to replicate it themselves. To teach the process.

Whether it be through my painting or my scroll sawing, I want my customers to be able to take my plans and patterns and easily recreate them for themselves. That is pretty much my self-appointed purpose for my life. It is fun and sometimes challenging and very satisfying when I hear from others how much they enjoyed their learning journey when making one of my designs. That, to me (corny as it may sound) is the best payment that I can ever receive for my time and efforts. It is what keeps me going.

My Haunted Carousel project has been a wonderful journey of many challenges. When I first envisioned it in my mind, I had not idea how I was going to make it work. I only knew what I wanted it to look like when it was finished. I can't even begin to explain all the countless hours I have spent trying to figure out the best methods of construction as well as the visual designs. I have changed some things along the way, but overall, the project has evolved into a reality that is not too far from my original vision - and that makes me really, really happy!

Not only have I considered ease of construction for those who may not otherwise created anything such as this (after all - it is somewhat geared for painters), but I also want to have the painting aspect be not only beautiful, but attainable for someone who is newer to painting. So far I think I have achieved that.

Each element in itself is not in the least bit difficult. It is only when you look at the entire creation that it (hopefully) takes your breath away with every small detail. This isn't intended to be completed in an evening. Or even a week or perhaps a month. It is something that will hopefully become a prize piece for both woodworkers and painters alike and be passed down from generation to generation. A family heirloom, if you will. For that reason, I have taken my time and regarded each and every detail very carefully. I want it to be something that will not only be stunning when completed, but also fun and satisfying to create. As with most things, it is not only the destination that is important, but the journey along the way.

My other consideration that played into things is my own ability to create all-inclusive kits that will be able to be made efficiently and also be cost-effective. I want to include everything in the kits from the pre-cut and ready to paint wood pieces to the fabric for the canopy, magnets, and even the rhinestone embellishments. So far there are only two screws holding the entire creation together, along with (what will be) 10 magnets. This will allow quick dis assembly of the structure for storage and add to its appeal. I only have one more element (the two benches) to finish up as far as building, and I have some good ideas with them which I want to try later today. I think that is the best way to market things, as while the kits may seem a bit pricey at first, I hope that everyone will see that it will cost far less to purchase the kit than to hunt down the separate elements. Not to mention the time it will take. Although, for those who choose to do so, I will have the supply lists clear and references for purchasing what is needed for the build. But ultimately, I want my customers to only need paint, a screw driver, and some glue to complete their own masterpiece. I think that is the best approach.

After cutting the central pillar and finally seeing the carousel assembled for the first time yesterday afternoon, I reached a new level of excitement for this project. It IS going to work after all! It IS going to be a reality! I posted some photos on Facebook and the response was amazing! After weeks of worrying because I was so unsure of myself and meeting my own expectations, I was thrilled to see the amazing responses and encouragement from both painters and woodworkers and general admirers as well. I let out a huge sigh of relief and I felt a huge weight lifted off of myself. After weeks of worrying and working and thinking and rethinking, I feel I am 'almost' there.

It would be mean of me not to show the photos here, too, although you need to understand that I am NOT finished yet. Still - you will have an idea of where I am heading . . .

Here is a photo of the carousel finally standing. It is about 16" in diameter:

Light Carousel Recreation Wheel Wood


(Please keep in mind that these are 'snapshots' and not really great photographs. I will certainly share those when I am finished!)

You can see that the center pillar is not painted. I plan on some beautiful, eerie artwork for the four central walls. . .

From the top, you can see the Roc-Lon canopy better. The nail head rivits and metallic stripes really make it look pretty cool!

Body jewelry Hood Sleeve Headgear Jewellery


I don't believe I showed the 'ceiling' of the carousel. I painted it over the weekend. it is a deep Prussian blue/black with a hint of metallic silver 'clouds'. I wanted to replicate a foreboding sky. Of course, too, there are beautiful crystal rhinestone 'stars' in the sky. They shimmer and sparkle so beautifully against the dark blue!

Wood Art Font Cap Hat


And to top it off, there is a witch silhouette finial, which is wonderfully sparkly! (I think I need to add some rhinestones around the star base, though - it looks too plain for me!)

Art Plant Calabaza Symbol Emblem


So that is where I stand right now on things.

Today I am going to work on the two benches, I think. I am still tossing a couple of ideas around in my head as to just how to assemble them. I know what the characters will be though, and I think they will be a nice addition to the spooky cast of characters!

After that, all I have left to do is paint the central pillar and I will be pretty much done. Then on to writing the pattern, which will be no small task. I am expecting probably about 50 pages, filled with beautiful color step-by-step photos. I am thrilled that we have the new printer with the pigment inks. The quality is far superior to our old printer and it will really do this pattern justice.

I plan on offering a small kit as well as the full blown kit for those without the room or ambition to build the full carousel. The small kit will only include the characters so that they can be used as ornaments or stand up on a mantle, etc. I haven't decided on offering the benches separate, but I will do so after I build them if I feel the need. Any feedback on that would be appreciated.

Last night I started a "Pre-Order List" for the large kits. There are already a substantial amount of people who want the full kit, which is wonderful! I expect to be able to start shipping the kits out in about two weeks - give or take. That is the good part about doing things so much in advance - there is plenty of time to get things done. If you are interested in being added to the list, you can certainly email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer questions or add you in.

Well - that is all for today. I have to keep moving forward. Thank you all again for your wonderful response and encouragement. It has really been an amazing journey so far, with more yet to come. I just can't wait to see it completed!

Happy Wednesday to you all!
 

Attachments

#11,682 ·
Main Carousel Construction DONE!

Yesterday was a really good day for me. A milestone even. After weeks of wracking my brain and trying to figure out the best way to build my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel, I finally decided on trying a method and cut out the pieces and THEY WORKED!

With all the woodworking and small project construction that I do on a daily basis, you would think that this would be 'easy-peasy' for me, but that really wasn't the case. If I were making this a one of a kind project that I was keeping for myself, perhaps that would be true. After all - as I said - I have had some experience in woodworking and construction of small projects like this. While I am not ready to build furniture or large, functional items such as that, I am certainly capable of making a project such as this work.

But I wanted to go beyond that.So much of what I create is with the purpose in mind for others to replicate it themselves. To teach the process.

Whether it be through my painting or my scroll sawing, I want my customers to be able to take my plans and patterns and easily recreate them for themselves. That is pretty much my self-appointed purpose for my life. It is fun and sometimes challenging and very satisfying when I hear from others how much they enjoyed their learning journey when making one of my designs. That, to me (corny as it may sound) is the best payment that I can ever receive for my time and efforts. It is what keeps me going.

My Haunted Carousel project has been a wonderful journey of many challenges. When I first envisioned it in my mind, I had not idea how I was going to make it work. I only knew what I wanted it to look like when it was finished. I can't even begin to explain all the countless hours I have spent trying to figure out the best methods of construction as well as the visual designs. I have changed some things along the way, but overall, the project has evolved into a reality that is not too far from my original vision - and that makes me really, really happy!

Not only have I considered ease of construction for those who may not otherwise created anything such as this (after all - it is somewhat geared for painters), but I also want to have the painting aspect be not only beautiful, but attainable for someone who is newer to painting. So far I think I have achieved that.

Each element in itself is not in the least bit difficult. It is only when you look at the entire creation that it (hopefully) takes your breath away with every small detail. This isn't intended to be completed in an evening. Or even a week or perhaps a month. It is something that will hopefully become a prize piece for both woodworkers and painters alike and be passed down from generation to generation. A family heirloom, if you will. For that reason, I have taken my time and regarded each and every detail very carefully. I want it to be something that will not only be stunning when completed, but also fun and satisfying to create. As with most things, it is not only the destination that is important, but the journey along the way.

My other consideration that played into things is my own ability to create all-inclusive kits that will be able to be made efficiently and also be cost-effective. I want to include everything in the kits from the pre-cut and ready to paint wood pieces to the fabric for the canopy, magnets, and even the rhinestone embellishments. So far there are only two screws holding the entire creation together, along with (what will be) 10 magnets. This will allow quick dis assembly of the structure for storage and add to its appeal. I only have one more element (the two benches) to finish up as far as building, and I have some good ideas with them which I want to try later today. I think that is the best way to market things, as while the kits may seem a bit pricey at first, I hope that everyone will see that it will cost far less to purchase the kit than to hunt down the separate elements. Not to mention the time it will take. Although, for those who choose to do so, I will have the supply lists clear and references for purchasing what is needed for the build. But ultimately, I want my customers to only need paint, a screw driver, and some glue to complete their own masterpiece. I think that is the best approach.

After cutting the central pillar and finally seeing the carousel assembled for the first time yesterday afternoon, I reached a new level of excitement for this project. It IS going to work after all! It IS going to be a reality! I posted some photos on Facebook and the response was amazing! After weeks of worrying because I was so unsure of myself and meeting my own expectations, I was thrilled to see the amazing responses and encouragement from both painters and woodworkers and general admirers as well. I let out a huge sigh of relief and I felt a huge weight lifted off of myself. After weeks of worrying and working and thinking and rethinking, I feel I am 'almost' there.

It would be mean of me not to show the photos here, too, although you need to understand that I am NOT finished yet. Still - you will have an idea of where I am heading . . .

Here is a photo of the carousel finally standing. It is about 16" in diameter:

Light Carousel Recreation Wheel Wood


(Please keep in mind that these are 'snapshots' and not really great photographs. I will certainly share those when I am finished!)

You can see that the center pillar is not painted. I plan on some beautiful, eerie artwork for the four central walls. . .

From the top, you can see the Roc-Lon canopy better. The nail head rivits and metallic stripes really make it look pretty cool!

Body jewelry Hood Sleeve Headgear Jewellery


I don't believe I showed the 'ceiling' of the carousel. I painted it over the weekend. it is a deep Prussian blue/black with a hint of metallic silver 'clouds'. I wanted to replicate a foreboding sky. Of course, too, there are beautiful crystal rhinestone 'stars' in the sky. They shimmer and sparkle so beautifully against the dark blue!

Wood Art Font Cap Hat


And to top it off, there is a witch silhouette finial, which is wonderfully sparkly! (I think I need to add some rhinestones around the star base, though - it looks too plain for me!)

Art Plant Calabaza Symbol Emblem


So that is where I stand right now on things.

Today I am going to work on the two benches, I think. I am still tossing a couple of ideas around in my head as to just how to assemble them. I know what the characters will be though, and I think they will be a nice addition to the spooky cast of characters!

After that, all I have left to do is paint the central pillar and I will be pretty much done. Then on to writing the pattern, which will be no small task. I am expecting probably about 50 pages, filled with beautiful color step-by-step photos. I am thrilled that we have the new printer with the pigment inks. The quality is far superior to our old printer and it will really do this pattern justice.

I plan on offering a small kit as well as the full blown kit for those without the room or ambition to build the full carousel. The small kit will only include the characters so that they can be used as ornaments or stand up on a mantle, etc. I haven't decided on offering the benches separate, but I will do so after I build them if I feel the need. Any feedback on that would be appreciated.

Last night I started a "Pre-Order List" for the large kits. There are already a substantial amount of people who want the full kit, which is wonderful! I expect to be able to start shipping the kits out in about two weeks - give or take. That is the good part about doing things so much in advance - there is plenty of time to get things done. If you are interested in being added to the list, you can certainly email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer questions or add you in.

Well - that is all for today. I have to keep moving forward. Thank you all again for your wonderful response and encouragement. It has really been an amazing journey so far, with more yet to come. I just can't wait to see it completed!

Happy Wednesday to you all!
Wow Sheila! That is awesome!
 

Attachments

#11,691 ·
Website Updated

It is getting to be that time again (actually, it is a little late!) for our next website update announcement. We usually try to send out a newsletter about every other week, but this time was just a tad longer. I have been somewhat side tracked with my haunted carousel project and I am afraid that I don't have anything new to offer this time around. I think that is a first for me, but in seeing the results of my last couple of weeks of work, I know it will be worth the time and effort. After all - slow and steady wins the race, right?

Keith on the other hand has several new plaques for you all to enjoy. I have mentioned most of them here in my blog on the previous few entries, but last night he finished one more new one. This one is SKD587 Good Beer, Good Friends, Good Times:

Font Wood T-shirt Poster Happy


This fun plaque would be appropriate for a family room, den, or recreation area of your home. I would look great in any 'man cave' setting and would also make a nice Father's Day gift as well. I hope you come and check it out on our site, as well as our other beautiful patterns. With Mother's Day and Father's Day approaching, we have a great variety of fun, attractive projects that can help you create the perfect unique gift for your parents or grandparents. There are still a couple of weekends left!

As for me, today I plan on finishing up on creating the two benches for my carousel. Hopefully I will get them painted as well. Then I will only need to paint the inside pillar and it will be pretty much complete. I have some cool thoughts on the pillar design so it will be fun to see that come to life.

Other than that, I had lots of 'office work' that had to be attended to yesterday. My plan was to work most of the day on the benches, but it isn't always possible to do what we plan. I used to think that if I could design for a living, I would spend all day, every day creating. But as our little business gets larger, I find that there are days when I have little or no time at all for doing any woodworking or painting. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as it means that we are growing. It also really makes me appreciate the time that I do have to do what I love.

I want to thank everyone again for such wonderful support that you give both Keith and myself. I don't think there is a day that goes by when we don't hear from several of you with stories of how you feel our work has touched your lives. It really makes us feel good about what we do and it makes us want to do even better in the future. And it makes for a happy life for us all.

It's cloudy here in Nova Scotia today. We are due to get some rain later today and tomorrow. Hopefully it will wash away the last few remnants of snow remaining. Saturday we are supposed to see the sun. That will be a welcome change after a week of clouds. Keith and I are planning a day trip to Halifax to get some things done and get some supplies. After the long winter, I look forward to getting out.

I wish you all a happy Thursday. Have fun and do something that makes you smile! :)
 

Attachments

#11,692 ·
Website Updated

It is getting to be that time again (actually, it is a little late!) for our next website update announcement. We usually try to send out a newsletter about every other week, but this time was just a tad longer. I have been somewhat side tracked with my haunted carousel project and I am afraid that I don't have anything new to offer this time around. I think that is a first for me, but in seeing the results of my last couple of weeks of work, I know it will be worth the time and effort. After all - slow and steady wins the race, right?

Keith on the other hand has several new plaques for you all to enjoy. I have mentioned most of them here in my blog on the previous few entries, but last night he finished one more new one. This one is SKD587 Good Beer, Good Friends, Good Times:

Font Wood T-shirt Poster Happy


This fun plaque would be appropriate for a family room, den, or recreation area of your home. I would look great in any 'man cave' setting and would also make a nice Father's Day gift as well. I hope you come and check it out on our site, as well as our other beautiful patterns. With Mother's Day and Father's Day approaching, we have a great variety of fun, attractive projects that can help you create the perfect unique gift for your parents or grandparents. There are still a couple of weekends left!

As for me, today I plan on finishing up on creating the two benches for my carousel. Hopefully I will get them painted as well. Then I will only need to paint the inside pillar and it will be pretty much complete. I have some cool thoughts on the pillar design so it will be fun to see that come to life.

Other than that, I had lots of 'office work' that had to be attended to yesterday. My plan was to work most of the day on the benches, but it isn't always possible to do what we plan. I used to think that if I could design for a living, I would spend all day, every day creating. But as our little business gets larger, I find that there are days when I have little or no time at all for doing any woodworking or painting. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as it means that we are growing. It also really makes me appreciate the time that I do have to do what I love.

I want to thank everyone again for such wonderful support that you give both Keith and myself. I don't think there is a day that goes by when we don't hear from several of you with stories of how you feel our work has touched your lives. It really makes us feel good about what we do and it makes us want to do even better in the future. And it makes for a happy life for us all.

It's cloudy here in Nova Scotia today. We are due to get some rain later today and tomorrow. Hopefully it will wash away the last few remnants of snow remaining. Saturday we are supposed to see the sun. That will be a welcome change after a week of clouds. Keith and I are planning a day trip to Halifax to get some things done and get some supplies. After the long winter, I look forward to getting out.

I wish you all a happy Thursday. Have fun and do something that makes you smile! :)
I agree with this fine signage. :)
 

Attachments

#11,694 ·
Carousel Benches

I am going to keep this post short today, as I have lots that I need to accomplish. It seems (as always) that time is absolutely flying by. I can't believe it is already May. There were still some remnents of snow on the ground the other day and it is odd to think that in a few weeks, I (hopefully) will be able to sit at the beach. I noticed this morning though that the grass is a greener shade of brown. Little by little, the plants and critters are beginning to awaken. When I go to sleep at night, I can once again hear the little creatures chirping from the woods behind us. There are signs of life.

Yesterday I spent the day working on the two benches for my haunted carousel project. The benches are constructed very simply, and I think they will really add to the piece. I also base coated the pieces for the central pillar which holds on the top of the carousel. I am still thinking about the final details of how I will paint that, but the fog is lifting and has almost cleared and I should be able to move ahead with it today.

All the above mentioned pieces will be based in black. While I was doing that, I was thinking that I may do a short video on some basic base coating techniques. While it may sound simple to just block in color and base pieces, I have seen it done in ways that make me cringe. When I was finished and looked at the pile of pieces that were all neatly and completely covered in basic black, I thought they looked beautiful in themselves. (Silly, aren't I?) There were no ridges or brush marks and they made perfect 'blank canvases' for me to continue on. There are definitely right and wrong ways to do things - or at least right ways and ways that may make things more difficult as you proceed.

I hope to do more videos soon on some of the other processes I used with creating this piece. As you can imagine, there are many different techniques. Each one in itself is very easy. But by putting them all together, they make quite a nice impression. Like anything, when you break it down into baby steps, things are much simpler to absorb and implement.

For the first bench, I wanted to make a moon. I have always loved "Man in the Moon" artwork and I thought that adding one to the creepy carousel would be appropriate. I had fun making him look a little bit evil, but not scary enough to be horrible. Kind of an in-between "Naughty" look, if you will.

Head Eye Jaw Crescent Art


For each bench I would need a reflection, so I painted two.

I had toyed with the idea of painting both sides of each piece, but upon trying it out, it looked far too 'busy' and it actually took away from the bench. I do however plan to paint some type of embellishment on the BACK of each bench to dress it up. I had scroll sawn a star into each of the back pieces already, but I think I will do some pretty painting around it - perhaps some filigree stroke work.

Mr. Moon looks AWESOME in person. I used the same light paint as I used for the bones on the skeleton figures so his coloring matched. I then washed it lightly with a nice, transparent yellow and as a top layer, painted him with a wonderful "Interference Green" pearl medium. The Interference Green really makes the moon look luminous and cool, although I had to photograph the pieces at an angle so that it wouldn't reflect back to the camera.

I then added some beautiful peridot crystal rhinestones to replicate craters. I think he came out just stunning. The clouds he is sitting on match that of the carousel ceiling:

Headgear Font Art Symbol Logo


The swan bench was much more basic. I more or less matched it to the other carousel characters and it also came out pretty cool:

Bird Wing Art Beak Feather


I can't help but think it may need 'more', but I can't figure out what just yet. I have an idea that I will try after finishing the above mentioned embellishment on the back of the seat. But first, I will move on to the rest of the painting.

So that is where I am at today. I have created a list for those who wanted to pre-order the kits from me and it is growing every day. I am absolutely thrilled that so many people are so supportive and like the project so much. I hope to finish painting this weekend and then write the pattern next week. That will be an accomplishment in itself. Then I will start production on the kits. I already needed to order extra supplies, as I have more sold than the initial supplies that I purchased. If anyone is interested in the kit, please email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com and I will add you to the list. I am still figuring out the exact cost, but I can assure you that it will be less expensive than if you had to purchase everything separately. The kits will include the pattern (which I expect will be like a book), all the wood pieces, the magnets to hold the pieces together, the Roc-Lon fabric, the hardware and turntable, and even the beautiful rhinestones and nail head embellishments. I am not including the heat wand because many will already have one and I really don't have the money to stock them here. The heat wand can be purchased from Rhinestone Canada directly, or the stones can even be glued on. Alternatively, dip dots done in metallic paint can be done in place of the stones. So I think I have it all covered.

I hope you all have enjoyed seeing this project come to life. Of course, I will take wonderful presentation photos when I am finished. These have been just quick snapshots to give you an idea.

I need to head to Halifax tomorrow for some things, but I will be back at work on Sunday. I know many of you are anxious to receive your kits and see this finished, but I also know you understand that in order to make everything up to the level I insist on, it needs to take some time. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend! I hope you have some wonderful spring weather to help you enjoy it! :)

Happy May!
 

Attachments

#11,695 ·
Carousel Benches

I am going to keep this post short today, as I have lots that I need to accomplish. It seems (as always) that time is absolutely flying by. I can't believe it is already May. There were still some remnents of snow on the ground the other day and it is odd to think that in a few weeks, I (hopefully) will be able to sit at the beach. I noticed this morning though that the grass is a greener shade of brown. Little by little, the plants and critters are beginning to awaken. When I go to sleep at night, I can once again hear the little creatures chirping from the woods behind us. There are signs of life.

Yesterday I spent the day working on the two benches for my haunted carousel project. The benches are constructed very simply, and I think they will really add to the piece. I also base coated the pieces for the central pillar which holds on the top of the carousel. I am still thinking about the final details of how I will paint that, but the fog is lifting and has almost cleared and I should be able to move ahead with it today.

All the above mentioned pieces will be based in black. While I was doing that, I was thinking that I may do a short video on some basic base coating techniques. While it may sound simple to just block in color and base pieces, I have seen it done in ways that make me cringe. When I was finished and looked at the pile of pieces that were all neatly and completely covered in basic black, I thought they looked beautiful in themselves. (Silly, aren't I?) There were no ridges or brush marks and they made perfect 'blank canvases' for me to continue on. There are definitely right and wrong ways to do things - or at least right ways and ways that may make things more difficult as you proceed.

I hope to do more videos soon on some of the other processes I used with creating this piece. As you can imagine, there are many different techniques. Each one in itself is very easy. But by putting them all together, they make quite a nice impression. Like anything, when you break it down into baby steps, things are much simpler to absorb and implement.

For the first bench, I wanted to make a moon. I have always loved "Man in the Moon" artwork and I thought that adding one to the creepy carousel would be appropriate. I had fun making him look a little bit evil, but not scary enough to be horrible. Kind of an in-between "Naughty" look, if you will.

Head Eye Jaw Crescent Art


For each bench I would need a reflection, so I painted two.

I had toyed with the idea of painting both sides of each piece, but upon trying it out, it looked far too 'busy' and it actually took away from the bench. I do however plan to paint some type of embellishment on the BACK of each bench to dress it up. I had scroll sawn a star into each of the back pieces already, but I think I will do some pretty painting around it - perhaps some filigree stroke work.

Mr. Moon looks AWESOME in person. I used the same light paint as I used for the bones on the skeleton figures so his coloring matched. I then washed it lightly with a nice, transparent yellow and as a top layer, painted him with a wonderful "Interference Green" pearl medium. The Interference Green really makes the moon look luminous and cool, although I had to photograph the pieces at an angle so that it wouldn't reflect back to the camera.

I then added some beautiful peridot crystal rhinestones to replicate craters. I think he came out just stunning. The clouds he is sitting on match that of the carousel ceiling:

Headgear Font Art Symbol Logo


The swan bench was much more basic. I more or less matched it to the other carousel characters and it also came out pretty cool:

Bird Wing Art Beak Feather


I can't help but think it may need 'more', but I can't figure out what just yet. I have an idea that I will try after finishing the above mentioned embellishment on the back of the seat. But first, I will move on to the rest of the painting.

So that is where I am at today. I have created a list for those who wanted to pre-order the kits from me and it is growing every day. I am absolutely thrilled that so many people are so supportive and like the project so much. I hope to finish painting this weekend and then write the pattern next week. That will be an accomplishment in itself. Then I will start production on the kits. I already needed to order extra supplies, as I have more sold than the initial supplies that I purchased. If anyone is interested in the kit, please email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com and I will add you to the list. I am still figuring out the exact cost, but I can assure you that it will be less expensive than if you had to purchase everything separately. The kits will include the pattern (which I expect will be like a book), all the wood pieces, the magnets to hold the pieces together, the Roc-Lon fabric, the hardware and turntable, and even the beautiful rhinestones and nail head embellishments. I am not including the heat wand because many will already have one and I really don't have the money to stock them here. The heat wand can be purchased from Rhinestone Canada directly, or the stones can even be glued on. Alternatively, dip dots done in metallic paint can be done in place of the stones. So I think I have it all covered.

I hope you all have enjoyed seeing this project come to life. Of course, I will take wonderful presentation photos when I am finished. These have been just quick snapshots to give you an idea.

I need to head to Halifax tomorrow for some things, but I will be back at work on Sunday. I know many of you are anxious to receive your kits and see this finished, but I also know you understand that in order to make everything up to the level I insist on, it needs to take some time. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend! I hope you have some wonderful spring weather to help you enjoy it! :)

Happy May!
Love these benches - the moon one is my favourite. I love the detail you have got in the face. Very expressive.
Have a great weekend.
 

Attachments

#11,697 ·
Haunted Carousel Central Pillar

We had a beautiful weekend here in Nova Scotia. Finally we are seeing some warmer temperatures and are feeling the warmth of the sun. the grass is beginning to turn green again and the buds on the trees are finally, slowly emerging. Winter is definitely over.

On Saturday Keith and I drove to Halifax. We had some errands to do and supplies to pick up, and I had someone look at my car to bid for some work that I need to have done on it. It is eleven years old now and while I have kept it in good condition and the miles are relatively low, there are parts of it that are showing its age and I am at a fork in the road in making the decision to give it a 'face lift' or get something else. Since I truly love it, I think I will be looking to get the work done. I would be truly happy with it for another eleven plus years and if I do things right, I am sure it will last even longer than that.

It is a big decision though, as it is not a cheap process. Not if I want things done right. I am certainly not doing things with the intention of raising its sale value, as I realize that that is not a sensible path to follow. This is going to be done with my mindset that it is for myself and my own pleasure, and nothing really beyond that.

I grew up with very limited means. We learned that if we wanted to keep something for a long time, we needed to take care of it properly. We learned to repair things that needed repairs and used things until they were no longer able to be used and regarded our things with the respect they deserved.

That idea has stuck with me throughout my entire life and I don't ever see that changing. In a world where everything seems to be packaged in 'single servings' and things that are sold are done so with the mindset that they are 'disposable', I find that having less things and keeping them longer is far preferable to me than the alternative. It somehow keeps things simpler in this crazy, fast paced world and it allows me to keep a clear head and focus on creating instead of what I want to 'buy next'.

I apologize for heading on a tangent, but I suppose that spending the money I am about to commit to my car is weighing heavily on me. In a way, I think that is a good thing, and a reason why I am able to do so in the first place. If I were impulsive or frivolous about spending what I worked so hard to earn, I wouldn't be able to do so in the first place. The decision has been thought out long and hard and I am sure that at this point it is the right one for me. It is just taking that step of actually doing it is scary. Perhaps that is what having 'common sense' means.

Yesterday I was home and able to get back to finishing up my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel project. Yes! I am nearly finished with the painting, and today I will spend the day doing the final touches and the final assembly. I can't wait to see it completed and fully assembled, and I believe I am just as excited about it as many of those who are following along are. It has been a wonderful and incredible journey for me and I am thrilled that it has come out so nice.

I painted the four pieces for the central pillar yesterday. I wanted something that would look creepy, but also beautiful. Since the pillar is under the canopy and dark, I needed enough contrast in it to be a back drop for the characters without looking too chaotic. I realize though that by nature, carousels have a great amount of things going on. They NEED to be somewhat busy as they fill your senses. That is part of the carnival atmosphere.

I decided to make the center pillar resemble a dungeon or castle. I thought this would go well with the skeletal figures. While I had some ideas of shadowy figures and other things, since I had a limited amount of space to work with on each panel, I thought that three window panels and a door panel would be appropriate. Since the carousel itself was already quite busy, I thought this would be enough to complete the mood and tone of the piece without overpowering the main characters. I am pretty pleased with how they turned out:

Textile Sleeve Wood Rectangle Font


While they look like they may be tedious to paint, in reality they are quite easy. Doing stone and brickwork like this is a great deal of fun, and very low stress. I figured that by the time people are on this part of the project, they may be a bit weary, and by having something that isn't fussy and actually quite a bit of fun to paint, it made a wonderfully relaxing (yet dynamic) way to finish off the carousel. I hope you all agree.

Each of the windows are the same. They each have a beautiful, glowing moon showing through. I used the same color palette that I used for the ceiling that I showed before:

Wood Art Font Cap Hat


Window Building Brickwork Painting Brick


The photograph of the window actually depicts the color of the ceiling of the carousel much better. It looks deep and lovely.

I also gave a splash of color to each of the four window panels by adding some pretty pumpkins. I think that they will look awesome with some creepy faces added on, which I will probably do today. It will add to the fun scariness of the scene and the more I think of it, the more I like the idea.

Orange Textile Bag Wood Window


I also added some creeping vines with red roses on the edges of each of the four pillar pieces. This design also is on the BACK of each panel, so that they will show as the overlap where the pieces slot together. I thought that this was a wonderful way to fill in this area, and adds a bit of color but isn't overpowering.

Building Window Door Wood House


I love the hinges on the door. I was thrilled with how that looks. You can't see from the photo, but I used just a hint of a metallic gold wash of paint on both the door and the window panes to give them a little shimmer. Since they are dark and under the canopy, I felt this last touch really helped your eye catch them and brought them into consciousness. Less was definitely "enough" in this instance, as it balanced things out very nicely. The red roses were also done in a metallic paint, giving them a really cool 'glow' on the dark background. The vines were wispy and deep in color, and almost invisible, as they would be under the night sky. I am pretty happy with how everything looks.

But I am not quite done yet . . .

I have some additional 'surprises' left until I can call this piece complete. The area above the door will get something special. I also have a few more touches of things here and there that I want to add in. I want things that will not be apparent at first glance, but will be noticed as one gazes upon the piece and studies it. This will (I hope) truly make it a work of art.

Today I will be assembling things for the first time with all the elements completed. After over two years of thinking and dreaming and creating this piece in my mind, it will be a bit of a thrill for me to see it right here in front of me. While certain parts are slightly different from my original thought process, for the most part it is what I have envisioned and some aspects of it are even better than I thought they could have been.

I am excited.

Tomorrow I should have photos of the entire carousel. I only hope that I can do it justice with my camera. I will then be spending the rest of the week working on the pattern and writing the instructions so that it will be easily (yes - EASILY) recreated. I think that one of the best things about this is that when broken down into steps, it is not a difficult project. The painting is not difficult at all, although it makes a magnificent presentation when all the simple elements are joined together. I hope you all agree.

I hope you come back tomorrow to see. I thank all of you who have encouraged me and cheered me on throughout this process. It felt good to hear (read) such wonderful comments from you all - especially on the days when things needed reworking or didn't quite turn out how I wanted. It really kept me going.

I wish you all a happy Monday and a wonderful week ahead. I hope you do something awesome and creative today. :)
 

Attachments

#11,698 ·
Haunted Carousel Central Pillar

We had a beautiful weekend here in Nova Scotia. Finally we are seeing some warmer temperatures and are feeling the warmth of the sun. the grass is beginning to turn green again and the buds on the trees are finally, slowly emerging. Winter is definitely over.

On Saturday Keith and I drove to Halifax. We had some errands to do and supplies to pick up, and I had someone look at my car to bid for some work that I need to have done on it. It is eleven years old now and while I have kept it in good condition and the miles are relatively low, there are parts of it that are showing its age and I am at a fork in the road in making the decision to give it a 'face lift' or get something else. Since I truly love it, I think I will be looking to get the work done. I would be truly happy with it for another eleven plus years and if I do things right, I am sure it will last even longer than that.

It is a big decision though, as it is not a cheap process. Not if I want things done right. I am certainly not doing things with the intention of raising its sale value, as I realize that that is not a sensible path to follow. This is going to be done with my mindset that it is for myself and my own pleasure, and nothing really beyond that.

I grew up with very limited means. We learned that if we wanted to keep something for a long time, we needed to take care of it properly. We learned to repair things that needed repairs and used things until they were no longer able to be used and regarded our things with the respect they deserved.

That idea has stuck with me throughout my entire life and I don't ever see that changing. In a world where everything seems to be packaged in 'single servings' and things that are sold are done so with the mindset that they are 'disposable', I find that having less things and keeping them longer is far preferable to me than the alternative. It somehow keeps things simpler in this crazy, fast paced world and it allows me to keep a clear head and focus on creating instead of what I want to 'buy next'.

I apologize for heading on a tangent, but I suppose that spending the money I am about to commit to my car is weighing heavily on me. In a way, I think that is a good thing, and a reason why I am able to do so in the first place. If I were impulsive or frivolous about spending what I worked so hard to earn, I wouldn't be able to do so in the first place. The decision has been thought out long and hard and I am sure that at this point it is the right one for me. It is just taking that step of actually doing it is scary. Perhaps that is what having 'common sense' means.

Yesterday I was home and able to get back to finishing up my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel project. Yes! I am nearly finished with the painting, and today I will spend the day doing the final touches and the final assembly. I can't wait to see it completed and fully assembled, and I believe I am just as excited about it as many of those who are following along are. It has been a wonderful and incredible journey for me and I am thrilled that it has come out so nice.

I painted the four pieces for the central pillar yesterday. I wanted something that would look creepy, but also beautiful. Since the pillar is under the canopy and dark, I needed enough contrast in it to be a back drop for the characters without looking too chaotic. I realize though that by nature, carousels have a great amount of things going on. They NEED to be somewhat busy as they fill your senses. That is part of the carnival atmosphere.

I decided to make the center pillar resemble a dungeon or castle. I thought this would go well with the skeletal figures. While I had some ideas of shadowy figures and other things, since I had a limited amount of space to work with on each panel, I thought that three window panels and a door panel would be appropriate. Since the carousel itself was already quite busy, I thought this would be enough to complete the mood and tone of the piece without overpowering the main characters. I am pretty pleased with how they turned out:

Textile Sleeve Wood Rectangle Font


While they look like they may be tedious to paint, in reality they are quite easy. Doing stone and brickwork like this is a great deal of fun, and very low stress. I figured that by the time people are on this part of the project, they may be a bit weary, and by having something that isn't fussy and actually quite a bit of fun to paint, it made a wonderfully relaxing (yet dynamic) way to finish off the carousel. I hope you all agree.

Each of the windows are the same. They each have a beautiful, glowing moon showing through. I used the same color palette that I used for the ceiling that I showed before:

Wood Art Font Cap Hat


Window Building Brickwork Painting Brick


The photograph of the window actually depicts the color of the ceiling of the carousel much better. It looks deep and lovely.

I also gave a splash of color to each of the four window panels by adding some pretty pumpkins. I think that they will look awesome with some creepy faces added on, which I will probably do today. It will add to the fun scariness of the scene and the more I think of it, the more I like the idea.

Orange Textile Bag Wood Window


I also added some creeping vines with red roses on the edges of each of the four pillar pieces. This design also is on the BACK of each panel, so that they will show as the overlap where the pieces slot together. I thought that this was a wonderful way to fill in this area, and adds a bit of color but isn't overpowering.

Building Window Door Wood House


I love the hinges on the door. I was thrilled with how that looks. You can't see from the photo, but I used just a hint of a metallic gold wash of paint on both the door and the window panes to give them a little shimmer. Since they are dark and under the canopy, I felt this last touch really helped your eye catch them and brought them into consciousness. Less was definitely "enough" in this instance, as it balanced things out very nicely. The red roses were also done in a metallic paint, giving them a really cool 'glow' on the dark background. The vines were wispy and deep in color, and almost invisible, as they would be under the night sky. I am pretty happy with how everything looks.

But I am not quite done yet . . .

I have some additional 'surprises' left until I can call this piece complete. The area above the door will get something special. I also have a few more touches of things here and there that I want to add in. I want things that will not be apparent at first glance, but will be noticed as one gazes upon the piece and studies it. This will (I hope) truly make it a work of art.

Today I will be assembling things for the first time with all the elements completed. After over two years of thinking and dreaming and creating this piece in my mind, it will be a bit of a thrill for me to see it right here in front of me. While certain parts are slightly different from my original thought process, for the most part it is what I have envisioned and some aspects of it are even better than I thought they could have been.

I am excited.

Tomorrow I should have photos of the entire carousel. I only hope that I can do it justice with my camera. I will then be spending the rest of the week working on the pattern and writing the instructions so that it will be easily (yes - EASILY) recreated. I think that one of the best things about this is that when broken down into steps, it is not a difficult project. The painting is not difficult at all, although it makes a magnificent presentation when all the simple elements are joined together. I hope you all agree.

I hope you come back tomorrow to see. I thank all of you who have encouraged me and cheered me on throughout this process. It felt good to hear (read) such wonderful comments from you all - especially on the days when things needed reworking or didn't quite turn out how I wanted. It really kept me going.

I wish you all a happy Monday and a wonderful week ahead. I hope you do something awesome and creative today. :)
Beautifully done! The finished project is going to look so cool! Love it.
 

Attachments

#11,702 ·
"Almost" Finished

I did a lot of finishing touches on my haunted carousel yesterday. It was time to do finish up the final touches that I wanted to include before the final assembly and what I call the 'presentation' photographs. These were odds and ends and somewhat 'afterthoughts' that came to mind after finishing certain sections.

I had intended to show all the final photos today, but by the time I finished getting everything ready, it was after 10pm last night and I was just too tired to do any quality work. I thought I would be able to quickly take the photos this morning for the blog here, but when I did take them, they looked rather crummy. I really need to take the time today to do it "right".

I was able to take photos of the elements that I added in, so you can see at least some progress today. I promise that by tomorrow I will have some better 'final' pictures of the project. But at least you can get the idea here of what I accomplished yesterday.

First off - I thought that the bench backs were just a little plain. So I added some crystal rhinestones around the star cutouts of each back as well as some white pearl comma stroking:



I did this to both the inside and the outside of the benches. I think that this little touch added a lot:



I also painted the bat above the door on the central pillar, as I mentioned I would do yesterday. I love how he came out. He has two crystal eyes that sparkle in the light:



I had these adorable skeleton shaped metal nail heads from Rhinestone Canada that fit perfectly just at the top of each of the pillar sections. I thought this was the perfect spot for them, as they brightened up the area underneath the ceiling of the carousel:



I then decided to also add some 2mm red crystal rhinestones in the eyes of each of the carousel animals. This gave a beautiful 'spooky' look to them. (Sorry - the photo is a little blurry!):



And finally for today - I am showing the carousel without the canopy top on so you can easily see the characters. When I took photos with the top on without my lights, etc. it was too dark for you to really see and appreciate, but this will give you an idea of how the bottom will look finished:





I am going to work on the photography today and then start working on the pattern and kits. I have the supplies for the pre-orders and will probably start cutting them by this weekend. I should have the products for this (pattern, ornament kit, full kit, etc.) up on the site in a day or two. I really appreciate eveyone's enthusiasm about this project. I think it is going to be pretty cool.

Thank you all for all your encouragement. I am really thrilled that you all like it so much. Your encouragement was what really got me through this build.

I wish you all a wonderful Tuesday. Have a great day and have some FUN!
 

Attachments

#11,703 ·
"Almost" Finished

I did a lot of finishing touches on my haunted carousel yesterday. It was time to do finish up the final touches that I wanted to include before the final assembly and what I call the 'presentation' photographs. These were odds and ends and somewhat 'afterthoughts' that came to mind after finishing certain sections.

I had intended to show all the final photos today, but by the time I finished getting everything ready, it was after 10pm last night and I was just too tired to do any quality work. I thought I would be able to quickly take the photos this morning for the blog here, but when I did take them, they looked rather crummy. I really need to take the time today to do it "right".

I was able to take photos of the elements that I added in, so you can see at least some progress today. I promise that by tomorrow I will have some better 'final' pictures of the project. But at least you can get the idea here of what I accomplished yesterday.

First off - I thought that the bench backs were just a little plain. So I added some crystal rhinestones around the star cutouts of each back as well as some white pearl comma stroking:

Gesture Finger Gadget Eyewear Thumb


I did this to both the inside and the outside of the benches. I think that this little touch added a lot:

Font Art Fin Fashion accessory Fish


I also painted the bat above the door on the central pillar, as I mentioned I would do yesterday. I love how he came out. He has two crystal eyes that sparkle in the light:

Wood Temple Art Religious item Building


I had these adorable skeleton shaped metal nail heads from Rhinestone Canada that fit perfectly just at the top of each of the pillar sections. I thought this was the perfect spot for them, as they brightened up the area underneath the ceiling of the carousel:

Wood Religious item Window Art Font


I then decided to also add some 2mm red crystal rhinestones in the eyes of each of the carousel animals. This gave a beautiful 'spooky' look to them. (Sorry - the photo is a little blurry!):

Wood Art Metal Glass Carmine


And finally for today - I am showing the carousel without the canopy top on so you can easily see the characters. When I took photos with the top on without my lights, etc. it was too dark for you to really see and appreciate, but this will give you an idea of how the bottom will look finished:

Wood Circuit component Computer hardware Electronic component Font


Art Font Games Visual arts Electric blue


I am going to work on the photography today and then start working on the pattern and kits. I have the supplies for the pre-orders and will probably start cutting them by this weekend. I should have the products for this (pattern, ornament kit, full kit, etc.) up on the site in a day or two. I really appreciate eveyone's enthusiasm about this project. I think it is going to be pretty cool.

Thank you all for all your encouragement. I am really thrilled that you all like it so much. Your encouragement was what really got me through this build.

I wish you all a wonderful Tuesday. Have a great day and have some FUN!
Amazing and way cool!
 

Attachments

#11,708 ·
It's All in the Details

For the past three weeks, I have been writing about a project that I was creating that I had been thinking about for over two years. I have hoped that it didn't get boring or tedious for you all to read, as my mind has been focused on little else and (for me, anyway) it was a long process to see it come to fruition.

What I saw in my mind over the last few years probably changed hundreds of times. From one day to the next, not only the style and graphics on the project changed, but also the logistics of how I would make it 'work' so that other people would be able to "easily" recreate it. Not only was that a consideration, but also I had to think of how I would be able to efficiently and cost-effectively produce kits that I would be able to sell. Since the project combined both my woodworking skills as well as my painting skills, I know that every step of the process needed to be simple and straight forward. After all - most of my painting audience does not do woodworking and many of my woodworking audience don't paint much. I needed to be sure that all bases were covered.

Another consideration is that I wanted the the kits to be completed using as few tools as possible. As with most of my projects, I relied on the scroll saw, sander and drill press to do just about everything. While I am sure that things could have been done on the lathe and table saw as well, I always try to keep to the three above mentioned tools, as many scroll sawyers don't have a full shop. Therein was the challenge.

Translating what I envisioned into reality using these criteria was not always easy for me. There were many sleepless nights and many times throughout the process I wound up cutting, throwing the piece in the garbage, and trying again. I didn't see these 'hiccups' as failures, but as learning experiences and I feel that I have learned a great deal while creating this project. Not only will it make things easier for subsequent projects, but it will also allow me to move even farther along in the learning process. It is all good.

People often ask why I like to share my 'designing secrets' and processes here on my blog every day. "Aren't you afraid that someone else will steal your ideas?", they ask, and I honestly don't feel threatened or intimidated by that thought.

I know how much thinking goes into my work. I know how much experience it has taken for me to get to this point. I guess that I figure that if anyone were going to copy or steal my ideas, they could have done so on any number of my projects. I am not saying that this hasn't happened in the past. I certainly have seen 'versions' of what I have created done very similarly by others. Whether they copied directly or indirectly or by chance came up with the same thing, it doesn't really matter to me.

I do know that those who copy things are generally not creative on their own and rather lazy. While one may take a concept and replicate it, it usually is a 'watered-down' version of the original and pales in comparison. I am not just saying that about my own work, but I know so many wonderful talented designers from sculptors, to wood turners to painters and other scroll saw artists. I have seen violations of copyrights in all of these areas, and I know how hard they are to enforce. One thing I know for certain is that the 'copies' are usually bland and cheap-looking. And while some of these copycats may be able to sell a few patterns here and there, it isn't long before the customers realize the difference in quality and design and migrate back to the true 'originals'.

Besides - those who copy may have a burst of success in their practices, but will generally run out of ideas before too long. To me, it isn't worth chasing. I have enough ideas in my head so I can just move on to something else. There is always something new waiting to be created in my mind. I consider that my 'job security'.

But I got off on a tangent . . .

I worked on all the details on my carousel yesterday and I can really call it "finished." It feels good to say so, and I will spend the next few days writing the pattern and waiting for the kit supplies to arrive. I already have many kits sold. So many in fact that I may have to order more supplies. I am glad that I am several months ahead of the season, as I don't like delaying any type of thing that people order from me. But sometimes it is what it is and I have no choice. (If you want to pre-order a kit, you can email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com and I will put you on the list.)

In any case, I have lots of photos to share. I want to show all the final details of the carousel, as I am rather proud of it. Seeing it all together is very exciting for me.

I'll start from the bottom up. The carousel floor has a faux marbled effect. The bones are placed in a spider web shape to follow the shape of the floor. This is all on a Lazy Susan ball bearing movement so it spins:

Sleeve Pattern Circle Symmetry Fashion accessory


There are six skeletal "characters" on the carousel. Each of them stands on a spider web, two tiered 'base':

Creative arts Toy Terrestrial animal Fish Tail


I used crystal rhinestones throughout the project. Each of the characters have red crystal eyes. This makes them look somewhat 'creepy':

Head Giraffidae Giraffe Terrestrial animal Snout


I also used some iridescent paint (it doesn't always photograph well) and used a black crystal to make a spider on each of the web bases:

Creative arts Pattern Art Font Linens


As with most carousels, I created two benches. The first being a creepy moon, encrusted with peridot colored crystal rhinestones:

Fruit Marine invertebrates Plant Terrestrial plant Fish


And the second, a skeletal swan. So many carousels have swan benches. I thought it would be appropriate. Both of the benches have a scrolled star in the back piece, which is embellished with some easy stroke work and some crystal rhinestones:

Font Art Bird Fashion accessory Beak


I used Rare Earth magnets to easily attach and detach the animals and benches:

Kitchen utensil Musical instrument accessory Natural material Wood Dish


The magnets are hidden under the layers of the spider web stands and the bases of the benches:

Hand Eyewear Jewellery Font Wrist


The eight carousel pieces can be assembled and disassembled in seconds:

Font Guitar accessory Auto part String instrument accessory Metal


The central pillar consists of four slotted pieces that slide together easily. The pillar is decorated with windows and a door and embellished with rhinstones. Because of its size, it is incredibly stable. I have small 'hooks' on the top in which to attach the roof of the carousel. The roof slots in easily and with a slight turn, locks into place:

Sleeve Art Rectangle Input device Font


The tower sets right into the center of the base:

Font Bag Office equipment Metal Art


Next comes the roof - painted with eerie clouds and crystal rhinestone stars:

Window Tree Astronomical object Electric blue Circle


There is a support screwed into the center top of the roof which will hold the canopy, which also has rhinestone accents for the eyes of the eight characters as well as brass nailhead embellishments:

Orange Creative arts Umbrella Dishware Symmetry


The canopy attaches with velcro, as it is made of Roc-Lon fabric. To hold it onto the support, I created a witch finale, again embellished with orange crystal rhinestones:

Happy Art Symbol Mythical creature Logo


The entire piece is 16" in diameter and about 18" tall. It looks small when put altogether:

Serveware Headgear Metal Event Art


It got dark before I was ready to take the final photos. The assembled piece is too large for my light box so I need to make some type of backdrop to photograph it properly. Also the canopy tends to shadow the central pillar when taking pictures. That is why I preferred to show you each piece individually.

I will try to post the links to the kits on the site today or tomorrow. The first round of kits won't ship for about two weeks though, as I am awaiting some of the supplies. Besides the 'full kit' I am also going to offer an ornament set using just the skeletal characters. They would look cute on a mantle or wreath or Halloween tree I think.

I know this is a LONG blog - but I wanted to show everything in one post. I suppose there is lots to see.

I want to thank everyone again who has been so kind with your comments and encouragement. I have been nervous about putting so much of my time into one piece, as anything like this is a risk. But without risks, we wouldn't advance, would we? I am pleased that so many of you really seem to like this. I really appreciate your support.

I need to take my car to the other side of the province to drop it off to get the new top put on today. I hope it goes well. When I return, I will begin writing my pattern in earnest.

It is a beautiful and sunny day here. A good day for a drive. I hope you all have a wonderful day as well. Happy Wednesday!
 

Attachments

#11,709 ·
It's All in the Details

For the past three weeks, I have been writing about a project that I was creating that I had been thinking about for over two years. I have hoped that it didn't get boring or tedious for you all to read, as my mind has been focused on little else and (for me, anyway) it was a long process to see it come to fruition.

What I saw in my mind over the last few years probably changed hundreds of times. From one day to the next, not only the style and graphics on the project changed, but also the logistics of how I would make it 'work' so that other people would be able to "easily" recreate it. Not only was that a consideration, but also I had to think of how I would be able to efficiently and cost-effectively produce kits that I would be able to sell. Since the project combined both my woodworking skills as well as my painting skills, I know that every step of the process needed to be simple and straight forward. After all - most of my painting audience does not do woodworking and many of my woodworking audience don't paint much. I needed to be sure that all bases were covered.

Another consideration is that I wanted the the kits to be completed using as few tools as possible. As with most of my projects, I relied on the scroll saw, sander and drill press to do just about everything. While I am sure that things could have been done on the lathe and table saw as well, I always try to keep to the three above mentioned tools, as many scroll sawyers don't have a full shop. Therein was the challenge.

Translating what I envisioned into reality using these criteria was not always easy for me. There were many sleepless nights and many times throughout the process I wound up cutting, throwing the piece in the garbage, and trying again. I didn't see these 'hiccups' as failures, but as learning experiences and I feel that I have learned a great deal while creating this project. Not only will it make things easier for subsequent projects, but it will also allow me to move even farther along in the learning process. It is all good.

People often ask why I like to share my 'designing secrets' and processes here on my blog every day. "Aren't you afraid that someone else will steal your ideas?", they ask, and I honestly don't feel threatened or intimidated by that thought.

I know how much thinking goes into my work. I know how much experience it has taken for me to get to this point. I guess that I figure that if anyone were going to copy or steal my ideas, they could have done so on any number of my projects. I am not saying that this hasn't happened in the past. I certainly have seen 'versions' of what I have created done very similarly by others. Whether they copied directly or indirectly or by chance came up with the same thing, it doesn't really matter to me.

I do know that those who copy things are generally not creative on their own and rather lazy. While one may take a concept and replicate it, it usually is a 'watered-down' version of the original and pales in comparison. I am not just saying that about my own work, but I know so many wonderful talented designers from sculptors, to wood turners to painters and other scroll saw artists. I have seen violations of copyrights in all of these areas, and I know how hard they are to enforce. One thing I know for certain is that the 'copies' are usually bland and cheap-looking. And while some of these copycats may be able to sell a few patterns here and there, it isn't long before the customers realize the difference in quality and design and migrate back to the true 'originals'.

Besides - those who copy may have a burst of success in their practices, but will generally run out of ideas before too long. To me, it isn't worth chasing. I have enough ideas in my head so I can just move on to something else. There is always something new waiting to be created in my mind. I consider that my 'job security'.

But I got off on a tangent . . .

I worked on all the details on my carousel yesterday and I can really call it "finished." It feels good to say so, and I will spend the next few days writing the pattern and waiting for the kit supplies to arrive. I already have many kits sold. So many in fact that I may have to order more supplies. I am glad that I am several months ahead of the season, as I don't like delaying any type of thing that people order from me. But sometimes it is what it is and I have no choice. (If you want to pre-order a kit, you can email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com and I will put you on the list.)

In any case, I have lots of photos to share. I want to show all the final details of the carousel, as I am rather proud of it. Seeing it all together is very exciting for me.

I'll start from the bottom up. The carousel floor has a faux marbled effect. The bones are placed in a spider web shape to follow the shape of the floor. This is all on a Lazy Susan ball bearing movement so it spins:

Sleeve Pattern Circle Symmetry Fashion accessory


There are six skeletal "characters" on the carousel. Each of them stands on a spider web, two tiered 'base':

Creative arts Toy Terrestrial animal Fish Tail


I used crystal rhinestones throughout the project. Each of the characters have red crystal eyes. This makes them look somewhat 'creepy':

Head Giraffidae Giraffe Terrestrial animal Snout


I also used some iridescent paint (it doesn't always photograph well) and used a black crystal to make a spider on each of the web bases:

Creative arts Pattern Art Font Linens


As with most carousels, I created two benches. The first being a creepy moon, encrusted with peridot colored crystal rhinestones:

Fruit Marine invertebrates Plant Terrestrial plant Fish


And the second, a skeletal swan. So many carousels have swan benches. I thought it would be appropriate. Both of the benches have a scrolled star in the back piece, which is embellished with some easy stroke work and some crystal rhinestones:

Font Art Bird Fashion accessory Beak


I used Rare Earth magnets to easily attach and detach the animals and benches:

Kitchen utensil Musical instrument accessory Natural material Wood Dish


The magnets are hidden under the layers of the spider web stands and the bases of the benches:

Hand Eyewear Jewellery Font Wrist


The eight carousel pieces can be assembled and disassembled in seconds:

Font Guitar accessory Auto part String instrument accessory Metal


The central pillar consists of four slotted pieces that slide together easily. The pillar is decorated with windows and a door and embellished with rhinstones. Because of its size, it is incredibly stable. I have small 'hooks' on the top in which to attach the roof of the carousel. The roof slots in easily and with a slight turn, locks into place:

Sleeve Art Rectangle Input device Font


The tower sets right into the center of the base:

Font Bag Office equipment Metal Art


Next comes the roof - painted with eerie clouds and crystal rhinestone stars:

Window Tree Astronomical object Electric blue Circle


There is a support screwed into the center top of the roof which will hold the canopy, which also has rhinestone accents for the eyes of the eight characters as well as brass nailhead embellishments:

Orange Creative arts Umbrella Dishware Symmetry


The canopy attaches with velcro, as it is made of Roc-Lon fabric. To hold it onto the support, I created a witch finale, again embellished with orange crystal rhinestones:

Happy Art Symbol Mythical creature Logo


The entire piece is 16" in diameter and about 18" tall. It looks small when put altogether:

Serveware Headgear Metal Event Art


It got dark before I was ready to take the final photos. The assembled piece is too large for my light box so I need to make some type of backdrop to photograph it properly. Also the canopy tends to shadow the central pillar when taking pictures. That is why I preferred to show you each piece individually.

I will try to post the links to the kits on the site today or tomorrow. The first round of kits won't ship for about two weeks though, as I am awaiting some of the supplies. Besides the 'full kit' I am also going to offer an ornament set using just the skeletal characters. They would look cute on a mantle or wreath or Halloween tree I think.

I know this is a LONG blog - but I wanted to show everything in one post. I suppose there is lots to see.

I want to thank everyone again who has been so kind with your comments and encouragement. I have been nervous about putting so much of my time into one piece, as anything like this is a risk. But without risks, we wouldn't advance, would we? I am pleased that so many of you really seem to like this. I really appreciate your support.

I need to take my car to the other side of the province to drop it off to get the new top put on today. I hope it goes well. When I return, I will begin writing my pattern in earnest.

It is a beautiful and sunny day here. A good day for a drive. I hope you all have a wonderful day as well. Happy Wednesday!
It looks soooooo good! Love the magnet idea for ease of getting the pieces off. Fun project - can't wait for you to design a Christmas Carousel :)
 

Attachments

#11,715 ·
Carousel Kit is Posted on the Website

Are you all tired of reading about this project yet? I hope not. It is just been that it has really kind of consumed my life these past couple of weeks and because of that, I have had little else to write about. But I am getting to the end of my journey with this and soon will be moving on to other new things. I really appreciate all the nice comments and encouragement from everyone. When you work from home, outside feedback is really important - especially on the days when things don't go just right. Each and every comment has meant a lot to me. I hope you all know that.

Keith was able to put the Pre Order Product for the Carousel All-Inclusive Kit on the site yesterday. You can see it here (SLDPS238 - Pre Order Carousel Kit) :

Product Font Liquid Art Fashion accessory


It will be shipping within about two weeks. I am still awaiting some of the supplies I need to create the kits. But there are many being ordered so please don't wait if you are in a hurry. I may have to reorder more supplies soon. I tried really hard to find things that were available quickly for me. As you can imagine, the expense for the kits is a bit more than usual and I had no idea if I would sell 1 or 100. Those of you who have ordered from me know that I usually ship even my wood orders within a day or two at most, so it feels odd for me to have to wait for supplies. I ask that you all be a little patient with me while I am getting my bearings with this type of kit. I don't think you will be disappointed in it. The extra time and effort that I am putting into it will certainly be evident when you receive it and the pattern.

I am spending today writing and I will probably be doing so for the next few days. In between I need to go the hour drive to pick up my car, as I brought it yesterday to have the new top installed on it. Then tomorrow I will be off to Halifax again to drop it off for the rest of the work on it. Halifax is a three hour drive each way and you can imagine it eats up my time and days quickly (as well as Keith's). But it will be good to get this car stuff over with and then I will have the entire summer to enjoy it.

Again, both Keith and I ask you to be patient with us these next few days. We know that everyone is used to us filling orders and answering questions immediately, but we will be gone a little more while we are doing this. We will however reply as soon as we come home.

With that all said, I will keep this short today. Time to focus on the tasks at hand. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful day today! It is sunny and warm and absolutely beautiful out today! It makes me think of the wonderful days we can look forward to ahead.

Have a beautiful Thursday!
 

Attachments

#11,716 ·
Carousel Kit is Posted on the Website

Are you all tired of reading about this project yet? I hope not. It is just been that it has really kind of consumed my life these past couple of weeks and because of that, I have had little else to write about. But I am getting to the end of my journey with this and soon will be moving on to other new things. I really appreciate all the nice comments and encouragement from everyone. When you work from home, outside feedback is really important - especially on the days when things don't go just right. Each and every comment has meant a lot to me. I hope you all know that.

Keith was able to put the Pre Order Product for the Carousel All-Inclusive Kit on the site yesterday. You can see it here (SLDPS238 - Pre Order Carousel Kit) :

Product Font Liquid Art Fashion accessory


It will be shipping within about two weeks. I am still awaiting some of the supplies I need to create the kits. But there are many being ordered so please don't wait if you are in a hurry. I may have to reorder more supplies soon. I tried really hard to find things that were available quickly for me. As you can imagine, the expense for the kits is a bit more than usual and I had no idea if I would sell 1 or 100. Those of you who have ordered from me know that I usually ship even my wood orders within a day or two at most, so it feels odd for me to have to wait for supplies. I ask that you all be a little patient with me while I am getting my bearings with this type of kit. I don't think you will be disappointed in it. The extra time and effort that I am putting into it will certainly be evident when you receive it and the pattern.

I am spending today writing and I will probably be doing so for the next few days. In between I need to go the hour drive to pick up my car, as I brought it yesterday to have the new top installed on it. Then tomorrow I will be off to Halifax again to drop it off for the rest of the work on it. Halifax is a three hour drive each way and you can imagine it eats up my time and days quickly (as well as Keith's). But it will be good to get this car stuff over with and then I will have the entire summer to enjoy it.

Again, both Keith and I ask you to be patient with us these next few days. We know that everyone is used to us filling orders and answering questions immediately, but we will be gone a little more while we are doing this. We will however reply as soon as we come home.

With that all said, I will keep this short today. Time to focus on the tasks at hand. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful day today! It is sunny and warm and absolutely beautiful out today! It makes me think of the wonderful days we can look forward to ahead.

Have a beautiful Thursday!
Glad to hear you are getting the weather to enjoy your car! It sure was a long winter for you all back there. Happy Spring!
 

Attachments

#11,718 ·
The Mustang Project - Phase 1 Complete

Those of you who are on my Facebook page (Sheila Landry Designs Scroll Saw Art) or personal friends of mine, know that this has been a really crazy week. Besides finishing up my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel project (which is now available for pre-order),

Product Font Liquid Art Fashion accessory


I have been running (or rather, driving) back and forth to get my 2003 Mustang completely renovated and restored. This has taken a LOT of my time and has been a lot of work, but I think I am in the home stretch.

I tell you all of this because I know many of you have come to expect daily posts from me. While I miss a day here and there, I usually make up for it with an array of projects following, or present the projects that Keith has been working on in the mean time. But between the long term (three week) process of developing the carousel and dragging Keith with me to drive me to drop off, pick up or get estimates for my car, we have both not been as productive in the creative department these past few weeks and I wanted to let you all know why.

Sometimes life gets in the way.

I wanted to share the process of the rebuild of my car because when I posted it on Facebook the other night, there seemed to be lots of interest. Those of you who know me know how much I have always loved cars (Mustangs in particular) and for the past 11 years, I have been driving my own 'dream car' of a 2003 Mustang GT convertible. I purchased it back in 2003 after an incredibly successful year selling my "Forest Leaf" series of scroll saw patterns. It took me six years to pay it off, and during that time I went through many hardships in my life. Throughout it all, I never missed a payment by even a day, and I look upon it as a representation of overcoming some of the most challenging times in my life.

I have kept the car pretty nice. Even though I had an accident with it just a few days before the last payment, I had it repaired and the interior is near mint. It has low miles (85K) for its age and engine and runs beautifully. I hope to keep it for many years to come.

But time has done a job on its exterior. I haven't always had the money to put it in storage in the winter, and as you can imagine, every year it has gone through some very brutal weather. This year was by far the worse to date. Even though I don't drive it from December until April, it suffered greatly.

The roof had began to leak a bit. I understand after 11 years, that is typical. The stretching and contraction of the vinyl over and over with the heat and cold extremes naturally wears the seams. Since I wanted to keep the car in good shape, I knew that I had no choice but to replace it as soon as possible.

Then there was the paint issue. The clear coat began blistering last year, and I had the header over the front windshield painted, but after another winter, there were many spots that a great amount of blistering was occuring. While the visible rust was only very minor, I realized that the salty ocean air had taken its toll and it was time to either paint the car or give up on it and get another.

I weighed the decision heavily, and decided on the repairs. Although they wouldn't be cheap, they would certainly be better than starting from scratch with another car. I cannot afford a new Mustang or any type of car so nice, and what I would wind up getting - even if I sold my car - would be a cheap, new(er) car that I wouldn't be happy with. So repar it was.

Finding reliable people to do the work was a huge challenge. I had gone to Ford in the autumn and tried to get an estimate to have them do the work. After spending over an hour having their people look it over, I was promised a full estimate over the winter so I could start work as soon as the snow melted.

They failed to contact me and I found myself calling repeatedly to try to get the estimate. To this day, I still don't have it.

I did find a gentleman who replaced tops and did upholsterer work. He had 25 years experience and from the time he called me, he was reliable and spot on with his work. He showed up when he said he would, followed up the next day, and gave a fair estimate. He explained everything in a way that we understood what we needed without being condescending. I had a good feeling about him and went with him and gave him the job.

I took the car over there on Wednesday which ate up half our day. He lived in the middle of the province, through roads I will call "less traveled". I was nervous, but when we got there, he was again professional and explained everything.

I picked up the car on Thursday and was thrilled with the result. The top looked beautiful and just like new:

Wheel Automotive parking light Tire Automotive tail & brake light Car


Wheel Car Tire Vehicle Plant


For the first time in months, I was really encouraged at the outcome. I finally felt like I was doing the right thing. Phase 1 of the "Mustang Project" was complete!

In the mean time, I had lined up a shop in Halifax who would do the restoration. This as well was not an easy task and took a great deal of time. I looked at many, many ads from shops all over the province, but for one reason or another, they were ticked off the list.

Finally I found the website of a shop near the airport. It was called "Curtis Customs" and one thing that got my attention was they they offered shop tours one day a week. After reading through their site (which I understand is outdated a bit) and seeing their work, I decided to give them a call about a tour.

I talked to Curtis himself who answered the phone on a whim. His usual person was not there he said, and he picked it up as he walked by. I told him what I needed and he was professional, attentive and invited us to come and see what they did.

Long story short - last Saturday Keith and I took the ride out to take the shop tour and get the estimate. I was really impressed with not only the quality of the work, but the care and thoroughness that the team had. You could tell that these guys all LOVED what they were doing. Curtis told us that he doesn't even have his employees punch in, as they come and go as they feel fit and most of them are there many more hours than required. Some of them worked on their own cars on Saturdays or after hours. I have learned that people who love what they do tend to do a better job.

Their shop had many accolades under their belt. They had worked on cars of people such as Keifer Southerland, Jay Leno and ZZ Top. They won awards at car shows, too. I even heard that The Discrovery Channel is going to be filming a 16 part show on Curtis and his shop. When they explained the processes they they would follow when painting my car and showed the cars that they were working on, I was really impressed.

They offered what I consider a fair estimate and Curtis told me that if they found any 'surprises' (hidden rust, problems, etc.) it would be on them. Curtis did all his fabrication by hand, using a hammer and anvil. Seeing his craftsmanship was a thrill. These guys were old school and took pride in their work.

So I booked time with them and we agreed on the makeover. The car will look like new when it is done.

I have some 'before' photos of the paint issues:

Vehicle Car Automotive parking light Automotive lighting Hood


Automotive parking light Tire Wheel Car Automotive lighting


Car Vehicle Grille Automotive lighting Hood


Tire Wheel Land vehicle Vehicle Automotive tail & brake light


Automotive tail & brake light Grille Vehicle Hood Automotive lighting


While as you can see in the full body photos, the car still looks nice, when looking at the paint, you can see all the blistering. If unattended, it wouldn't be long before it would be filled with rust.

The trip to Halifax last week was certainly worth it. It takes us about three hours each way to travel, and eats up the entire day. But having someone who I feel will do quality work is certainly worth my time.

We left early yesterday and didn't get home until nearly 9pm. This time we needed to drive both cars there so we could leave the Mustang for the repairs. Curtis told me that they may not start for a week, but if they would as soon as they finished up a couple of jobs (wait time for major customizing is over 3 years now at his shop - "Simple" paint jobs such as mine with minor work is much quicker). It seems as if all things were aligned just right with this entire process.

Curtis told me he would be taking photos and sending them as they work. He wants me to see the process, and how thorough they are. I like that a lot. I am nervous, but now more excited than anything.

I hope you don't mind me sharing this in my blog. In a way, it is about being creative, as Keith and I have been planning the graphics and colors that we will be having on the car. I pretty much knew the look I wanted, but as always, I appreciate Keith's input a great deal. I think it is going to be amazing!

I will continue to update you all if you are interested. Just let me know if you enjoy seeing this kind of thing. I know not everyone will like or appreciate it, but some of you will, and those that aren't interested can just take a 'day off' from reading. :) I mentioned in the beginning when I started this blog that it would not only be about painting and woodworking, but also somewhat about my personal life. Sometimes in the past, those are the posts that I receive the most response from.

It is another sunny day here in Nova Scotia, albeit cool. I plan to get busy again with my carousel pattern writing as well as other projects that I am working on (YES - More are in the works!) I hope you are all enjoying some nice weather and I wish you all a lovely weekend. Happy Mother's Day to the moms out there! I will see you all on Monday!
 

Attachments

#11,719 ·
The Mustang Project - Phase 1 Complete

Those of you who are on my Facebook page (Sheila Landry Designs Scroll Saw Art) or personal friends of mine, know that this has been a really crazy week. Besides finishing up my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel project (which is now available for pre-order),

Product Font Liquid Art Fashion accessory


I have been running (or rather, driving) back and forth to get my 2003 Mustang completely renovated and restored. This has taken a LOT of my time and has been a lot of work, but I think I am in the home stretch.

I tell you all of this because I know many of you have come to expect daily posts from me. While I miss a day here and there, I usually make up for it with an array of projects following, or present the projects that Keith has been working on in the mean time. But between the long term (three week) process of developing the carousel and dragging Keith with me to drive me to drop off, pick up or get estimates for my car, we have both not been as productive in the creative department these past few weeks and I wanted to let you all know why.

Sometimes life gets in the way.

I wanted to share the process of the rebuild of my car because when I posted it on Facebook the other night, there seemed to be lots of interest. Those of you who know me know how much I have always loved cars (Mustangs in particular) and for the past 11 years, I have been driving my own 'dream car' of a 2003 Mustang GT convertible. I purchased it back in 2003 after an incredibly successful year selling my "Forest Leaf" series of scroll saw patterns. It took me six years to pay it off, and during that time I went through many hardships in my life. Throughout it all, I never missed a payment by even a day, and I look upon it as a representation of overcoming some of the most challenging times in my life.

I have kept the car pretty nice. Even though I had an accident with it just a few days before the last payment, I had it repaired and the interior is near mint. It has low miles (85K) for its age and engine and runs beautifully. I hope to keep it for many years to come.

But time has done a job on its exterior. I haven't always had the money to put it in storage in the winter, and as you can imagine, every year it has gone through some very brutal weather. This year was by far the worse to date. Even though I don't drive it from December until April, it suffered greatly.

The roof had began to leak a bit. I understand after 11 years, that is typical. The stretching and contraction of the vinyl over and over with the heat and cold extremes naturally wears the seams. Since I wanted to keep the car in good shape, I knew that I had no choice but to replace it as soon as possible.

Then there was the paint issue. The clear coat began blistering last year, and I had the header over the front windshield painted, but after another winter, there were many spots that a great amount of blistering was occuring. While the visible rust was only very minor, I realized that the salty ocean air had taken its toll and it was time to either paint the car or give up on it and get another.

I weighed the decision heavily, and decided on the repairs. Although they wouldn't be cheap, they would certainly be better than starting from scratch with another car. I cannot afford a new Mustang or any type of car so nice, and what I would wind up getting - even if I sold my car - would be a cheap, new(er) car that I wouldn't be happy with. So repar it was.

Finding reliable people to do the work was a huge challenge. I had gone to Ford in the autumn and tried to get an estimate to have them do the work. After spending over an hour having their people look it over, I was promised a full estimate over the winter so I could start work as soon as the snow melted.

They failed to contact me and I found myself calling repeatedly to try to get the estimate. To this day, I still don't have it.

I did find a gentleman who replaced tops and did upholsterer work. He had 25 years experience and from the time he called me, he was reliable and spot on with his work. He showed up when he said he would, followed up the next day, and gave a fair estimate. He explained everything in a way that we understood what we needed without being condescending. I had a good feeling about him and went with him and gave him the job.

I took the car over there on Wednesday which ate up half our day. He lived in the middle of the province, through roads I will call "less traveled". I was nervous, but when we got there, he was again professional and explained everything.

I picked up the car on Thursday and was thrilled with the result. The top looked beautiful and just like new:

Wheel Automotive parking light Tire Automotive tail & brake light Car


Wheel Car Tire Vehicle Plant


For the first time in months, I was really encouraged at the outcome. I finally felt like I was doing the right thing. Phase 1 of the "Mustang Project" was complete!

In the mean time, I had lined up a shop in Halifax who would do the restoration. This as well was not an easy task and took a great deal of time. I looked at many, many ads from shops all over the province, but for one reason or another, they were ticked off the list.

Finally I found the website of a shop near the airport. It was called "Curtis Customs" and one thing that got my attention was they they offered shop tours one day a week. After reading through their site (which I understand is outdated a bit) and seeing their work, I decided to give them a call about a tour.

I talked to Curtis himself who answered the phone on a whim. His usual person was not there he said, and he picked it up as he walked by. I told him what I needed and he was professional, attentive and invited us to come and see what they did.

Long story short - last Saturday Keith and I took the ride out to take the shop tour and get the estimate. I was really impressed with not only the quality of the work, but the care and thoroughness that the team had. You could tell that these guys all LOVED what they were doing. Curtis told us that he doesn't even have his employees punch in, as they come and go as they feel fit and most of them are there many more hours than required. Some of them worked on their own cars on Saturdays or after hours. I have learned that people who love what they do tend to do a better job.

Their shop had many accolades under their belt. They had worked on cars of people such as Keifer Southerland, Jay Leno and ZZ Top. They won awards at car shows, too. I even heard that The Discrovery Channel is going to be filming a 16 part show on Curtis and his shop. When they explained the processes they they would follow when painting my car and showed the cars that they were working on, I was really impressed.

They offered what I consider a fair estimate and Curtis told me that if they found any 'surprises' (hidden rust, problems, etc.) it would be on them. Curtis did all his fabrication by hand, using a hammer and anvil. Seeing his craftsmanship was a thrill. These guys were old school and took pride in their work.

So I booked time with them and we agreed on the makeover. The car will look like new when it is done.

I have some 'before' photos of the paint issues:

Vehicle Car Automotive parking light Automotive lighting Hood


Automotive parking light Tire Wheel Car Automotive lighting


Car Vehicle Grille Automotive lighting Hood


Tire Wheel Land vehicle Vehicle Automotive tail & brake light


Automotive tail & brake light Grille Vehicle Hood Automotive lighting


While as you can see in the full body photos, the car still looks nice, when looking at the paint, you can see all the blistering. If unattended, it wouldn't be long before it would be filled with rust.

The trip to Halifax last week was certainly worth it. It takes us about three hours each way to travel, and eats up the entire day. But having someone who I feel will do quality work is certainly worth my time.

We left early yesterday and didn't get home until nearly 9pm. This time we needed to drive both cars there so we could leave the Mustang for the repairs. Curtis told me that they may not start for a week, but if they would as soon as they finished up a couple of jobs (wait time for major customizing is over 3 years now at his shop - "Simple" paint jobs such as mine with minor work is much quicker). It seems as if all things were aligned just right with this entire process.

Curtis told me he would be taking photos and sending them as they work. He wants me to see the process, and how thorough they are. I like that a lot. I am nervous, but now more excited than anything.

I hope you don't mind me sharing this in my blog. In a way, it is about being creative, as Keith and I have been planning the graphics and colors that we will be having on the car. I pretty much knew the look I wanted, but as always, I appreciate Keith's input a great deal. I think it is going to be amazing!

I will continue to update you all if you are interested. Just let me know if you enjoy seeing this kind of thing. I know not everyone will like or appreciate it, but some of you will, and those that aren't interested can just take a 'day off' from reading. :) I mentioned in the beginning when I started this blog that it would not only be about painting and woodworking, but also somewhat about my personal life. Sometimes in the past, those are the posts that I receive the most response from.

It is another sunny day here in Nova Scotia, albeit cool. I plan to get busy again with my carousel pattern writing as well as other projects that I am working on (YES - More are in the works!) I hope you are all enjoying some nice weather and I wish you all a lovely weekend. Happy Mother's Day to the moms out there! I will see you all on Monday!
Sheila,

The new top looks fabulous! How wonderful for you to find craftsmen with whom you have confidence. It can be very difficult to find quality craftsmanship. I need a little minor mechanical work done on my car and I have become frustrated with finding someone to do it. I don't mind paying a fair price for the work, but I really hate being lied to about the work needed, and that seems to be extremely prevalent these days. (I especially hate that they think women are too stupid to know they are lying!) Incompetence is rampant!

I look forward to seeing your "new" car!

L/W
 

Attachments

#11,724 ·
Patience - Lessons from a Box of Thread

I haven't always been the most patient person in the world. Like most people, when I was waiting for something to happen, I wanted it now. I didn't like the feeling of waiting for things once I had my mind made up. whether it be food I ordered at a restaurant, a package that I ordered through the mail, or even when I was sitting waiting for the doctor or dentist. I had places to go and things to do and I didn't want to spend my day (and waste my time) waiting.

But as I get older, I have learned not only to not mind waiting for things, but going so far as appreciating the time spent waiting as part of my journey through life.

Of course this doesn't apply to life and death situations - like when dealing with illness or injuries - but I am referring to everyday circumstances when not getting what we want the instant that we ask for has few consequences other than not being able to experience the instant gratification of "seeing/wanting/having" and all that goes with it. I believe that this is the case the vast majority of times.

There are many benefits to waiting for things. From giving ourselves a chance to think things through regarding certain situations to teaching us that our own wants, desires and needs are not always fulfilled instantly, waiting for something we desire plays an important role in our own socialization skills and teaches us how to better coexist with others in a civilized society. That may sound over technical to you and may be over-thinking things, but in today's world of "Me! Me! Me!" I think that the realization that there are other considerations besides ourselves and our own perspectives, and by realizing this and respecting it, we are better adjusted and more rounded as individuals. And that gives us a better sense of belonging and self worth.

Besides - the world is too big and has too many people for everyone to be first. While we may be number one in our own little corner of this planet, out in the real world, we are one of billions of people - each with their own desires and wants and sense of self. We can't all have everything available to us the second we decide that we want it or need it. Part of being a member of a civilized society is that there is some sense of order and that everyone needs to understand that taking turns is an important element to help the society function successfully. I think sometimes we forget these things.

So what has me thinking on this tangent this morning . . . ?

Lately, it has occurred to me that people really don't like waiting for anything. Being a quiet observer, I noticed that many of the complaints I have seen from people have been in regards to waiting for one thing or another. Supplies thorough the mail. Food at a restaurant. The line at the gas station or market. These are all things that require us to be patient.

In a world where we are teaching our children that they are the most important people in the world (maybe to us, but not so much to others with their own children) I wonder if this anxiousness and lack of patience is just a little bit of our own doing. After all, we train our kids from the day they are born that they are the center of the universe. Of course they are the center of our world, but as they grow and learn to socialize with others, I wonder if we didn't somehow miss the transition of adapting them from living within a small family unit where they are the center of attention to being in a large society with billions of others - many who have also been raised to think as they do - that they matter most. It is a fine line to walk, it seems. I suppose there is no clear cut right or wrong answer.

I am not trying to pick on anyone. It's just something that came to mind from the large amounts of people who I see on a daily basis that feel that things just don't happen fast enough. I can't tell if it was always this way and I am just noticing it now, or if it is something that has evolved over time, and finally got to a point where it could no longer be ignored. I am not sure.

Perhaps it is because over the past few months I have been waiting for some things myself. I usually consider myself pretty patient. I try to be considerate of others and be reasonable, but I admit that sometimes I run out of patience and the anxiousness gets the best of me.

There have been several things in my life that I have been waiting for. Some are minor and others were potentially life-changing. The anticipation of what is to come sometimes made it hard to be patient. Some of these include things such as clearing up a tax error that my accountant had made several years ago (in my favor, but I want it cleared nonetheless) to receiving my paperwork to remain in Canada (that took five years - it is done now, but the five year wait was excruciating.) to receiving a package of supplies that I ordered that took over six weeks to arrive. While all these incidences had different degrees of importance as far as my life's picture went, they all caused different levels of anxiety, and robbed me of some of my productivity and even my happiness to a small degree. I worried about each of them from time to time and when I did so, it sometimes prevented me from going about my day in a good and productive way. At times the worry even robbed me of my creativity. There was a point when I was awaiting my immigration paperwork that for many months, or even years I was nearly unable to function because of the concern it brought upon me. After all - how can you be creative when you have an anvil hanging over your head? It was nearly debilitating.

But everything did work out in the end. And after the years of waiting for things to happen (and the accompanying anxiety that waiting brought with it) I figured out that all that worry didn't make a bit of difference. What happened in the long run would have happened whether I worried about it or not. I look back upon that chapter in my life as one that was particularly educational. I learned a great deal from it. One of the most important lessons that I took with me was that the time and energy that I spent worrying could have been spent much better doing something productive. While there are circumstances when we need to take action and be interactive, there are many more we have in our lives that we need to let go and refocus on something positive and let things play out as they are supposed to. Worrying about things we cannot change is a waste of time. Therein lies the skill of "Patience."

I have a short story to tell (I know this is already a long post!) that I want to share with you. The reason I want to share is because I learned something from it. In itself it may not seem like a big deal, but that small amount of knowledge has the potential to be applied to many circumstances in my life, and I believe yours as well. It is a lesson in patience.

About six weeks ago I ordered some supplies for some projects I want to do. I had ordered from this company before, and they are located very far away, in South Africa. While they have stockists closer to me, I like to order from them direct because not only do they have the complete line of products to offer (the stockists do not), but they are a bit less expensive and I like to order directly from the designers whenever I can, as they gain the most profit that way and I want to see them around in the future.

Since it is a big deal for me to order from them (a little more expensive to ship) I try to do so only a couple of times a year, and the orders are large. I try to get everything at once so that the overall cost plus shipping is the lowest. This was a large order.

Preparing the order took me several weeks. Not only did I need to save up the money for the order, but I also didn't want to 'miss' anything that I may need. There were several correspondences between me and the company for several weeks before the order was actually placed. We wanted everything correct.

Long story short, once I placed the order, it was boxed up and shipped out within a day. I was given a tracking number and excited with the thought of having the supplies. They had some new items and I had so many ideas as to how to design with them. It was going to be great!

I watched the package through the tracking and within about three days, the tracking report said "left for destination country" and I knew I was close to receiving my goods. After a couple of days, I started to feel that wonderful anticipation every day when I got to the post office. After all - the package was sent via air mail and surely it would arrive within a week (it had to clear customs, etc.) But day after day passed and it didn't come. I checked the tracking and the last scan was on March 31st, when it left South Africa.

Around the second week of April, with no change in the status, I began to worry. I began to wonder if it was lost.

By the third week of April - still nothing. It wasn't until four weeks after the scan that I contacted the company. My contact there looked things up and all she saw was it was delayed, due to an air parcel strike in South Africa. She said they promised it would travel 'soon.'

I tried not to let it get to me, but I must admit it did. Those who I mentioned it to said I should demand my money back, but I didn't want to do that just yet. The company that sold the supplies was honorable and it wasn't really their fault. The package was insured, but that would take a long time to claim. Besides - I had nowhere else to get the supplies. I had to be patient.

There were times when I allowed it to make me cranky and upset. After all - I had wanted to make something for Mother's Day with the supplies and that was out of the question. There was also a great deal of money that was into them, and I had nothing to show for it. But I fought the urge to act on my disappointment and tried to refocus on something else. When I stopped allowing it to ruin my day, it actually made me feel better. I knew that if down the line I didn't receive the package, the company would make good on it. I tried to put myself into the position where I sent something to one of my customers and it got lost. It isn't always someone's fault.

You can probably guess the end of the story. On Friday, I finally saw movement on the tracking. The package had shown up in Montreal for customs clearance and was on its way to me. By Sunday it was in Halifax. Yesterday I picked it up.

When I opened the package, my initial enthusiasm returned instantly. The supplies are as beautiful and wonderful as I remembered. The materials amazing. I once again thought of all the wonderful creations that will come from them and I was once again in my 'happy place', as well as relieved. I can't wait to order again from the same company.

More importantly though, I learned something. It was something that I already knew, but perhaps I needed a reminder.

"Worrying about things we can't change is detrimental. Patience is a very valuable skill that we need to master."

I am glad I didn't jump off the handle or rant about this. Things happen. The world does NOT revolve around me (except in my cat's eyes - and maybe Keith's on a good day!) Consideration for all things and people involved is a far healthier way to handle things when they don't go just right. Not only does it alleviate a great deal of stress (that we put on OURSELVES, I must add!) but it makes you feel really good about yourself and how you reacted once the 'crisis' is resolved. That positive reinforcement will help you cope even better next time. I promise.

I learned this all from a little box of thread:

Wood Rectangle Publication Packing materials Hardwood


"Patience is a virtue."

Have a beautiful day!
 

Attachments

#11,725 ·
Patience - Lessons from a Box of Thread

I haven't always been the most patient person in the world. Like most people, when I was waiting for something to happen, I wanted it now. I didn't like the feeling of waiting for things once I had my mind made up. whether it be food I ordered at a restaurant, a package that I ordered through the mail, or even when I was sitting waiting for the doctor or dentist. I had places to go and things to do and I didn't want to spend my day (and waste my time) waiting.

But as I get older, I have learned not only to not mind waiting for things, but going so far as appreciating the time spent waiting as part of my journey through life.

Of course this doesn't apply to life and death situations - like when dealing with illness or injuries - but I am referring to everyday circumstances when not getting what we want the instant that we ask for has few consequences other than not being able to experience the instant gratification of "seeing/wanting/having" and all that goes with it. I believe that this is the case the vast majority of times.

There are many benefits to waiting for things. From giving ourselves a chance to think things through regarding certain situations to teaching us that our own wants, desires and needs are not always fulfilled instantly, waiting for something we desire plays an important role in our own socialization skills and teaches us how to better coexist with others in a civilized society. That may sound over technical to you and may be over-thinking things, but in today's world of "Me! Me! Me!" I think that the realization that there are other considerations besides ourselves and our own perspectives, and by realizing this and respecting it, we are better adjusted and more rounded as individuals. And that gives us a better sense of belonging and self worth.

Besides - the world is too big and has too many people for everyone to be first. While we may be number one in our own little corner of this planet, out in the real world, we are one of billions of people - each with their own desires and wants and sense of self. We can't all have everything available to us the second we decide that we want it or need it. Part of being a member of a civilized society is that there is some sense of order and that everyone needs to understand that taking turns is an important element to help the society function successfully. I think sometimes we forget these things.

So what has me thinking on this tangent this morning . . . ?

Lately, it has occurred to me that people really don't like waiting for anything. Being a quiet observer, I noticed that many of the complaints I have seen from people have been in regards to waiting for one thing or another. Supplies thorough the mail. Food at a restaurant. The line at the gas station or market. These are all things that require us to be patient.

In a world where we are teaching our children that they are the most important people in the world (maybe to us, but not so much to others with their own children) I wonder if this anxiousness and lack of patience is just a little bit of our own doing. After all, we train our kids from the day they are born that they are the center of the universe. Of course they are the center of our world, but as they grow and learn to socialize with others, I wonder if we didn't somehow miss the transition of adapting them from living within a small family unit where they are the center of attention to being in a large society with billions of others - many who have also been raised to think as they do - that they matter most. It is a fine line to walk, it seems. I suppose there is no clear cut right or wrong answer.

I am not trying to pick on anyone. It's just something that came to mind from the large amounts of people who I see on a daily basis that feel that things just don't happen fast enough. I can't tell if it was always this way and I am just noticing it now, or if it is something that has evolved over time, and finally got to a point where it could no longer be ignored. I am not sure.

Perhaps it is because over the past few months I have been waiting for some things myself. I usually consider myself pretty patient. I try to be considerate of others and be reasonable, but I admit that sometimes I run out of patience and the anxiousness gets the best of me.

There have been several things in my life that I have been waiting for. Some are minor and others were potentially life-changing. The anticipation of what is to come sometimes made it hard to be patient. Some of these include things such as clearing up a tax error that my accountant had made several years ago (in my favor, but I want it cleared nonetheless) to receiving my paperwork to remain in Canada (that took five years - it is done now, but the five year wait was excruciating.) to receiving a package of supplies that I ordered that took over six weeks to arrive. While all these incidences had different degrees of importance as far as my life's picture went, they all caused different levels of anxiety, and robbed me of some of my productivity and even my happiness to a small degree. I worried about each of them from time to time and when I did so, it sometimes prevented me from going about my day in a good and productive way. At times the worry even robbed me of my creativity. There was a point when I was awaiting my immigration paperwork that for many months, or even years I was nearly unable to function because of the concern it brought upon me. After all - how can you be creative when you have an anvil hanging over your head? It was nearly debilitating.

But everything did work out in the end. And after the years of waiting for things to happen (and the accompanying anxiety that waiting brought with it) I figured out that all that worry didn't make a bit of difference. What happened in the long run would have happened whether I worried about it or not. I look back upon that chapter in my life as one that was particularly educational. I learned a great deal from it. One of the most important lessons that I took with me was that the time and energy that I spent worrying could have been spent much better doing something productive. While there are circumstances when we need to take action and be interactive, there are many more we have in our lives that we need to let go and refocus on something positive and let things play out as they are supposed to. Worrying about things we cannot change is a waste of time. Therein lies the skill of "Patience."

I have a short story to tell (I know this is already a long post!) that I want to share with you. The reason I want to share is because I learned something from it. In itself it may not seem like a big deal, but that small amount of knowledge has the potential to be applied to many circumstances in my life, and I believe yours as well. It is a lesson in patience.

About six weeks ago I ordered some supplies for some projects I want to do. I had ordered from this company before, and they are located very far away, in South Africa. While they have stockists closer to me, I like to order from them direct because not only do they have the complete line of products to offer (the stockists do not), but they are a bit less expensive and I like to order directly from the designers whenever I can, as they gain the most profit that way and I want to see them around in the future.

Since it is a big deal for me to order from them (a little more expensive to ship) I try to do so only a couple of times a year, and the orders are large. I try to get everything at once so that the overall cost plus shipping is the lowest. This was a large order.

Preparing the order took me several weeks. Not only did I need to save up the money for the order, but I also didn't want to 'miss' anything that I may need. There were several correspondences between me and the company for several weeks before the order was actually placed. We wanted everything correct.

Long story short, once I placed the order, it was boxed up and shipped out within a day. I was given a tracking number and excited with the thought of having the supplies. They had some new items and I had so many ideas as to how to design with them. It was going to be great!

I watched the package through the tracking and within about three days, the tracking report said "left for destination country" and I knew I was close to receiving my goods. After a couple of days, I started to feel that wonderful anticipation every day when I got to the post office. After all - the package was sent via air mail and surely it would arrive within a week (it had to clear customs, etc.) But day after day passed and it didn't come. I checked the tracking and the last scan was on March 31st, when it left South Africa.

Around the second week of April, with no change in the status, I began to worry. I began to wonder if it was lost.

By the third week of April - still nothing. It wasn't until four weeks after the scan that I contacted the company. My contact there looked things up and all she saw was it was delayed, due to an air parcel strike in South Africa. She said they promised it would travel 'soon.'

I tried not to let it get to me, but I must admit it did. Those who I mentioned it to said I should demand my money back, but I didn't want to do that just yet. The company that sold the supplies was honorable and it wasn't really their fault. The package was insured, but that would take a long time to claim. Besides - I had nowhere else to get the supplies. I had to be patient.

There were times when I allowed it to make me cranky and upset. After all - I had wanted to make something for Mother's Day with the supplies and that was out of the question. There was also a great deal of money that was into them, and I had nothing to show for it. But I fought the urge to act on my disappointment and tried to refocus on something else. When I stopped allowing it to ruin my day, it actually made me feel better. I knew that if down the line I didn't receive the package, the company would make good on it. I tried to put myself into the position where I sent something to one of my customers and it got lost. It isn't always someone's fault.

You can probably guess the end of the story. On Friday, I finally saw movement on the tracking. The package had shown up in Montreal for customs clearance and was on its way to me. By Sunday it was in Halifax. Yesterday I picked it up.

When I opened the package, my initial enthusiasm returned instantly. The supplies are as beautiful and wonderful as I remembered. The materials amazing. I once again thought of all the wonderful creations that will come from them and I was once again in my 'happy place', as well as relieved. I can't wait to order again from the same company.

More importantly though, I learned something. It was something that I already knew, but perhaps I needed a reminder.

"Worrying about things we can't change is detrimental. Patience is a very valuable skill that we need to master."

I am glad I didn't jump off the handle or rant about this. Things happen. The world does NOT revolve around me (except in my cat's eyes - and maybe Keith's on a good day!) Consideration for all things and people involved is a far healthier way to handle things when they don't go just right. Not only does it alleviate a great deal of stress (that we put on OURSELVES, I must add!) but it makes you feel really good about yourself and how you reacted once the 'crisis' is resolved. That positive reinforcement will help you cope even better next time. I promise.

I learned this all from a little box of thread:

Wood Rectangle Publication Packing materials Hardwood


"Patience is a virtue."

Have a beautiful day!
Looks like those supplies were well worth the wait. I see another embroidery project being created :) The colours in threads and braids are beautiful. Looking forward to seeing how you use them.
 

Attachments

#11,729 ·
Technical Drawing

These past several days (as well as the next several days to follow) will be focused on completing the pattern for my SLDP238 Haunted Carousel. Even though the project was completed last week, the process of creating a comprehensive and workable pattern is just as involved - if not more so - than making the actual project itself.

We all have our own methods of doing things. For me, thinking up and creating a design is just one element of the designing process. I think that how the pattern is presented can make or break a design, and even a business. After all, the purpose of designing patterns is so that we can teach others to recreate items that we design easily and efficiently. In my years of crafting in all kinds of media, I have witnessed both wonderful and comprehensive patterns that make me want to do more, and patterns that have been lacking in many of the basic instructions which make me question myself as to why I would want to spend time doing the particular craft in the first place. I think that one of the most frustrating things as a crafter is to fall in love with a particular project or design and purchase the pattern only to find that the instructions are vague and incomplete. It is very disappointing.

For that reason, I try to write every pattern as if I am writing to someone completely new to the process. Since my audience is vast and those using my patterns have a wide range of skills and experience, I think that the safe bet is to include all the instructions needed to complete the project at a level that even a newer crafter will understand. This is in no way meant to be condescending to those who are more experienced. I try to present things in a way so that if one feels that they already know a particular step of the process or have a way of doing a particular step that they feel more comfortable with, they can easily skip that step and pick up on the next one. That way no one is left out and everyone is happy.

It is for this reason that I regard every pattern as a lesson, and hopefully things go easy for everyone who tries my patterns. Maybe people learn something along the way.

As you can imagine, the carousel pattern is complex. I have spent the last several days redrawing every element that is included. While I may use rough drawings when I am creating the prototype, I know that over the course of building the project, some things change and therefore even though I had preliminary drawings to start with, by the time the piece was done nearly everything needed to be drawn once again - only this time to match my prototype exactly.

This is especially true when I make painting patterns. My usual method of designing is sketch, paint and redraw the line work for the pattern. I nearly always change elements as I am painting something and a pet peeve of mine is when the final photograph of the project doesn't match the pattern exactly in a pattern. To me, it leads to confusion and frustration. I know it bothers a great deal of my fellow painters as well.

I was happy to finish up the line work and drawings for my carousel pattern yesterday. In the end, the line drawings consist of 27 pages. This was, in part because there were several large parts to the carousel which needed to be divided and shown on several pages. I also wanted to provide both a left and right side view of all the carousel pieces so that painting both sides of the pieces would find it easy. I tried to think of everything.

Here is a photo of my art boards in my Illustrator program:

Photograph White Product Rectangle Font


While it may have seemed to me like I was moving slow on this, when I looked at this screen and saw the work that I accomplished, I felt pretty good. While it is a lot of pages, it will make everything really easy for my customers whether they are painting the carousel pieces from a kit or building it from scratch. I want the pattern to be something that I am really proud of.

Of course, there will be some last minute adjustments as I finish up. That is always the case. But I feel that I put down a good base and like the finished carousel iteslf, this pattern will be a 'masterpiece'.

I will keep it short today and get to work early. I am really pleased that so many people pre-ordered the kit, and I am also glad that they are patient about the pattern. I think most of them realize that by me taking a little time now to make sure the pattern is right, it will save them time in the long run and make their experience making the carousel fun and enjoyable. I hope so anyway.

The sun is now fully up and it is going to be an absolutely beautiful day. After a couple of days of overcast skies and rain, seeing the brilliant blue sky and feeling the warm air is refreshing. It is already a wonderful day!

Today I get to start the actual writing process for my pattern. I took many photos along the way and I think it will fall together nicely. I look forward to finally finishing up and then I can start cutting kits. I am still waiting for some magnets to be delivered, but they should be here by the time I am ready for them. It is all falling into place nicely.

I wish you all a happy Wednesday. Have fun and enjoy your day!
 

Attachments

#11,730 ·
Technical Drawing

These past several days (as well as the next several days to follow) will be focused on completing the pattern for my SLDP238 Haunted Carousel. Even though the project was completed last week, the process of creating a comprehensive and workable pattern is just as involved - if not more so - than making the actual project itself.

We all have our own methods of doing things. For me, thinking up and creating a design is just one element of the designing process. I think that how the pattern is presented can make or break a design, and even a business. After all, the purpose of designing patterns is so that we can teach others to recreate items that we design easily and efficiently. In my years of crafting in all kinds of media, I have witnessed both wonderful and comprehensive patterns that make me want to do more, and patterns that have been lacking in many of the basic instructions which make me question myself as to why I would want to spend time doing the particular craft in the first place. I think that one of the most frustrating things as a crafter is to fall in love with a particular project or design and purchase the pattern only to find that the instructions are vague and incomplete. It is very disappointing.

For that reason, I try to write every pattern as if I am writing to someone completely new to the process. Since my audience is vast and those using my patterns have a wide range of skills and experience, I think that the safe bet is to include all the instructions needed to complete the project at a level that even a newer crafter will understand. This is in no way meant to be condescending to those who are more experienced. I try to present things in a way so that if one feels that they already know a particular step of the process or have a way of doing a particular step that they feel more comfortable with, they can easily skip that step and pick up on the next one. That way no one is left out and everyone is happy.

It is for this reason that I regard every pattern as a lesson, and hopefully things go easy for everyone who tries my patterns. Maybe people learn something along the way.

As you can imagine, the carousel pattern is complex. I have spent the last several days redrawing every element that is included. While I may use rough drawings when I am creating the prototype, I know that over the course of building the project, some things change and therefore even though I had preliminary drawings to start with, by the time the piece was done nearly everything needed to be drawn once again - only this time to match my prototype exactly.

This is especially true when I make painting patterns. My usual method of designing is sketch, paint and redraw the line work for the pattern. I nearly always change elements as I am painting something and a pet peeve of mine is when the final photograph of the project doesn't match the pattern exactly in a pattern. To me, it leads to confusion and frustration. I know it bothers a great deal of my fellow painters as well.

I was happy to finish up the line work and drawings for my carousel pattern yesterday. In the end, the line drawings consist of 27 pages. This was, in part because there were several large parts to the carousel which needed to be divided and shown on several pages. I also wanted to provide both a left and right side view of all the carousel pieces so that painting both sides of the pieces would find it easy. I tried to think of everything.

Here is a photo of my art boards in my Illustrator program:

Photograph White Product Rectangle Font


While it may have seemed to me like I was moving slow on this, when I looked at this screen and saw the work that I accomplished, I felt pretty good. While it is a lot of pages, it will make everything really easy for my customers whether they are painting the carousel pieces from a kit or building it from scratch. I want the pattern to be something that I am really proud of.

Of course, there will be some last minute adjustments as I finish up. That is always the case. But I feel that I put down a good base and like the finished carousel iteslf, this pattern will be a 'masterpiece'.

I will keep it short today and get to work early. I am really pleased that so many people pre-ordered the kit, and I am also glad that they are patient about the pattern. I think most of them realize that by me taking a little time now to make sure the pattern is right, it will save them time in the long run and make their experience making the carousel fun and enjoyable. I hope so anyway.

The sun is now fully up and it is going to be an absolutely beautiful day. After a couple of days of overcast skies and rain, seeing the brilliant blue sky and feeling the warm air is refreshing. It is already a wonderful day!

Today I get to start the actual writing process for my pattern. I took many photos along the way and I think it will fall together nicely. I look forward to finally finishing up and then I can start cutting kits. I am still waiting for some magnets to be delivered, but they should be here by the time I am ready for them. It is all falling into place nicely.

I wish you all a happy Wednesday. Have fun and enjoy your day!
Wow! That's a lot of work. Never stuck with Illustrator enough to get a good handle on it - great program but big and takes some practice. Did get Photoshop down pat though :)
 

Attachments

#11,732 ·
Spinning Plates

It has been a crazy/busy couple of weeks here. (Crazier and busier than usual, that is!) With finishing up my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel and finding someone to do the work on my car, the days are just going by faster than ever. I want to note though that I am not complaining, but rather excited about it. All the while in the background, the regular day-to-day tasks of our business keep rolling along. It is a wonderful time for us.

I feel sometimes like I am spinning several plates at once. I am working on the pattern for the large carousel project (it is coming along nicely) and I have been busy purchasing and preparing the supplies for the many pre-ordered full kits that I will be making in the next week or so. Keith has been really helpful in that area, as my car is in Halifax getting the work done on it. I have also been filling orders from the website and cutting and shipping painting surfaces for my painting followers. I am thrilled that the orders are increasing in that department, as I really enjoy cutting and this gives me that chance to do so. I always try to get the orders out within a day of when I receive them. I know that my customers appreciate it a lot. I know when I order something, I am always anxious to get it as quickly as possible. I really enjoy that part of the business.

Yes - there is always something fun for me to do every single day.

Yesterday, I divided the day up and accomplished several of the above mentioned tasks. I spent the morning writing and working on the photos for my carousel pattern. I then laid out the patterns for my own cutting of the kit pieces, as I have all the wood here on hand. And finally, in the late afternoon and evening, I spent some time at the scroll saw cutting out orders and adding to my stock for future orders.

I had quite a few orders for my SLDPK223 Victorian Skates Wood Kit for my upcoming Art Play Date Class that I will be teaching:

Footwear Shoe Font Outdoor shoe Fashion accessory


I am also providing the wood surfaces for my friend Kerry Anderson, who's Art Play Date 2015 project is a set of three holiday keys (SLDPK121 Holiday Key Trio)

Watch Product Font Jewellery Symbol


I just love Kerry's painting style and I am very pleased that I am able to provide her wood surface. This is a great opportunity for those who are participating in the course to purchase both surfaces at once and save a little on shipping.

Since I had several of each kit ordered, I decided to get a little ahead of my game and cut some additional sets for my 'stock'. At one point though, I was having some trouble with my Excalibur scroll saw. It seemed the blades were not holding tight in the clamps and I kept losing and breaking blades:

Wood Insect Material property Art Twig


It was very frustrating to say the least. When Keith heard me grumbling about it, he asked me if I had changed the blade clamp grips lately. We were having this issue about a month ago and I had called Ray at Seyco to find out what his thoughts were. Apparently the blade clamp grips were worn and all I needed to do was change the grips. That made sense because after using the saw for over two years, I would imagine that they were getting quite worn.

Ray explained to me that there was only a thin layer of hardened metal at the ends of these clamp grips. While sanding them lightly would increase the grip for the time being, it wouldn't take much to sand through the hardened tips and expose the softer metal, which would cause the grips to fail again - only this time more quickly.

The simple answer is to replace just those two small grip pieces and I would be good to go for quite a while.

Ray offers a kit to do this on his site here (scroll down the page a little.)

Automotive tire Font Water Wood Auto part


The cost is minimal and it only took about five minutes to do.

I had thought that when we received the kit we change them, but Keith had thought I did it and I thought he did it, so apparently I was still working with the worn parts. No wonder I was having trouble.

After we made the switch, I was able to finish up quickly. My order will go out this morning and I have a nice little stock of kits ready to ship.

I hope to start shipping the carousel kits by next week. I then have some ideas for some scroll saw patterns and additional painting patterns that I want to create. (I bet my scroll saw people thought I forgot about them!) There is just so much to do!

Keith is working on a new series of what will be 100 patterns. I don't want to say anything else just yet about it, but I think that they will be really popular.

We really appreciate how much support we have had from both the scrolling and painting communities. While our days are long and we work hard, it is always fun to be able to do something that we love doing, and we thank you all for that.

It is another beautiful and cloudless day here in Nova Scotia. Although the air is cool, I find the brisk mornings give way to wonderfully warm afternoons these days. Once again my dear cat Pancakes and I are able to spend some time on our deck. Yesterday, while Keith was bar-b-que-ing dinner, I had all three cats join me out there to enjoy the sun and fresh air while we watched him cook. I suppose I really missed these warm days. Sometimes the simplest things make us the happiest.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead. I am not sure if I will post over the weekend, as I plan to be writing and working. If I think of anything interesting to share, I certainly will. Otherwise - have a great time and enjoy your days. I hope you have warmth and sunshine!
 

Attachments

#11,733 ·
Spinning Plates

It has been a crazy/busy couple of weeks here. (Crazier and busier than usual, that is!) With finishing up my "Scary-Go-Round" Haunted Carousel and finding someone to do the work on my car, the days are just going by faster than ever. I want to note though that I am not complaining, but rather excited about it. All the while in the background, the regular day-to-day tasks of our business keep rolling along. It is a wonderful time for us.

I feel sometimes like I am spinning several plates at once. I am working on the pattern for the large carousel project (it is coming along nicely) and I have been busy purchasing and preparing the supplies for the many pre-ordered full kits that I will be making in the next week or so. Keith has been really helpful in that area, as my car is in Halifax getting the work done on it. I have also been filling orders from the website and cutting and shipping painting surfaces for my painting followers. I am thrilled that the orders are increasing in that department, as I really enjoy cutting and this gives me that chance to do so. I always try to get the orders out within a day of when I receive them. I know that my customers appreciate it a lot. I know when I order something, I am always anxious to get it as quickly as possible. I really enjoy that part of the business.

Yes - there is always something fun for me to do every single day.

Yesterday, I divided the day up and accomplished several of the above mentioned tasks. I spent the morning writing and working on the photos for my carousel pattern. I then laid out the patterns for my own cutting of the kit pieces, as I have all the wood here on hand. And finally, in the late afternoon and evening, I spent some time at the scroll saw cutting out orders and adding to my stock for future orders.

I had quite a few orders for my SLDPK223 Victorian Skates Wood Kit for my upcoming Art Play Date Class that I will be teaching:

Footwear Shoe Font Outdoor shoe Fashion accessory


I am also providing the wood surfaces for my friend Kerry Anderson, who's Art Play Date 2015 project is a set of three holiday keys (SLDPK121 Holiday Key Trio)

Watch Product Font Jewellery Symbol


I just love Kerry's painting style and I am very pleased that I am able to provide her wood surface. This is a great opportunity for those who are participating in the course to purchase both surfaces at once and save a little on shipping.

Since I had several of each kit ordered, I decided to get a little ahead of my game and cut some additional sets for my 'stock'. At one point though, I was having some trouble with my Excalibur scroll saw. It seemed the blades were not holding tight in the clamps and I kept losing and breaking blades:

Wood Insect Material property Art Twig


It was very frustrating to say the least. When Keith heard me grumbling about it, he asked me if I had changed the blade clamp grips lately. We were having this issue about a month ago and I had called Ray at Seyco to find out what his thoughts were. Apparently the blade clamp grips were worn and all I needed to do was change the grips. That made sense because after using the saw for over two years, I would imagine that they were getting quite worn.

Ray explained to me that there was only a thin layer of hardened metal at the ends of these clamp grips. While sanding them lightly would increase the grip for the time being, it wouldn't take much to sand through the hardened tips and expose the softer metal, which would cause the grips to fail again - only this time more quickly.

The simple answer is to replace just those two small grip pieces and I would be good to go for quite a while.

Ray offers a kit to do this on his site here (scroll down the page a little.)

Automotive tire Font Water Wood Auto part


The cost is minimal and it only took about five minutes to do.

I had thought that when we received the kit we change them, but Keith had thought I did it and I thought he did it, so apparently I was still working with the worn parts. No wonder I was having trouble.

After we made the switch, I was able to finish up quickly. My order will go out this morning and I have a nice little stock of kits ready to ship.

I hope to start shipping the carousel kits by next week. I then have some ideas for some scroll saw patterns and additional painting patterns that I want to create. (I bet my scroll saw people thought I forgot about them!) There is just so much to do!

Keith is working on a new series of what will be 100 patterns. I don't want to say anything else just yet about it, but I think that they will be really popular.

We really appreciate how much support we have had from both the scrolling and painting communities. While our days are long and we work hard, it is always fun to be able to do something that we love doing, and we thank you all for that.

It is another beautiful and cloudless day here in Nova Scotia. Although the air is cool, I find the brisk mornings give way to wonderfully warm afternoons these days. Once again my dear cat Pancakes and I are able to spend some time on our deck. Yesterday, while Keith was bar-b-que-ing dinner, I had all three cats join me out there to enjoy the sun and fresh air while we watched him cook. I suppose I really missed these warm days. Sometimes the simplest things make us the happiest.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead. I am not sure if I will post over the weekend, as I plan to be writing and working. If I think of anything interesting to share, I certainly will. Otherwise - have a great time and enjoy your days. I hope you have warmth and sunshine!
I like Kerry's painting style. Cool keys! Happy Victoria Day weekend - sounds like it will be a busy one for you.
 

Attachments

#11,735 ·
Bite Sized Pieces

I had an absolutely wonderful productive weekend. I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding my haunted carousel project. As I have mentioned previously, this has been one of the largest projects that I have ever created with the intention of offering the pattern for reproduction. I want it to be just 'perfect'.

When looking at the carousel all assembled and painted, it can be quite intimidating.

Serveware Headgear Art Metal Fashion accessory


For those of you who look at it and say "Wow!" I want you to imagine how I feel with the task of writing the instructions to recreate it. It is just over 16" tall and 16" wide and much bigger than it appears on the photographs. Besides the painted graphics, there is a lot going on with it that makes a wonderful presentation when everything is put together. Translating a piece like this into something that can be EASILY recreated has been a daunting task. But I think I am on the right track and I am very excited about the upcoming pattern. Just as excited as I am about the carousel itself.

I spent the last several days in essence rebuilding the carousel for myself. Unlike the first build (my prototype) which consisted of several steps that were 'trial and error', everything had been adjusted and it was a matter of following my own instructions to make it work. While there were a few things that needed to be fine tuned, for the most part, it was pretty straight forward. The result was a build that was not difficult at all, and one will be able to replicate it using only three tools - a scroll saw, a drill press and a sander. Mission accomplished.

By Saturday evening, I had completed the "build" part of the pattern. To me, that was the most difficult part. I checked and double checked my drawings, drill bit sizes and measurements and took many photos of me recreating the carousel itself. I organized the steps into sections, so each part in itself was not overwhelming or difficult. I feel that even someone with limited woodworking experience can easily (YES - I said EASILY) reproduce this piece. So far, it was going well.

On Saturday night I sent what I had written so far to two of my woodworking friends for proof reading. One friend is also a painter, and she agreed to look over that part of the instructions as well when they are ready. The other is a long time friend who does general woodworking and scroll sawing and whose experience will also be helpful. I figured that two additional sets of eyes is better than one. Especially on a project so involved.

Yesterday I began the task of writing the painting instructions. In order to do this properly, I need to re-paint some of the elements of the carousel from scratch. While I had a general idea of how I wanted to design this piece, over the course of actually building and painting it I changed some things here and there. I tried to take many photos as I was painting, and I have quite a few, but some of the elements I was just 'winging it' to get a pleasing look and in the process, I may have missed a step or two.

So re-paint I did. And I am happy to say that is is MUCH easier for me the second time around.

I think that step-by-step photos are very important in this type of project. Even though the instructions are going to be long (probably over 50 pages) it doesn't mean that they are difficult. It only means that they are very thorough and complete and because of that it will be EASY for even someone newer to painting to create this wonderful piece.

Here is an example of what I mean . . .

The carousel ceiling consists of a dark sky with clouds and rhinestone 'stars'.

Window Tree Astronomical object Electric blue Circle


In looking at it, initially it looks a bit initimidating to paint. But what I do for my instructions is break it down into steps that are easy to follow. Small bites, if you will.

First you sponge in the light color for the clouds. You want them to radiate from the center:

Liquid Fluid World Dishware Astronomical object


You keep sponging, moving back towards the edges and turning the piece. (If you put too much of the light color - no worries, you can easily correct it by sponging a little of the base color back in. There is no stress here!)

Liquid Blue Fluid Plumbing fixture Recipe


Work your way all the way to the edges:

Blue World Dishware Paint Ingredient


Next we sponge on a deep, transparent color to tone and give the clouds 'depth.' This doesn't have to be done evenly - as a matter of fact, it looks best when it is not even coverage. . .

Food World Ingredient Recipe Cuisine


Finally, a little metallic highlights on the areas of the clouds we want bright . . .

Food Blue Ingredient Recipe Cuisine


All that is left is to add some beautiful crystal rhinestone 'stars' and we have a magnificent dark sky ceiling done!

Blue Dishware Purple Liquid Violet


See how easy that was when broken down into baby steps?

I like to teach all of my patterns like that. Many people ask why I don't label my patterns (woodworking and painting both) according to level. One of the reasons that I don't is because when I write a pattern, I try to always break things down in this manner so that even a beginner can enjoy it and make the project successfully. How else are we going to learn? By labeling things and grading them, we are assuming that we have a clear line of what 'beginner', 'intermediate' and 'advanced' means. Since we all have different definitions of those phrases, I find that it is best to focus on including all the necessary steps and information so that even those who are new to the particular technique can be successful.

Perhaps I learned this habit from writing for the magazine for nearly 20 years.

I realize that every designer doesn't do this. But I feel that it makes me stand out a bit from the rest. There are many excellent painters or woodworkers that are brilliant artists, but don't know how to write a clear and educational pattern packet. I hear about it all the time from people on the forums. They expect explicit instructions and are disappointed when what they receive are vague and incomplete. I don't think I will ever be accused of that.

Today I will (dare I say) finish up the painting instructions for the carousel. Then it will be a final proof read and I will be ready to put the pattern up on the site by mid-week. I am still awaiting for one more shipment of parts for my pre-ordered kits (you can pre-order the carousel kit here: SLDPS238 - Haunted Carousel Kit Pre-Order) and I expect to ship them out early next week. I am thrilled at the many people that have pre-ordered them and I thank them for their patience. I think that they will find the kit and patter will be worth the wait.

It is another beautiful day here for us. The sun is shining and the birds are singing and everything is turning green. Even the leaves are starting to bud. I hope to have a wonderful week ahead and I wish you one as well.

Happy Monday to you all!
 

Attachments

#11,736 ·
Bite Sized Pieces

I had an absolutely wonderful productive weekend. I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding my haunted carousel project. As I have mentioned previously, this has been one of the largest projects that I have ever created with the intention of offering the pattern for reproduction. I want it to be just 'perfect'.

When looking at the carousel all assembled and painted, it can be quite intimidating.

Serveware Headgear Art Metal Fashion accessory


For those of you who look at it and say "Wow!" I want you to imagine how I feel with the task of writing the instructions to recreate it. It is just over 16" tall and 16" wide and much bigger than it appears on the photographs. Besides the painted graphics, there is a lot going on with it that makes a wonderful presentation when everything is put together. Translating a piece like this into something that can be EASILY recreated has been a daunting task. But I think I am on the right track and I am very excited about the upcoming pattern. Just as excited as I am about the carousel itself.

I spent the last several days in essence rebuilding the carousel for myself. Unlike the first build (my prototype) which consisted of several steps that were 'trial and error', everything had been adjusted and it was a matter of following my own instructions to make it work. While there were a few things that needed to be fine tuned, for the most part, it was pretty straight forward. The result was a build that was not difficult at all, and one will be able to replicate it using only three tools - a scroll saw, a drill press and a sander. Mission accomplished.

By Saturday evening, I had completed the "build" part of the pattern. To me, that was the most difficult part. I checked and double checked my drawings, drill bit sizes and measurements and took many photos of me recreating the carousel itself. I organized the steps into sections, so each part in itself was not overwhelming or difficult. I feel that even someone with limited woodworking experience can easily (YES - I said EASILY) reproduce this piece. So far, it was going well.

On Saturday night I sent what I had written so far to two of my woodworking friends for proof reading. One friend is also a painter, and she agreed to look over that part of the instructions as well when they are ready. The other is a long time friend who does general woodworking and scroll sawing and whose experience will also be helpful. I figured that two additional sets of eyes is better than one. Especially on a project so involved.

Yesterday I began the task of writing the painting instructions. In order to do this properly, I need to re-paint some of the elements of the carousel from scratch. While I had a general idea of how I wanted to design this piece, over the course of actually building and painting it I changed some things here and there. I tried to take many photos as I was painting, and I have quite a few, but some of the elements I was just 'winging it' to get a pleasing look and in the process, I may have missed a step or two.

So re-paint I did. And I am happy to say that is is MUCH easier for me the second time around.

I think that step-by-step photos are very important in this type of project. Even though the instructions are going to be long (probably over 50 pages) it doesn't mean that they are difficult. It only means that they are very thorough and complete and because of that it will be EASY for even someone newer to painting to create this wonderful piece.

Here is an example of what I mean . . .

The carousel ceiling consists of a dark sky with clouds and rhinestone 'stars'.

Window Tree Astronomical object Electric blue Circle


In looking at it, initially it looks a bit initimidating to paint. But what I do for my instructions is break it down into steps that are easy to follow. Small bites, if you will.

First you sponge in the light color for the clouds. You want them to radiate from the center:

Liquid Fluid World Dishware Astronomical object


You keep sponging, moving back towards the edges and turning the piece. (If you put too much of the light color - no worries, you can easily correct it by sponging a little of the base color back in. There is no stress here!)

Liquid Blue Fluid Plumbing fixture Recipe


Work your way all the way to the edges:

Blue World Dishware Paint Ingredient


Next we sponge on a deep, transparent color to tone and give the clouds 'depth.' This doesn't have to be done evenly - as a matter of fact, it looks best when it is not even coverage. . .

Food World Ingredient Recipe Cuisine


Finally, a little metallic highlights on the areas of the clouds we want bright . . .

Food Blue Ingredient Recipe Cuisine


All that is left is to add some beautiful crystal rhinestone 'stars' and we have a magnificent dark sky ceiling done!

Blue Dishware Purple Liquid Violet


See how easy that was when broken down into baby steps?

I like to teach all of my patterns like that. Many people ask why I don't label my patterns (woodworking and painting both) according to level. One of the reasons that I don't is because when I write a pattern, I try to always break things down in this manner so that even a beginner can enjoy it and make the project successfully. How else are we going to learn? By labeling things and grading them, we are assuming that we have a clear line of what 'beginner', 'intermediate' and 'advanced' means. Since we all have different definitions of those phrases, I find that it is best to focus on including all the necessary steps and information so that even those who are new to the particular technique can be successful.

Perhaps I learned this habit from writing for the magazine for nearly 20 years.

I realize that every designer doesn't do this. But I feel that it makes me stand out a bit from the rest. There are many excellent painters or woodworkers that are brilliant artists, but don't know how to write a clear and educational pattern packet. I hear about it all the time from people on the forums. They expect explicit instructions and are disappointed when what they receive are vague and incomplete. I don't think I will ever be accused of that.

Today I will (dare I say) finish up the painting instructions for the carousel. Then it will be a final proof read and I will be ready to put the pattern up on the site by mid-week. I am still awaiting for one more shipment of parts for my pre-ordered kits (you can pre-order the carousel kit here: SLDPS238 - Haunted Carousel Kit Pre-Order) and I expect to ship them out early next week. I am thrilled at the many people that have pre-ordered them and I thank them for their patience. I think that they will find the kit and patter will be worth the wait.

It is another beautiful day here for us. The sun is shining and the birds are singing and everything is turning green. Even the leaves are starting to bud. I hope to have a wonderful week ahead and I wish you one as well.

Happy Monday to you all!
Good morning Sheila,
You have every right to feel proud of your creation! The carousel is magnificent. You have reset the bar very high for other designers. Congrats on following your dream though to the end product. Thank you for sharing your trials and tribulations with us here on LJ.
Rick
 

Attachments

#11,741 ·
Smaller Bites

Not everyone likes the same things. I know I am stating the obvious, but sometimes, as much as we do realize it, we forget that.

I am no different. I see something I like and I find myself assuming that everyone I meet will like it as well. Be it food, a movie or even artwork or techniques. But having a partner like Keith helps keep me looking at things using realistic eyes. He and I are very opposite in our tastes and preferences. There is an old saying that 'opposites attract' and I believe that with my entire being. We are living proof of that. For even though we rarely like the same things - from food to movies and everything in between - we do agree on our basic life philosophies and ideas. In speaking for myself, I feel that Keith not only opens me up to new ideas in my personal life, but also adds an entirely new dimension and style to our business. Because of that, we find that we appeal to more types of people and are growing. And that is good. Somehow we stumbled on that 'magic formula' and formed a partnership that benefits everyone involved. I know I am very fortunate.

Things are never really 'black' or 'white' though. Usually, reality is something in the large range of 'greys' that fall in between the extremes. Acknowledging this and respecting this in others is something that not only helps us get along with others better, but also allows us to expand our own thoughts and ideas and learn. Difference are good.

So what made me think along these lines this morning?

As most of you know, for the past few weeks I have been working on my Haunted Carousel project. It has been fun, involved, intricate and one of the largest and most complex project that I have created. I am in the final days of completing the pattern, and will be very excited to actually see it on the website. I am very proud.

But in making it, I realize that a project this size won't be for everyone. I live in a small place here, and while I have had it out for the past several weeks as I created it, it made me see that something this large is not for everyone. Even the creating and building of it may be a bit overwhelming to someone who may only paint as a hobby or be newer to painting. It just may be too much.

So what I decided to do was take a portion of it, and offer it up as an ornament set. After all, ornaments are fun and can go just about anywhere. People are decorating for Halloween more and more and the holiday seems to only be growing in popularity. I think that carousel ornaments would offer so many fun applications - in a spooky wreath or garland, or even on a seasonal Halloween tree, like I have.

For that reason I am going to offer an ornament set of the main figures of the carousel. They will be fun to make, and just perfect for those who don't want the full blown carousel.

The ornament set will include the six skeletal figures, plus the swan bench and moon bench side figures as well. I was debating whether to include the moon, but it is pretty darn cool and I think it would look nice in a large wreath with the rest of the figures. So why not?

Each figure will have an additional bat and moon charm on the top of the pole:

Creative arts Art Font Tail Symbol


This will not only offer a good place for hanging the pieces, but tie the figures together as well. The glittery, spooky bat is cute and fun. It can even be used as a pin, magnet or ornament on its own:

Cap Helmet Badge Font Art


I am also going to include the stand pieces so that the ornaments can be free standing. This will look great on a table or lined up on a mantle, draped with spooky spider's web. The possibilities are just about endless!

As with my other designs, I will be offering these as both the pattern alone and as a kit. I think this will appeal to those who don't have the room, time or desire to create the full carousel, but like the idea of it.

Today I am finishing up the pattern. Everything has been re-painted and all the photos are completed. I only need to write the painting instructions and put things into packet form. I am in the home stretch.

We are hoping to do a site update on Thursday. Keith is finishing up his new patterns which I think will be a big hit. I am not telling you more than that now because I want to reveal them when they are done. I think you will all enjoy them. :)

It is another beautiful and cool morning here. Quite the pretty day. I have already opened up and can feel the cool breeze and smell the fresh air. The birds are singing, too. Life is good.

Enjoy your Tuesday.
 

Attachments

#11,742 ·
Smaller Bites

Not everyone likes the same things. I know I am stating the obvious, but sometimes, as much as we do realize it, we forget that.

I am no different. I see something I like and I find myself assuming that everyone I meet will like it as well. Be it food, a movie or even artwork or techniques. But having a partner like Keith helps keep me looking at things using realistic eyes. He and I are very opposite in our tastes and preferences. There is an old saying that 'opposites attract' and I believe that with my entire being. We are living proof of that. For even though we rarely like the same things - from food to movies and everything in between - we do agree on our basic life philosophies and ideas. In speaking for myself, I feel that Keith not only opens me up to new ideas in my personal life, but also adds an entirely new dimension and style to our business. Because of that, we find that we appeal to more types of people and are growing. And that is good. Somehow we stumbled on that 'magic formula' and formed a partnership that benefits everyone involved. I know I am very fortunate.

Things are never really 'black' or 'white' though. Usually, reality is something in the large range of 'greys' that fall in between the extremes. Acknowledging this and respecting this in others is something that not only helps us get along with others better, but also allows us to expand our own thoughts and ideas and learn. Difference are good.

So what made me think along these lines this morning?

As most of you know, for the past few weeks I have been working on my Haunted Carousel project. It has been fun, involved, intricate and one of the largest and most complex project that I have created. I am in the final days of completing the pattern, and will be very excited to actually see it on the website. I am very proud.

But in making it, I realize that a project this size won't be for everyone. I live in a small place here, and while I have had it out for the past several weeks as I created it, it made me see that something this large is not for everyone. Even the creating and building of it may be a bit overwhelming to someone who may only paint as a hobby or be newer to painting. It just may be too much.

So what I decided to do was take a portion of it, and offer it up as an ornament set. After all, ornaments are fun and can go just about anywhere. People are decorating for Halloween more and more and the holiday seems to only be growing in popularity. I think that carousel ornaments would offer so many fun applications - in a spooky wreath or garland, or even on a seasonal Halloween tree, like I have.

For that reason I am going to offer an ornament set of the main figures of the carousel. They will be fun to make, and just perfect for those who don't want the full blown carousel.

The ornament set will include the six skeletal figures, plus the swan bench and moon bench side figures as well. I was debating whether to include the moon, but it is pretty darn cool and I think it would look nice in a large wreath with the rest of the figures. So why not?

Each figure will have an additional bat and moon charm on the top of the pole:

Creative arts Art Font Tail Symbol


This will not only offer a good place for hanging the pieces, but tie the figures together as well. The glittery, spooky bat is cute and fun. It can even be used as a pin, magnet or ornament on its own:

Cap Helmet Badge Font Art


I am also going to include the stand pieces so that the ornaments can be free standing. This will look great on a table or lined up on a mantle, draped with spooky spider's web. The possibilities are just about endless!

As with my other designs, I will be offering these as both the pattern alone and as a kit. I think this will appeal to those who don't have the room, time or desire to create the full carousel, but like the idea of it.

Today I am finishing up the pattern. Everything has been re-painted and all the photos are completed. I only need to write the painting instructions and put things into packet form. I am in the home stretch.

We are hoping to do a site update on Thursday. Keith is finishing up his new patterns which I think will be a big hit. I am not telling you more than that now because I want to reveal them when they are done. I think you will all enjoy them. :)

It is another beautiful and cool morning here. Quite the pretty day. I have already opened up and can feel the cool breeze and smell the fresh air. The birds are singing, too. Life is good.

Enjoy your Tuesday.
That carousel is definitely a work of art. I'm still waiting to see you add a music box so that it turns and plays spooky music.
 

Attachments

#11,745 ·
New Patterns by Keith!

I woke up this morning after dreaming of my car. Last week I had taken it to Halifax to drop it off for a complete paint job and restoration. The process would take a few weeks to complete. In my dream, I had picked the car up and there was visible bondo and putty all over it. What paint there was cracked and there were many areas (like the hood) that had those tiny circles ground into it from using an orbital sander. I was sad.

I stuck my finger into the putty along the door frame and it was still pliable. You could see my fingerprint and I could actually push the material and move it. The top 'paint' cracked as I did this and more or less rubbed off. I looked at Keith and he said to me "No one will notice. Don't start trouble with them." I think I wanted to slug him.

Thank goodness I woke up right after that. I was relieved to find out it was only a dream, but I still have the urge to call the place that is painting the car and ask how it was going. I won't though, and I just need to trust that they will do a good job. I guess it just shows my level of concern in getting it done. It is a pretty big investment.

By now I have shaken off the feeling of dread and I have moved on to other things. There is too much good to focus on instead of worrying. Busy is good and busy I have been, finishing up the written pattern for my large carousel project. I am almost finished.

I should finish today and then I will begin making the kits. I hope to start shipping the kits early next week. I am keeping the sale price on the pre-orders until probably next Monday, so if you were considering ordering one, now is the time to jump in. I really think that you will be pleased at what you receive for your money. As I have collected all the supplies, I am really proud that everything is so nice and such great quality. I think those who receive their kits will agree.

Keith has been working hard as well. Even though he has a "Man Sickness" (A "cold". Those are HIS words - not mine - and I think we ALL know what that means!) He just finished up a new set of 100 patterns for word art signs for each state of the union:

Font Electric blue Rectangle Symmetry Parallel


He made 100 different plaques in all, and they can be purchased individually (SNKSINGLE), or in sets of five (SNKSET1), ten (SNKSET2) or all 100 (SNKSET3). I think they are awesome and going to be very popular. They are great for everyone - especially with the upcoming summer and tourist season. Those of you who sell in seasonal shops will hopefully do well with them.

Everything is up on the site right now, although we are planning an official update tomorrow. We will be sending out our newsletter tomorrow as well, and I plan to have my patterns for both the full carousel as well as the carousel ornaments only pattern and kits up there as well. It is going to be a busy day for me finishing up my writing, proofreading and preparing things. I love days like this!

With that said, I will keep today's post short. It is raining here today and nice and warm. I already was out for a bit to take the trash to the road for pickup and it definitely felt like spring.

I wish you all a wonderful Wednesday! Have a great day!
 

Attachments

#11,746 ·
New Patterns by Keith!

I woke up this morning after dreaming of my car. Last week I had taken it to Halifax to drop it off for a complete paint job and restoration. The process would take a few weeks to complete. In my dream, I had picked the car up and there was visible bondo and putty all over it. What paint there was cracked and there were many areas (like the hood) that had those tiny circles ground into it from using an orbital sander. I was sad.

I stuck my finger into the putty along the door frame and it was still pliable. You could see my fingerprint and I could actually push the material and move it. The top 'paint' cracked as I did this and more or less rubbed off. I looked at Keith and he said to me "No one will notice. Don't start trouble with them." I think I wanted to slug him.

Thank goodness I woke up right after that. I was relieved to find out it was only a dream, but I still have the urge to call the place that is painting the car and ask how it was going. I won't though, and I just need to trust that they will do a good job. I guess it just shows my level of concern in getting it done. It is a pretty big investment.

By now I have shaken off the feeling of dread and I have moved on to other things. There is too much good to focus on instead of worrying. Busy is good and busy I have been, finishing up the written pattern for my large carousel project. I am almost finished.

I should finish today and then I will begin making the kits. I hope to start shipping the kits early next week. I am keeping the sale price on the pre-orders until probably next Monday, so if you were considering ordering one, now is the time to jump in. I really think that you will be pleased at what you receive for your money. As I have collected all the supplies, I am really proud that everything is so nice and such great quality. I think those who receive their kits will agree.

Keith has been working hard as well. Even though he has a "Man Sickness" (A "cold". Those are HIS words - not mine - and I think we ALL know what that means!) He just finished up a new set of 100 patterns for word art signs for each state of the union:

Font Electric blue Rectangle Symmetry Parallel


He made 100 different plaques in all, and they can be purchased individually (SNKSINGLE), or in sets of five (SNKSET1), ten (SNKSET2) or all 100 (SNKSET3). I think they are awesome and going to be very popular. They are great for everyone - especially with the upcoming summer and tourist season. Those of you who sell in seasonal shops will hopefully do well with them.

Everything is up on the site right now, although we are planning an official update tomorrow. We will be sending out our newsletter tomorrow as well, and I plan to have my patterns for both the full carousel as well as the carousel ornaments only pattern and kits up there as well. It is going to be a busy day for me finishing up my writing, proofreading and preparing things. I love days like this!

With that said, I will keep today's post short. It is raining here today and nice and warm. I already was out for a bit to take the trash to the road for pickup and it definitely felt like spring.

I wish you all a wonderful Wednesday! Have a great day!
LOL…. that dream… I think it'll come back lookin gr8!
 

Attachments

#11,752 ·
Just about DONE!

Today is the day. Before I lay my head on my pillow tonight, I will call my "Scary-Go-Round" pattern and project "Finished"! (SLDP238) After over a month of working on it, I can finally consider it 'done' and move on to other things.

While a month may not seem very long to some of you, this project has occupied a huge part of each day (and night) and it seems that I have been living and breathing and sleeping with it nearly every second of each day. It will be a great relief to call it complete and I will be honest - I am ready to move on to other things.

I spent all day yesterday finishing up the painting instructions and fine tuning the drawings. There were little things that I needed to add to the graphics to make them complete. I finished last night, and today I only have a few presentation photos to add and the page of resources and I think the pattern is 'good to go'. I am pretty excited.

The final manuscript of the pattern turned out to be 75 pages.

Brown Font Material property Publication Wood


It was only after I printed it that I realized that I had just written a BOOK! At this point, there are 129 color photos in the pattern. These are all the step-by-step pictures and I only need to add the final pictures to make it complete. I am pretty proud of it.

The fact that the pattern is large doesn't necessarily mean that it is complicated. I actually think it means the opposite. I wrote the instructions by breaking them down very carefully so that each step is small and easy and clear for even those new to painting and woodworking. In my opinion, ANYONE could create this beautiful piece. Even with little or no experience.

I will be interested to hear the feedback I receive from my customers on this. I really hope it will be positive.

Today I have to do the small final touches, as I mentioned, but I am also going to create a smaller pattern and kit using only the carousel characters. The pattern (and matching kit) will include the six carousel figures, complete with stands:

Font Art Fictional character Illustration Animal figure


This way they can be hung on a tree or wreath, or used as a cute vignette or mantle. I think it will be just the thing for someone who doesn't have the room for the full blown carousel. The pattern (SLDP239) will be up on my site later on today. (The link will work then)

I also am going to be offering a WOOD KIT for the ornament set, (SLDPK239) which will include the six ornament pieces with the bat motif on the top and six-two piece stands.

Fin Art Font Creative arts Automotive decal


Shoe Sleeve Jersey Wood Musical instrument


I think that people will find lots of fun places to use them for decorations.

Our website update will be later on today. As I said, by later on tonight everything should be posted. I am still awaiting some magnets to come for the kits, but other than that I am good to go. I plan on using the weekend to start cutting the pre-ordered kits and they should be shipping next week. Everything is falling into place.

(If you want to join our mailing list, you can do so here: Sheila Landry Designs Mailing List) That way you will be notified through our newsletter of our new patterns and products.

I really appreciate everyone's kind words and encouragement on this project. It has been a long go of it and it helped tremendously knowing how well-received it was. You don't know how much that meant to me and how it helped me through those days when I wondered if I would ever get it 'just right'.

It is a beautiful, cloudless and cool day here today. The trees are all filling in and are turning lush and green. I really love it when it is so nice out. It makes everything better.

Happy Thursday to you all! :)
 

Attachments

#11,753 ·
Just about DONE!

Today is the day. Before I lay my head on my pillow tonight, I will call my "Scary-Go-Round" pattern and project "Finished"! (SLDP238) After over a month of working on it, I can finally consider it 'done' and move on to other things.

While a month may not seem very long to some of you, this project has occupied a huge part of each day (and night) and it seems that I have been living and breathing and sleeping with it nearly every second of each day. It will be a great relief to call it complete and I will be honest - I am ready to move on to other things.

I spent all day yesterday finishing up the painting instructions and fine tuning the drawings. There were little things that I needed to add to the graphics to make them complete. I finished last night, and today I only have a few presentation photos to add and the page of resources and I think the pattern is 'good to go'. I am pretty excited.

The final manuscript of the pattern turned out to be 75 pages.

Brown Font Material property Publication Wood


It was only after I printed it that I realized that I had just written a BOOK! At this point, there are 129 color photos in the pattern. These are all the step-by-step pictures and I only need to add the final pictures to make it complete. I am pretty proud of it.

The fact that the pattern is large doesn't necessarily mean that it is complicated. I actually think it means the opposite. I wrote the instructions by breaking them down very carefully so that each step is small and easy and clear for even those new to painting and woodworking. In my opinion, ANYONE could create this beautiful piece. Even with little or no experience.

I will be interested to hear the feedback I receive from my customers on this. I really hope it will be positive.

Today I have to do the small final touches, as I mentioned, but I am also going to create a smaller pattern and kit using only the carousel characters. The pattern (and matching kit) will include the six carousel figures, complete with stands:

Font Art Fictional character Illustration Animal figure


This way they can be hung on a tree or wreath, or used as a cute vignette or mantle. I think it will be just the thing for someone who doesn't have the room for the full blown carousel. The pattern (SLDP239) will be up on my site later on today. (The link will work then)

I also am going to be offering a WOOD KIT for the ornament set, (SLDPK239) which will include the six ornament pieces with the bat motif on the top and six-two piece stands.

Fin Art Font Creative arts Automotive decal


Shoe Sleeve Jersey Wood Musical instrument


I think that people will find lots of fun places to use them for decorations.

Our website update will be later on today. As I said, by later on tonight everything should be posted. I am still awaiting some magnets to come for the kits, but other than that I am good to go. I plan on using the weekend to start cutting the pre-ordered kits and they should be shipping next week. Everything is falling into place.

(If you want to join our mailing list, you can do so here: Sheila Landry Designs Mailing List) That way you will be notified through our newsletter of our new patterns and products.

I really appreciate everyone's kind words and encouragement on this project. It has been a long go of it and it helped tremendously knowing how well-received it was. You don't know how much that meant to me and how it helped me through those days when I wondered if I would ever get it 'just right'.

It is a beautiful, cloudless and cool day here today. The trees are all filling in and are turning lush and green. I really love it when it is so nice out. It makes everything better.

Happy Thursday to you all! :)
Wow, that is a book! Your instructions are always wonderful and you put so much effort into making your customers feel that they can do any project you offer. A beginner can easily follow any of your patterns, they are so well thought out and detailed. It's the teacher in you!
 

Attachments

#11,757 ·
What NEXT???

I sit here and wonder as I begin to write today's post if you aren't all really tired of hearing of my little Haunted Carousel.

For the past month or so, I have been completely obsessed with creating it, painting it, and building it. It seems that I have had little else to discuss here because it has taken over my entire life.

Yesterday, as I completed the last save on the 77 page pattern (I added some more 'completed' photos in the back of the pattern - everyone likes more pictures!) I had the same feeling return that I felt when I completed my "A Perfect World" embroidery piece.

Rectangle Textile Botany Flower Creative arts


After working on it for slightly over a year, when I finally tied the last knot of thread and knew I was done, I had a split second of 'loss'. The thought of "what next?" came to mind.

You all may have realized that I am pretty much a self-motivated individual. It wasn't always like that, but as I grew up and learned of all the wonderful possibilities that our world has to offer us, my desire to try new things often won over my desire to be lazy.

In most cases, learning about something only served to create more interest and desire within me and soon my days were filled with learning about things that I would have never thought I would want to know about. It wasn't long before this became a pattern in my life, and each new day brought new opportunities to explore new forms of creating. And my life got happier.

I am the first to admit that I am 'addicted' to color. I wonder if they have a name for such an addiction. Be it paint, thread, wood, or anything else - if it comes in lots of beautiful colors, I am IN!

I love to 'collect' things with color as well. When my shipment of beautiful silk threads from South Africa finally arrived last week, I felt pure pleasure and joy winding the threads and silk ribbon onto the little cards and placing them all in color order in the little box that I use for storage. When I was done, I just gazed at them and thought of all the wonderful things that they would become. It was like a drug.

Two days ago, while I was in the midst of finishing up the huge task at hand, another box of colors were brought to my doorstep. This time it was in the form of a new line of paint from DecoArt. The line is called Mixed Media and the paint is suitable for many different kinds of surfaces and applications. Just look at how wonderful they are!

Circuit component Electronic component Bottle cap Passive circuit component Audio equipment


I KNOW that all of my 'color-junkie' friends out there are drooling! I honestly feel as if Christmas has come in May!

At first when I saw this new line of paint, I told myself that I wasn't going to buy into it. After all, I already have enough paint here to paint from Nova Scotia to New Jersey. What the heck did I need more PAINT for???

But after seeing a couple of videos on these products and reading about the DecoArt Mixed Media Program it got those already over-active gears in my head turning and I thought of some wonderful applications to not only my new painting patterns, but also my WOODWORKING and SCROLL SAWING patterns as well! (Yes - I KNOW that you woodworkers don't like to paint and cover the beautiful wood grains! But that is the reason WHY I think that these products are going to be EMBRACED by you!) They are truly NEW, and will add some really EXCITING options to your scrolled projects. I can't wait to get started with them!

Today I am doing some finishing touches on ornament pattern for the carousel figures. I will also get working on the many pre-ordered kits for the carousel, as I hope to get them shipped out by next week (I am still waiting for magnets to arrive!) In between I will turn my attention to something completely different - creating some cool things using these awesome products. I think it will be fun to explore them and test them on different ideas, and I think you will enjoy seeing what I do with them. I have no doubt that you will be as impressed with them as I am and they will win you over. I am truly excited of the possibilities!

If I have peaked your interest, there are several new videos that you can tune into to see what these products are all about. Follow the link above and look on DecoArt's site. That is a good starting place. But don't let those limit your imagination. Being a woodworker AND a painter, I can see some great promise to use these with my woodworking projects. I think they will be really fun to explore.

It is cloudy here and it is suppose to rain. It may already be raining outside - I can't tell. I am going to take the next five minutes of my day to enjoy my coffee and just 'be'. Then I will jump in with both feet to the next project. I can't wait to get started with all those colors!

(I guess there are worse addictions!)

Have a wonderful Friday and a happy and safe weekend!
 

Attachments

#11,758 ·
What NEXT???

I sit here and wonder as I begin to write today's post if you aren't all really tired of hearing of my little Haunted Carousel.

For the past month or so, I have been completely obsessed with creating it, painting it, and building it. It seems that I have had little else to discuss here because it has taken over my entire life.

Yesterday, as I completed the last save on the 77 page pattern (I added some more 'completed' photos in the back of the pattern - everyone likes more pictures!) I had the same feeling return that I felt when I completed my "A Perfect World" embroidery piece.

Rectangle Textile Botany Flower Creative arts


After working on it for slightly over a year, when I finally tied the last knot of thread and knew I was done, I had a split second of 'loss'. The thought of "what next?" came to mind.

You all may have realized that I am pretty much a self-motivated individual. It wasn't always like that, but as I grew up and learned of all the wonderful possibilities that our world has to offer us, my desire to try new things often won over my desire to be lazy.

In most cases, learning about something only served to create more interest and desire within me and soon my days were filled with learning about things that I would have never thought I would want to know about. It wasn't long before this became a pattern in my life, and each new day brought new opportunities to explore new forms of creating. And my life got happier.

I am the first to admit that I am 'addicted' to color. I wonder if they have a name for such an addiction. Be it paint, thread, wood, or anything else - if it comes in lots of beautiful colors, I am IN!

I love to 'collect' things with color as well. When my shipment of beautiful silk threads from South Africa finally arrived last week, I felt pure pleasure and joy winding the threads and silk ribbon onto the little cards and placing them all in color order in the little box that I use for storage. When I was done, I just gazed at them and thought of all the wonderful things that they would become. It was like a drug.

Two days ago, while I was in the midst of finishing up the huge task at hand, another box of colors were brought to my doorstep. This time it was in the form of a new line of paint from DecoArt. The line is called Mixed Media and the paint is suitable for many different kinds of surfaces and applications. Just look at how wonderful they are!

Circuit component Electronic component Bottle cap Passive circuit component Audio equipment


I KNOW that all of my 'color-junkie' friends out there are drooling! I honestly feel as if Christmas has come in May!

At first when I saw this new line of paint, I told myself that I wasn't going to buy into it. After all, I already have enough paint here to paint from Nova Scotia to New Jersey. What the heck did I need more PAINT for???

But after seeing a couple of videos on these products and reading about the DecoArt Mixed Media Program it got those already over-active gears in my head turning and I thought of some wonderful applications to not only my new painting patterns, but also my WOODWORKING and SCROLL SAWING patterns as well! (Yes - I KNOW that you woodworkers don't like to paint and cover the beautiful wood grains! But that is the reason WHY I think that these products are going to be EMBRACED by you!) They are truly NEW, and will add some really EXCITING options to your scrolled projects. I can't wait to get started with them!

Today I am doing some finishing touches on ornament pattern for the carousel figures. I will also get working on the many pre-ordered kits for the carousel, as I hope to get them shipped out by next week (I am still waiting for magnets to arrive!) In between I will turn my attention to something completely different - creating some cool things using these awesome products. I think it will be fun to explore them and test them on different ideas, and I think you will enjoy seeing what I do with them. I have no doubt that you will be as impressed with them as I am and they will win you over. I am truly excited of the possibilities!

If I have peaked your interest, there are several new videos that you can tune into to see what these products are all about. Follow the link above and look on DecoArt's site. That is a good starting place. But don't let those limit your imagination. Being a woodworker AND a painter, I can see some great promise to use these with my woodworking projects. I think they will be really fun to explore.

It is cloudy here and it is suppose to rain. It may already be raining outside - I can't tell. I am going to take the next five minutes of my day to enjoy my coffee and just 'be'. Then I will jump in with both feet to the next project. I can't wait to get started with all those colors!

(I guess there are worse addictions!)

Have a wonderful Friday and a happy and safe weekend!
You and Keith have a gr8 and safe weekend
 

Attachments

#11,763 ·
Remembering

It is quiet out this morning. Even though every morning is quiet to some degree, the air seems still and I can actually hear the river rushing by from across the road. That is, when I am not typing. A few birds are singing and it is peaceful. The kind of sounds that remind me of walking in a forest preserve as a child. Growing up in a large city like Chicago, experiencing 'quiet' such as this was nearly non-existent. There were always noises in the city and suburbs. You could always hear traffic and sirens and other everyday noises that our consciousness filters out. It was rare to hear 'nothing' except the few sounds of birds and critters. Perhaps that is why I notice it.

When I was a child, we used to have annual family picnics. Usually they were held sometime in June, but it was probably the only time of year (except for weddings and funerals) that we saw our extended family. Our cousins and second cousins were there, as well as my grandmother's sisters and their families. There were also lots of people that I didn't really know, as the second cousins and family members brought their current boyfriends/girlfriends, etc.

One of the highlights of these picnics for me was to take a long walk in the woods. I remember walking as far as I could along the path and I would imagine that I was in another world, far away from the city. Even though you could still hear the sounds of the traffic, it was faint and far away. The sound you would notice most was that of the birds and the humming insects and the crackle of the leaves under your feet as you walked. I simply loved it.

It was then that I knew that someday I would leave the city. I wanted to live in a place where that peace and quiet would be the norm and I could sit and just 'be'. Away from the chaos of traffic and people and noise and clutter.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. Living most of my life in the US, I will always consider myself an American. Even though Canada has embraced me as one of their own, I will always keep America in my heart. But there are no rules that say I can't love two countries, are there?

I am not from a military family. As a matter of fact, my family has been a bit shattered for quite a while. As I look around today and see the many, many 'blended' and shifted families, I kind of feel like I blend in a bit better. That wasn't always the case. As I was growing up in the 60's as a child of divorce, I realized even then that there was quite a stigma attached to it. My best friend's mom used to frown on us playing together because my mom was divorced. We had to sneak around to be together most of the time and while she gave in sometimes and allowed me to visit, I always felt the judgement hanging thick in the air. I am sure she wasn't the only one who felt that way back in 1969.

I suppose I am thinking about this today in particular because as I am browsing my computer this morning, I see the many, many photos of fathers, grandfathers, uncles and even aunts who have fought so bravely and sacrificed so much for the freedoms which many of us take for granted. I think I am speaking of North America in general when I say this. I believe that as time passes and we move farther away from the days when our own freedom was truly threatened, it is more difficult to understand what it was like.

My own feelings of being prejudiced against in the 60's is minor compared to what others have fought against. The youth of today, who haven't really felt a 'real' threat to their freedoms, can't imagine what it would be like to have to do things like ration food. They have grown up with us as their parents, offering them more than we had ourselves, and while that is noble in some ways, I can't help but think it can be detrimental in others.

It seems much messier now, this world in which we live. I think that many people who are my age or older long for those times that were perhaps simpler. There is good and bad in every day though and I still believe that we need to decide for ourselves how each of our days will play out. We do after all have the freedom to choose. Many brave men and women died to insure that.

Back to my quiet morning . . .

Today's post (as you may have guessed by now) is not about creating. In today's post I want to express my gratitude and thanks to all the brave people who fought and perished so that I could have the choice to create. I do think of you and I do remember what you have done for me, my family, and my countries.

You left the comfort of your homes, your loved ones and your families to face unknown horrors. Many of you did not return. Of those who did, many of you suffered damages - both physical and emotional - that no one would ever be able to understand.

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to sit here each morning and listen to the river across the road, or listen to the birds singing. I wouldn't be able to spend each day doing what I love to do and sharing the joy of creating. I wouldn't be able to go to sleep at night in peace, feeling safe and secure in my home. Because of you all, I have a good life.

Many, as we know, do not.

The world is a very trouble place. There is much that is 'wrong' and many that are suffering. When I see the hardship and sadness that so many experience on a daily basis, it makes me realize just how fortunate I am. My problems don't seem as big. My hardships not as difficult. It is all because of the sacrifices they have given so we can all live better lives. Our veterans.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. May we always remember you all.
 
#11,768 ·
Multi-Tasking

I am going to post quickly today (really!) because I have much to do. I have been working on cutting the wood kits that were ordered for my haunted carousel and I spent much of the day doing that. I was happy with how things went. I did everything in a nice, organized way and it made things pleasant and I got lots done in not too much time.

Yesterday was cutting all the large circular parts for the carousel. Any scroller can tell you that cutting circles can be a challenge. You would think that the large, gentle curves are easy, but for most they are harder than the more intricate designs. It takes full concentration, but with some good music playing and everything set up just so, things went really well. In just a few hours I had everything that I needed to have done.

Table Furniture Hat Dishware Cat


That's "inspector Pancakes" in the background! I 'suggest' to the cats to go to the other room while I was cutting. (And YES! I did wear a mask!) For the most part they cooperated and napped in my room away from the dust and noise. That photo was taken after all was cleaned up.

The messiest part of things is over for this batch. Cutting MDF is not the cleanest, as one could imagine. But I really do love painting on it and it is a great surface for bigger stuff like this. I really think it is the best choice.

Today I will be multi-tasking. I am going to start cutting the small figures and tower for the carousel, as well as work on a pattern that I am creating that will be presented in Tole Town, an online painting community. I drew and painted the design over the weekend, and I just need to create the packet for it:

Candle Wax White Purple Creative arts


It is a pretty table runner painted on Roc-Lon fabric. I love painting on Roc-Lon and I plan to do more of it. I am also going to make and offer a video which will show how to do the cool marbling technique that I used for the background. I used the DecoArt Media paints for that and I think the results are wonderful.

So you see, I have lots to keep me busy today. It is raining out and kind of dull anyway. A great day to stay in and accomplish something.

I wish you all a great day as well. Have fun and do something that feeds your soul.

Happy Tuesday!
 

Attachments

#11,769 ·
Multi-Tasking

I am going to post quickly today (really!) because I have much to do. I have been working on cutting the wood kits that were ordered for my haunted carousel and I spent much of the day doing that. I was happy with how things went. I did everything in a nice, organized way and it made things pleasant and I got lots done in not too much time.

Yesterday was cutting all the large circular parts for the carousel. Any scroller can tell you that cutting circles can be a challenge. You would think that the large, gentle curves are easy, but for most they are harder than the more intricate designs. It takes full concentration, but with some good music playing and everything set up just so, things went really well. In just a few hours I had everything that I needed to have done.

Table Furniture Hat Dishware Cat


That's "inspector Pancakes" in the background! I 'suggest' to the cats to go to the other room while I was cutting. (And YES! I did wear a mask!) For the most part they cooperated and napped in my room away from the dust and noise. That photo was taken after all was cleaned up.

The messiest part of things is over for this batch. Cutting MDF is not the cleanest, as one could imagine. But I really do love painting on it and it is a great surface for bigger stuff like this. I really think it is the best choice.

Today I will be multi-tasking. I am going to start cutting the small figures and tower for the carousel, as well as work on a pattern that I am creating that will be presented in Tole Town, an online painting community. I drew and painted the design over the weekend, and I just need to create the packet for it:

Candle Wax White Purple Creative arts


It is a pretty table runner painted on Roc-Lon fabric. I love painting on Roc-Lon and I plan to do more of it. I am also going to make and offer a video which will show how to do the cool marbling technique that I used for the background. I used the DecoArt Media paints for that and I think the results are wonderful.

So you see, I have lots to keep me busy today. It is raining out and kind of dull anyway. A great day to stay in and accomplish something.

I wish you all a great day as well. Have fun and do something that feeds your soul.

Happy Tuesday!
Love the table runner. Lily of the Valley is one of my favourite flowers - and I have lots of Roc-Lon!
 

Attachments

#11,772 ·
New Video Posted on my UTube Channel

I had mentioned yesterday that I was doing things in several different directions this week. Not only have I been cutting and creating the kits for the Haunted Carousels that have been ordered, but also working on a project for Tole Town, an online painting community.

Plant Petal Dishware Purple Art


I love doing projects like this. It doesn't only keep me busy, but it keeps me thinking in lots of directions. It seems that between painting, woodworking and needlework, I always have several ideas on the go and I can't wait to get to any and all of them. I really do try to enjoy every aspect of what I do (YES - even SANDING!) as it is all part of the process and helps others enjoy creating as well.

Part of doing the pattern for Tole Town entails creating a short (or long) video to go along with the project. Doing videos is something that I tend to shy away from, as I am not always really comfortable in front of the camera.

But I commit myself to doing these things because it forces me to step out of my comfort zone, and I find that when I do that and finally get things done, I certainly don't regret it. In fact it, it is kind of fun.

As with anything, the more videos I do the better I feel about them. I try to correct little things that bother me in the early videos that I created and once I get over my own (usually unfounded) fears, I relax and actually enjoy them. I try to think of it as talking to my friends or students, and sharing what I love to do with them. Kind of like when I write here each morning, but in real time. I look past the "what do I look like" mentality and concentrate on "what can I show you" and my love of sharing takes over and things usually go pretty smooth.

After it is over, I usually wonder why I was so fearful in the first place. While my videos aren't actually ready for Hollywood, I think that they convey the idea of what I was trying to teach, and I have received word back from my customers that they are helpful. That is good enough for me.

The video I showed yesterday taught how to do the pretty marbled background on the above project using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics (the paints that I received last week):

Circuit component Electronic component Bottle cap Passive circuit component Audio equipment


One of the main things that I really LIKE about these paints, which makes them different from the normal acrylics that I use is that they are both highly pigmented as well as transparent. That combination of properties allows a vast array of wonderful techniques that offer stunning results.

Not only will this come in handy for my decorative painting projects, but also with my woodworking projects. In the past I have used the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing medium to mix the regular Americana colors for 'staining' some of my wood pieces. While this method worked well for the most part, there were certain colors that had greater opacity that would tend to look a bit cloudy and not as bright when applying in this manner. In the end, some of the colors actually looked like 'paint' as they were intended and it somewhat defeated the purpose of staining.

The transparency property of these fluid acrylics is really a plus here. Add to that their adhesion and colorfastness and I believe we have a product that will be a bit easier to use than the acrylics mixed with the Staining Medium, but look better as well. And like all of DecoArt's products, they are odor-free, water based, and not expensive. You can read more about them and watch more videos at DecoArt's Website.

As for my video, you can watch it here on my YouTube channel:



Using the new Media Fluid Acrylics made this process a breeze. The transparency of the paint, along with the rich pigment gave the faux marble a beautiful, deep finish. It came out amazing. And as you can see on the video, it only took a few minutes to do.

I once again renewed my enthusiasm for videos. I often have people write me that tell me that they "can't" do some of the techniques that I call "easy". I hope to convey through these short videos just how simple things can be when broken down into small steps. You will all see that I mean it from my heart when I answer to you "YES - You can!"

Today I will be finishing up the pattern for Tole Town (the written instructions) and then on to cutting my kits. I laid out and sanded all the wood for the carousel pieces yesterday, and they are ready for the saw:

Publication Wood Rectangle Book Flooring


I received my order of Roc-Lon fabric yesterday as well as the small screws that I need for the turntables. Now all I am waiting on is the magnets. By the time I get them, I should have the kits cut and ready to go. It will feel great to ship all of these orders out.

I hope you all have a great day today. Try stepping out of your creative comfort zone a bit. You will probably be happy you did.

Happy Wednesday.
 

Attachments

#11,773 ·
New Video Posted on my UTube Channel

I had mentioned yesterday that I was doing things in several different directions this week. Not only have I been cutting and creating the kits for the Haunted Carousels that have been ordered, but also working on a project for Tole Town, an online painting community.

Plant Petal Dishware Purple Art


I love doing projects like this. It doesn't only keep me busy, but it keeps me thinking in lots of directions. It seems that between painting, woodworking and needlework, I always have several ideas on the go and I can't wait to get to any and all of them. I really do try to enjoy every aspect of what I do (YES - even SANDING!) as it is all part of the process and helps others enjoy creating as well.

Part of doing the pattern for Tole Town entails creating a short (or long) video to go along with the project. Doing videos is something that I tend to shy away from, as I am not always really comfortable in front of the camera.

But I commit myself to doing these things because it forces me to step out of my comfort zone, and I find that when I do that and finally get things done, I certainly don't regret it. In fact it, it is kind of fun.

As with anything, the more videos I do the better I feel about them. I try to correct little things that bother me in the early videos that I created and once I get over my own (usually unfounded) fears, I relax and actually enjoy them. I try to think of it as talking to my friends or students, and sharing what I love to do with them. Kind of like when I write here each morning, but in real time. I look past the "what do I look like" mentality and concentrate on "what can I show you" and my love of sharing takes over and things usually go pretty smooth.

After it is over, I usually wonder why I was so fearful in the first place. While my videos aren't actually ready for Hollywood, I think that they convey the idea of what I was trying to teach, and I have received word back from my customers that they are helpful. That is good enough for me.

The video I showed yesterday taught how to do the pretty marbled background on the above project using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics (the paints that I received last week):

Circuit component Electronic component Bottle cap Passive circuit component Audio equipment


One of the main things that I really LIKE about these paints, which makes them different from the normal acrylics that I use is that they are both highly pigmented as well as transparent. That combination of properties allows a vast array of wonderful techniques that offer stunning results.

Not only will this come in handy for my decorative painting projects, but also with my woodworking projects. In the past I have used the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing medium to mix the regular Americana colors for 'staining' some of my wood pieces. While this method worked well for the most part, there were certain colors that had greater opacity that would tend to look a bit cloudy and not as bright when applying in this manner. In the end, some of the colors actually looked like 'paint' as they were intended and it somewhat defeated the purpose of staining.

The transparency property of these fluid acrylics is really a plus here. Add to that their adhesion and colorfastness and I believe we have a product that will be a bit easier to use than the acrylics mixed with the Staining Medium, but look better as well. And like all of DecoArt's products, they are odor-free, water based, and not expensive. You can read more about them and watch more videos at DecoArt's Website.

As for my video, you can watch it here on my YouTube channel:



Using the new Media Fluid Acrylics made this process a breeze. The transparency of the paint, along with the rich pigment gave the faux marble a beautiful, deep finish. It came out amazing. And as you can see on the video, it only took a few minutes to do.

I once again renewed my enthusiasm for videos. I often have people write me that tell me that they "can't" do some of the techniques that I call "easy". I hope to convey through these short videos just how simple things can be when broken down into small steps. You will all see that I mean it from my heart when I answer to you "YES - You can!"

Today I will be finishing up the pattern for Tole Town (the written instructions) and then on to cutting my kits. I laid out and sanded all the wood for the carousel pieces yesterday, and they are ready for the saw:

Publication Wood Rectangle Book Flooring


I received my order of Roc-Lon fabric yesterday as well as the small screws that I need for the turntables. Now all I am waiting on is the magnets. By the time I get them, I should have the kits cut and ready to go. It will feel great to ship all of these orders out.

I hope you all have a great day today. Try stepping out of your creative comfort zone a bit. You will probably be happy you did.

Happy Wednesday.
Great video Sheila. Love the Roc-Lon fabric. It is so versatile.
 

Attachments

#11,776 ·
Watermarks

I am going to be cutting kits the next couple of days, and I am sure that it isn't what I would call 'fascinating' blog material. I will certainly keep you updated, but today I am going to talk about something else that may be helpful to some of you that read.

I have many friends and readers who are fellow designers in both the painting as well as the woodworking industry. Many of them use social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest to promote their designs and reach new customers. In order to do this, we all post photos of our latest creations. It's kind of a 'no-brainer'. If people can't see what we do, then they won't buy it. It allows us to reach a worldwide audience in ways that were never before possible. (Technology is amazing! Isn't it?)

However, there are some individuals in the world that are unscrupulous. Not only do they steal others' designs and claim them as their own, but some of them are so bold as to use the original designers own photograph when doing so. This is appalling to me, as I am sure it is to most of you. I have seen this happen over and over again not only with my painting friends, but also my woodworking friends.

Yesterday I came across another example of it. My long time (and very talented) woodworking friend and her partner have an upcoming design in the next issue of a popular scroll saw magazine. The issue isn't even on the news stand yet. However, in one of the scroll saw groups on Facebook, someone from another country posted the project and claimed it as his own. To top it off, he even used the exact photograph that my friend had previously posted. (It is really easy to tell - especially with wood, as the grain pattern is like a fingerprint - no two pieces are the same.)

He didn't even speak English, yet his translated defense said something like "my wife did it". He was banned from several of the groups he was a member of, but that still didn't take away from the fact that there would be other places where he would be free to show this and claim it as his own. We all know that pursuing copyright infringement is expensive in terms of both time and money and beyond the means of many.

So what can we do?

While there is really nothing we can do to stop things altogether, one effective way of making sure that no one will use your photographs in this way would be to watermark them. By watermarking, I mean placing a stamp with your name or some claim that the design is yours. Below is an example of one of my own watermarked photos:

Happy Art Symbol Mythical creature Logo


You can see the faint "Copyright Sheila Landry Designs" over the center of the photo.

One thing I figured is that the type of people who steal photos are generally lazy, and this may be just enough of a deterrent to them so they let your photos alone and move on to something else.

Applying watermarks is easy. I find that the most difficult part about doing so is remembering to do it in the first place. I have taken to watermarking all the photos I present here in my blog, because I have seen them show up in other places, such as on Pinterest and others' sites, and it really galled me. As much as I try to look for good in people, sometimes it is just frustrating how little conscious people have. In the case of my friend's situation, even after the guy was called out for stealing her design, he continued to deny it. If the photo was watermarked, he wouldn't have a case.

There are many free watermarking programs available online. For my own photos, I use Adobe Photoshop, so I don't feel right recommending any of the free programs in particular. Perhaps those of you that have had good experiences with one or another program could share it with us in the comments. It will help out others.

To watermark photos in Photoshop (or any photo software that supports layers for that matter) it is a very simple process. I am sure the steps are similar across the board.

1 - Open your photo in the program.

2 - Add a layer on top

3 - Type your 'watermark' on the new layer (it may be Copyright, your name, your company name, or anything you wish) I use light text for darker photos and dark text for lighter photos. If there is too much of a mix and the watermark gets lost, I use grey.

4 - Adjust the transparency of the new text layer. This is up to you as to how predominant you want your watermark. I like mine subtle. After all - I am showing my design, not my watermark. But I want it pronounced enough where it can actually be 'seen'. I want it annoying enough where people (hopefully) won't bother to swipe my photo. I usually use a transparency anywhere from 20 - 40 percent, again depending on the photo. This only takes a second to do.

5- Finally, you save the photo AS A JPEG. This will 'flatten' your image and merge the layers together, making them impossible to separate. When in Photoshop, as soon as I add the second layer of text, the file is converted from a JPEG to a PSD (Photoshop) file, which will preserve the layers. Not only are the PSD files much larger (because they preserve the individual layer properties) but they are saved as separate layers which means the original photo can be extracted from the file. It is for this reason, you want to flatten and merge the layers together and save them under another name. I always keep my original, unmarked photo and save the watermarked photos with a "wm" in the file name or something similar. That way you always have a clean copy of your photo if you ever need it.

While I can only speak from experience with Photoshop, I know that most photo-editing software that supports layers should work pretty much the same. Check into the ability of the software that you use or check one of the free watermarking programs if you want to try this out. I am sure that some of the software for watermarking can even apply the watermarks to large batches of photos, so you don't have to do it individually on each photo.

It is better to be safe than sorry. It is a shame that we even have to do something like this to our photos. As artists, we like to present clean, beautiful images of our work. But unfortunately, there are those who want to capitalize on our talents and we need to protect ourselves as much as we can against it. I hope that this article at least gets you thinking about watermarking if you don't already.

It is a damp and rather grey day here in Nova Scotia. Lightly raining and windy too. A good day to crank up some music, make some sawdust and get lost in happy thoughts.

Happy Thursday to you all!
 

Attachments

#11,777 ·
Watermarks

I am going to be cutting kits the next couple of days, and I am sure that it isn't what I would call 'fascinating' blog material. I will certainly keep you updated, but today I am going to talk about something else that may be helpful to some of you that read.

I have many friends and readers who are fellow designers in both the painting as well as the woodworking industry. Many of them use social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest to promote their designs and reach new customers. In order to do this, we all post photos of our latest creations. It's kind of a 'no-brainer'. If people can't see what we do, then they won't buy it. It allows us to reach a worldwide audience in ways that were never before possible. (Technology is amazing! Isn't it?)

However, there are some individuals in the world that are unscrupulous. Not only do they steal others' designs and claim them as their own, but some of them are so bold as to use the original designers own photograph when doing so. This is appalling to me, as I am sure it is to most of you. I have seen this happen over and over again not only with my painting friends, but also my woodworking friends.

Yesterday I came across another example of it. My long time (and very talented) woodworking friend and her partner have an upcoming design in the next issue of a popular scroll saw magazine. The issue isn't even on the news stand yet. However, in one of the scroll saw groups on Facebook, someone from another country posted the project and claimed it as his own. To top it off, he even used the exact photograph that my friend had previously posted. (It is really easy to tell - especially with wood, as the grain pattern is like a fingerprint - no two pieces are the same.)

He didn't even speak English, yet his translated defense said something like "my wife did it". He was banned from several of the groups he was a member of, but that still didn't take away from the fact that there would be other places where he would be free to show this and claim it as his own. We all know that pursuing copyright infringement is expensive in terms of both time and money and beyond the means of many.

So what can we do?

While there is really nothing we can do to stop things altogether, one effective way of making sure that no one will use your photographs in this way would be to watermark them. By watermarking, I mean placing a stamp with your name or some claim that the design is yours. Below is an example of one of my own watermarked photos:

Happy Art Symbol Mythical creature Logo


You can see the faint "Copyright Sheila Landry Designs" over the center of the photo.

One thing I figured is that the type of people who steal photos are generally lazy, and this may be just enough of a deterrent to them so they let your photos alone and move on to something else.

Applying watermarks is easy. I find that the most difficult part about doing so is remembering to do it in the first place. I have taken to watermarking all the photos I present here in my blog, because I have seen them show up in other places, such as on Pinterest and others' sites, and it really galled me. As much as I try to look for good in people, sometimes it is just frustrating how little conscious people have. In the case of my friend's situation, even after the guy was called out for stealing her design, he continued to deny it. If the photo was watermarked, he wouldn't have a case.

There are many free watermarking programs available online. For my own photos, I use Adobe Photoshop, so I don't feel right recommending any of the free programs in particular. Perhaps those of you that have had good experiences with one or another program could share it with us in the comments. It will help out others.

To watermark photos in Photoshop (or any photo software that supports layers for that matter) it is a very simple process. I am sure the steps are similar across the board.

1 - Open your photo in the program.

2 - Add a layer on top

3 - Type your 'watermark' on the new layer (it may be Copyright, your name, your company name, or anything you wish) I use light text for darker photos and dark text for lighter photos. If there is too much of a mix and the watermark gets lost, I use grey.

4 - Adjust the transparency of the new text layer. This is up to you as to how predominant you want your watermark. I like mine subtle. After all - I am showing my design, not my watermark. But I want it pronounced enough where it can actually be 'seen'. I want it annoying enough where people (hopefully) won't bother to swipe my photo. I usually use a transparency anywhere from 20 - 40 percent, again depending on the photo. This only takes a second to do.

5- Finally, you save the photo AS A JPEG. This will 'flatten' your image and merge the layers together, making them impossible to separate. When in Photoshop, as soon as I add the second layer of text, the file is converted from a JPEG to a PSD (Photoshop) file, which will preserve the layers. Not only are the PSD files much larger (because they preserve the individual layer properties) but they are saved as separate layers which means the original photo can be extracted from the file. It is for this reason, you want to flatten and merge the layers together and save them under another name. I always keep my original, unmarked photo and save the watermarked photos with a "wm" in the file name or something similar. That way you always have a clean copy of your photo if you ever need it.

While I can only speak from experience with Photoshop, I know that most photo-editing software that supports layers should work pretty much the same. Check into the ability of the software that you use or check one of the free watermarking programs if you want to try this out. I am sure that some of the software for watermarking can even apply the watermarks to large batches of photos, so you don't have to do it individually on each photo.

It is better to be safe than sorry. It is a shame that we even have to do something like this to our photos. As artists, we like to present clean, beautiful images of our work. But unfortunately, there are those who want to capitalize on our talents and we need to protect ourselves as much as we can against it. I hope that this article at least gets you thinking about watermarking if you don't already.

It is a damp and rather grey day here in Nova Scotia. Lightly raining and windy too. A good day to crank up some music, make some sawdust and get lost in happy thoughts.

Happy Thursday to you all!
Sheila -

Don't just include your company name in yhe watermark, include the URL to your Web site is even better to hopefully steer people to your site.

In addition, you may want to embed a caption directly in the image file.

As you say, they are lazy.

I had a whole section of my Web site copied wholesale.

You can do DMCA takedown notice to the host and isp.

Don't sue, usually, not worth it.
 

Attachments

#11,782 ·
"The Zone"

I had an amazingly productive day yesterday! It was one of those days that went somewhat like this:

- I had a plan
- I set a goal
- I stayed FOCUSED
- I worked
- I got the job DONE!

It isn't that I don't always TRY to work like this. But most of us know that many days, we make plans to accomplish things and even with our best efforts, sometimes life just gets in the way. It happens to me all the time. Or I set my goals too high and I am disappointed that I can't accomplish them. (Well - that part I am kind of used to!)

But yesterday was different. I set out to cut out all the 1/8" pieces for 20 carousel kits and turn this:

Publication Wood Rectangle Book Flooring


Into THIS:

Wood Toy Scale model Art Font


That stack in the first picture was 100 pieces of 1/8" plywood.

Not only did I finish what I set out to do, but I cut everything ACCURATELY, as well. I am sure that many of my scroll saw friends can relate that once you start rolling, you get into what I call "The Zone" where things almost come automatically. It's like finding another gear, and you just cruise along and the blade just seems to follow the line on its own. Usually it happens when I am doing stuff like this - production style cutting - and when it does, I just don't want to stop.

After I posted my blog yesterday morning, I finished up my pattern of the Lily of the Valley for Tole Town. I was really proud of it, and it turned out to be 18 pages long with over 40 color step-by-step photos. I had been weaving it in between creating these 20 kits that will ship out on Monday. So I guess I have been multi-tasking this week.

I didn't really get started with cutting until around 1:30 in the afternoon. By the time I finished the pattern, the daily mail to go out and the other household tasks, the morning was gone. I looked at the pile of wood and thought I would be lucky to get half way through it.

As always, I cut the most difficult/intricate pieces first. This way I am fresh when I am doing the stuff that perhaps takes a bit more concentration. Of course, that was the little stands. They weren't particularly hard, but they all had inside cuts so it took a bit more time to re-thread the blade through them for cutting. When I finished them, Keith mentioned to me that there was no way I would get things done in one day. But I love a good challenge.

I put on my headphones and some of my favorite music and got lost in the process. One by one the pile of boards went down and the pile of pieces grew. I finished my last cut at around 9:15 last night and I felt wonderful. It is great to accomplish so much in a day!

Today I will be sanding the pieces and building the lazy susan bases. I will also lay out the 1/4" pieces for cutting tomorrow. Once that is done, I will spend Sunday packing things up and getting them all ready to ship on Monday. It will be a huge milestone for me. :)

I really appreciate how kind and patient everyone that pre-ordered has been. This is the first time I have had "pre-orders" on anything. I usually like to ship out orders the same day or next day if I can, and some of these lovely ladies have been waiting a couple of weeks. But I think when they open their boxes, they will feel that the wait was worth it. I made sure that every piece of these kits and every step of producing the pieces is done with care, quality and love of what I do. You can't get that from China. :)

I still have a couple of really busy days ahead, and then I will be on to new designs. I already have some cool things in mind and can't wait to get to them. There is lots of fun ahead.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy doing something creative!

Happy Friday to you!
 

Attachments

#11,783 ·
"The Zone"

I had an amazingly productive day yesterday! It was one of those days that went somewhat like this:

- I had a plan
- I set a goal
- I stayed FOCUSED
- I worked
- I got the job DONE!

It isn't that I don't always TRY to work like this. But most of us know that many days, we make plans to accomplish things and even with our best efforts, sometimes life just gets in the way. It happens to me all the time. Or I set my goals too high and I am disappointed that I can't accomplish them. (Well - that part I am kind of used to!)

But yesterday was different. I set out to cut out all the 1/8" pieces for 20 carousel kits and turn this:

Publication Wood Rectangle Book Flooring


Into THIS:

Wood Toy Scale model Art Font


That stack in the first picture was 100 pieces of 1/8" plywood.

Not only did I finish what I set out to do, but I cut everything ACCURATELY, as well. I am sure that many of my scroll saw friends can relate that once you start rolling, you get into what I call "The Zone" where things almost come automatically. It's like finding another gear, and you just cruise along and the blade just seems to follow the line on its own. Usually it happens when I am doing stuff like this - production style cutting - and when it does, I just don't want to stop.

After I posted my blog yesterday morning, I finished up my pattern of the Lily of the Valley for Tole Town. I was really proud of it, and it turned out to be 18 pages long with over 40 color step-by-step photos. I had been weaving it in between creating these 20 kits that will ship out on Monday. So I guess I have been multi-tasking this week.

I didn't really get started with cutting until around 1:30 in the afternoon. By the time I finished the pattern, the daily mail to go out and the other household tasks, the morning was gone. I looked at the pile of wood and thought I would be lucky to get half way through it.

As always, I cut the most difficult/intricate pieces first. This way I am fresh when I am doing the stuff that perhaps takes a bit more concentration. Of course, that was the little stands. They weren't particularly hard, but they all had inside cuts so it took a bit more time to re-thread the blade through them for cutting. When I finished them, Keith mentioned to me that there was no way I would get things done in one day. But I love a good challenge.

I put on my headphones and some of my favorite music and got lost in the process. One by one the pile of boards went down and the pile of pieces grew. I finished my last cut at around 9:15 last night and I felt wonderful. It is great to accomplish so much in a day!

Today I will be sanding the pieces and building the lazy susan bases. I will also lay out the 1/4" pieces for cutting tomorrow. Once that is done, I will spend Sunday packing things up and getting them all ready to ship on Monday. It will be a huge milestone for me. :)

I really appreciate how kind and patient everyone that pre-ordered has been. This is the first time I have had "pre-orders" on anything. I usually like to ship out orders the same day or next day if I can, and some of these lovely ladies have been waiting a couple of weeks. But I think when they open their boxes, they will feel that the wait was worth it. I made sure that every piece of these kits and every step of producing the pieces is done with care, quality and love of what I do. You can't get that from China. :)

I still have a couple of really busy days ahead, and then I will be on to new designs. I already have some cool things in mind and can't wait to get to them. There is lots of fun ahead.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy doing something creative!

Happy Friday to you!
It always amazes me how much scrolling you can get done in a day. Even when I stack cut, I could never achieve that volume. Have a great weekend. Sunny summer one forecast for here.
 

Attachments

#11,788 ·
Ready to SHIP!

I had a very busy, yet very productive weekend. It rained most of the time here in Nova Scotia (as it is now) so I didn't really mind at all. I never really mind working though, as I really do love my job.

I worked on getting the first big batch of carousel kits completed. It was a milestone for me because it brought to reality something that I have planned for and dreamed about for nearly two years. I am really proud of them.

As I look at my kitchen table this morning, this is what I see:

Dishware Table Textile Wood Cuisine


It represents months of work and it is nice to know that every single piece was created by hand with care and excitement. The ladies that ordered these kits ahead have been wonderfully supportive, and I thought of them every step of the way while cutting, sanding and assembling things.

Today everything will be getting packaged and boxed up and I will start shipping them out. I expect it to take all day. In a world where everything is automated and done by machines, it is nice to have a business where I can still be personally involved with my customers.

As our business grows, I know it can't always be like that. But I want to enjoy the moment while it is here. I hope that no matter what comes my way in the future, I will still be able to offer beautiful products and personal service.

I was really, really tired last night. I pretty much got all of the cutting you see here done in under a week. Along with that, I created a new pattern for Tole Town as well as a video. My days have been really full.

After dinner last night I did something I haven't done in a while - I embroidered. Even though I could have started packing things up, I choose to take a couple of hours to just sit and do my needlework. I figure I kind of earned that.

It will feel pretty good to ship these kits out. It will feel even better to hear that they all arrived safely and to see what the ladies do with them. As a designer and a teacher, I know the joy is just beginning.

I am going to take a breath, and then I have more to create. I need to design some scroll saw projects and I have more painting projects already on the drawing table. The best is yet to come!

I am really happy to be able to do what I love. I appreciate so much the great support of my customers. Your encouragement and friendships really make my job fun.

Happy Monday to you all!
 

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#11,789 ·
Ready to SHIP!

I had a very busy, yet very productive weekend. It rained most of the time here in Nova Scotia (as it is now) so I didn't really mind at all. I never really mind working though, as I really do love my job.

I worked on getting the first big batch of carousel kits completed. It was a milestone for me because it brought to reality something that I have planned for and dreamed about for nearly two years. I am really proud of them.

As I look at my kitchen table this morning, this is what I see:

Dishware Table Textile Wood Cuisine


It represents months of work and it is nice to know that every single piece was created by hand with care and excitement. The ladies that ordered these kits ahead have been wonderfully supportive, and I thought of them every step of the way while cutting, sanding and assembling things.

Today everything will be getting packaged and boxed up and I will start shipping them out. I expect it to take all day. In a world where everything is automated and done by machines, it is nice to have a business where I can still be personally involved with my customers.

As our business grows, I know it can't always be like that. But I want to enjoy the moment while it is here. I hope that no matter what comes my way in the future, I will still be able to offer beautiful products and personal service.

I was really, really tired last night. I pretty much got all of the cutting you see here done in under a week. Along with that, I created a new pattern for Tole Town as well as a video. My days have been really full.

After dinner last night I did something I haven't done in a while - I embroidered. Even though I could have started packing things up, I choose to take a couple of hours to just sit and do my needlework. I figure I kind of earned that.

It will feel pretty good to ship these kits out. It will feel even better to hear that they all arrived safely and to see what the ladies do with them. As a designer and a teacher, I know the joy is just beginning.

I am going to take a breath, and then I have more to create. I need to design some scroll saw projects and I have more painting projects already on the drawing table. The best is yet to come!

I am really happy to be able to do what I love. I appreciate so much the great support of my customers. Your encouragement and friendships really make my job fun.

Happy Monday to you all!
Sheila, A wonderful feeling of accomplishment I'm quite certain. So gald you've gotten that milestone under foot. Press on with PRIDE ( Professional results in daily efforts). Do so enjoy your daily journal entries.
 

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#11,792 ·
Winding Down

I had pretty much forgotten what it was like to see my kitchen table cleared. Or the counters for that matter. It seems that it has been months that I have been working on one thing or another and although I do manage to keep things fairly neat, there have been miscellaneous boxes, trays and wood parts placed neatly in piles here and there throughout the house.

It is part of working from home though and although we have a small place here, we are pretty good at staying organized and keeping things very neat. It is understandable that when we are in the midst of some of these larger orders things get a little cluttered, but it is always nice when the order is finished and things can get back to 'normal'. It adds to the sense of accomplishment.

Yesterday was what I would call 'the storm before the calm.' I spent the day organizing parts, packaging and counting things as I checked and double checked everything that needed to be packed for orders. I made myself a check list and went through it for each box to insure that every part was included. I had never offered such involved kits before as my Haunted Carousel and I wanted to be sure that everything was right. By the time it came to actually pack the boxes though, I had a good system and things went very smoothly. While things may have looked messy for the time being, packing was very systematic and in the end, there were no left over parts. (GOOD!)

I spent the evening filling out customs forms for all the boxes that are heading across the border. That was all but two at this point. Today they are stacked and ready to head out to the post office.

Brown Cat Wood Carnivore Felidae


(That's "Inspector Pancakes" with the boxes! He's my favorite quality control officer!)

It feels kind of odd today with all of this done. After several weeks of working full force on this project, it feels a bit different to wake up and not have that urgency of getting things done or meeting deadlines. Oh - I have deadlines still, but for the most part I am pretty on top of them. Most of them are self-imposed.

I think I am going to take a short break for a day or so. I hate to say it, but my little 'all season' tree is still decorated for spring/Easter. The pretty pastel colors don't look bad, but I have something in mind for an everyday theme that I wanted to change it to. I may do that today.

I also want to do some cooking. It is raining again today and very cool out. I could use a nice home made pot of soup. I think one of the worst things about me when I get busy is that I don't cook nice like I should. I could use a good comfort meal. Maybe some cream of potato soup with bacon. (MMMmmm!)

I have some embroidery to do as well. I am finishing up something weird and funny that I decided to create just for something to wind down with at night. I was awaiting my thread shipment from South Africa and wanted to 'play' a bit with what I had on hand. I am nearly done with it and it is coming out a little nicer than it looked in the process. It is my own design and I didn't quite know where I was heading with it. (I still don't completely know!) But it is fun, anyway.

And of course, I have some painting and scrolling patterns to created. I already have some things on the drawing board that I want to play with. It won't be long before I am jumping in again full steam to both those venues.

But for now - a day or so without having to do anything sounds just about like heaven. We all need that sometime. No matter how much we love what we do.

I wish you all a wonderful day today.

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." Mark Twain
 

Attachments

#11,793 ·
Winding Down

I had pretty much forgotten what it was like to see my kitchen table cleared. Or the counters for that matter. It seems that it has been months that I have been working on one thing or another and although I do manage to keep things fairly neat, there have been miscellaneous boxes, trays and wood parts placed neatly in piles here and there throughout the house.

It is part of working from home though and although we have a small place here, we are pretty good at staying organized and keeping things very neat. It is understandable that when we are in the midst of some of these larger orders things get a little cluttered, but it is always nice when the order is finished and things can get back to 'normal'. It adds to the sense of accomplishment.

Yesterday was what I would call 'the storm before the calm.' I spent the day organizing parts, packaging and counting things as I checked and double checked everything that needed to be packed for orders. I made myself a check list and went through it for each box to insure that every part was included. I had never offered such involved kits before as my Haunted Carousel and I wanted to be sure that everything was right. By the time it came to actually pack the boxes though, I had a good system and things went very smoothly. While things may have looked messy for the time being, packing was very systematic and in the end, there were no left over parts. (GOOD!)

I spent the evening filling out customs forms for all the boxes that are heading across the border. That was all but two at this point. Today they are stacked and ready to head out to the post office.

Brown Cat Wood Carnivore Felidae


(That's "Inspector Pancakes" with the boxes! He's my favorite quality control officer!)

It feels kind of odd today with all of this done. After several weeks of working full force on this project, it feels a bit different to wake up and not have that urgency of getting things done or meeting deadlines. Oh - I have deadlines still, but for the most part I am pretty on top of them. Most of them are self-imposed.

I think I am going to take a short break for a day or so. I hate to say it, but my little 'all season' tree is still decorated for spring/Easter. The pretty pastel colors don't look bad, but I have something in mind for an everyday theme that I wanted to change it to. I may do that today.

I also want to do some cooking. It is raining again today and very cool out. I could use a nice home made pot of soup. I think one of the worst things about me when I get busy is that I don't cook nice like I should. I could use a good comfort meal. Maybe some cream of potato soup with bacon. (MMMmmm!)

I have some embroidery to do as well. I am finishing up something weird and funny that I decided to create just for something to wind down with at night. I was awaiting my thread shipment from South Africa and wanted to 'play' a bit with what I had on hand. I am nearly done with it and it is coming out a little nicer than it looked in the process. It is my own design and I didn't quite know where I was heading with it. (I still don't completely know!) But it is fun, anyway.

And of course, I have some painting and scrolling patterns to created. I already have some things on the drawing board that I want to play with. It won't be long before I am jumping in again full steam to both those venues.

But for now - a day or so without having to do anything sounds just about like heaven. We all need that sometime. No matter how much we love what we do.

I wish you all a wonderful day today.

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." Mark Twain
Make sure Mr. Pancakes isn't in one o those boxes before you ship em.. hahaha
 

Attachments

#11,797 ·
Lots of FUN Ways to be Creative!

It doesn't take much to regroup and rejuvenate! I got everything out to the post office (in the pouring rain, I may add! It made things more exciting!) and back home by 1pm. Our little place here actually looked a bit EMPTY without all the paraphernalia from the carousels here. It seems that there have been parts and things here for WEEKS! My own carousel is safely put away until later on in the year. I think I have seen enough of it for now anyway to last a little bit.

Since it was cool and damp and rainy outside, I decided to actually make that pot of soup I talked about yesterday. It seems like forever since I really took the time to cook. I am a fast soup maker though and within an hour I had a wonderful lunch of a hearty potato and bacon soup - nice and hot and creamy - just what the day ordered!

I spent the rest of the day putzing around the house and doing some things I wanted to do for a while. I finally got a chance to change my "all season" tree.

Christmas tree Plant Christmas ornament Purple Branch


While I loved the pretty pastel colored glass eggs and decoupaged bunnies, it was time for something else. Even my dear cat Pancakes got in the act! He loved my little prim bunny that my friend Sue created. It fit him perfectly as a hat!

White Cat Textile Window Mammal


(And NO! - I am NOT being cruel to him! He let it on his head for quite a while! It didn't bother him in the least and he stayed with me the entire time I was un-decorating the tree. When he knocked it off, I let it off. He just likes to be involved!)

Over the past several weeks, I have mentioned a little embroidery project that I have been working on. Since finishing my "A Perfect World" sampler, I have been working on something smaller, and less involved. The "Perfect World" sampler was an amazing piece because it introduced me to so many new techniques and materials. I had never worked with silk fibers for embroidery before, and I fear I am hooked on them for life. Over the year since I began the sampler, I gradually added to my stock of materials. I now have a beautiful 'stash' of silk threads and ribbons. I even have acquired some awesome dyes and ribbon to make my own colors. I can see many fun things in the future.

I enjoy the embroidery because it is so relaxed and easy. I love the type of embroidery that is referred to as "Stumpwork." For an awkward sounding name, it represents some really interesting and beautiful results. "Stumpwork" is a style of embroidery where stitched figures are raised from the surface to form a 3-D effect. To me, the extra dimension offers a world of possibilities.

Since both Keith and I enjoy the Steampunk genre, I decided that I wanted my little tree to have that for a theme for a while. I found some beautiful LED lights for it that are connected with copper wire. (I will show a picture in a later post) and I want to fill the tree with some cool types of ornaments and things. I am not quite sure what they will be yet - but I will consider it my work in progress. The lights are up on it and I look at the tree as a blank canvas for what my imagination will come up with.

The reason I am mentioning this is because the little piece that I designed and decided to embroider is an octopus. As many who are familiar with the genre know - the octopus is somewhat of a staple in Steampunk decorating. I drew up my own three layer piece and I spent the last several weeks working on it in my 'off hours' (which haven't been many) in the evenings. I finally finished him last night and I couldn't be more thrilled with him:

Gold Symmetry Font Metal Pattern


He measures about 5" in diameter and all eight arms are completely wired so they are somewhat pose able. The suction cups on his tentacles are all of glass beads and the gears are all real watch gears. He is completely embroidered by hand, using one strand of silk or DMC cotton thread and his base is heirloom quality cotton. I just LOVE him!

I have an idea as to how he will fit perfectly on the tree, and you will all have to come back and read to see what I came up with. I can also put a pin back on him and wear him as a lapel pin on my coat, or hang him from a cord for a funky necklace. I think he would make a wonderful statement, don't you?

Keith thinks I am crazy, but what else is new?? I am having fun and that is what matters most. ;)

As for my other design work - I have lots of other things in progress. I am sure my scroll saw followers are looking for some new designs and I don't want to disappoint them. I have several new things that I will be working on in the very near future. I also have some painting projects that are already on the drawing board that I can't wait to get to. And of course, I am fascinated by these embroidery designs and toying with the idea of designing some small pin pattern packets and seeing how they fly. I notice that my embroidery "pins" on my Pinterest board seem to get the most 're-pins', and I think there are lots of people who love embroidering.

So much to do!

In the mean time while I have been doing all of this, Keith has been working on new designs as well. He has THREE new designs for everyone to enjoy.

His first is SLDK589 Better With Age Wine Plaque pattern:

Rectangle Font Greeting Poster Petal


And then he has a new sectional plaque that is fabulous - SLDK406 Exodus 20:1 - 17 Ten Commandments plaque pattern:

Brown Font Handwriting Paper Parallel


And finally, a new set of general plaques - SLDK588 - Follow, Embrace, Cherish plaque pattern:

Brown Font Handwriting Poster Event


Between the two of us, we hope to keep you all busy on MANY levels of creating. I always consider myself a very fortunate person to be able to do what I love every day. The biggest problem I have is deciding what to do first. It's a good problem to have and a good way to live life. No wonder I am usually happy!

I wish you all a wonderful day today. I hope you find time to do something to feed your creative soul.

Happy Wednesday to you all!
 

Attachments

#11,798 ·
Lots of FUN Ways to be Creative!

It doesn't take much to regroup and rejuvenate! I got everything out to the post office (in the pouring rain, I may add! It made things more exciting!) and back home by 1pm. Our little place here actually looked a bit EMPTY without all the paraphernalia from the carousels here. It seems that there have been parts and things here for WEEKS! My own carousel is safely put away until later on in the year. I think I have seen enough of it for now anyway to last a little bit.

Since it was cool and damp and rainy outside, I decided to actually make that pot of soup I talked about yesterday. It seems like forever since I really took the time to cook. I am a fast soup maker though and within an hour I had a wonderful lunch of a hearty potato and bacon soup - nice and hot and creamy - just what the day ordered!

I spent the rest of the day putzing around the house and doing some things I wanted to do for a while. I finally got a chance to change my "all season" tree.

Christmas tree Plant Christmas ornament Purple Branch


While I loved the pretty pastel colored glass eggs and decoupaged bunnies, it was time for something else. Even my dear cat Pancakes got in the act! He loved my little prim bunny that my friend Sue created. It fit him perfectly as a hat!

White Cat Textile Window Mammal


(And NO! - I am NOT being cruel to him! He let it on his head for quite a while! It didn't bother him in the least and he stayed with me the entire time I was un-decorating the tree. When he knocked it off, I let it off. He just likes to be involved!)

Over the past several weeks, I have mentioned a little embroidery project that I have been working on. Since finishing my "A Perfect World" sampler, I have been working on something smaller, and less involved. The "Perfect World" sampler was an amazing piece because it introduced me to so many new techniques and materials. I had never worked with silk fibers for embroidery before, and I fear I am hooked on them for life. Over the year since I began the sampler, I gradually added to my stock of materials. I now have a beautiful 'stash' of silk threads and ribbons. I even have acquired some awesome dyes and ribbon to make my own colors. I can see many fun things in the future.

I enjoy the embroidery because it is so relaxed and easy. I love the type of embroidery that is referred to as "Stumpwork." For an awkward sounding name, it represents some really interesting and beautiful results. "Stumpwork" is a style of embroidery where stitched figures are raised from the surface to form a 3-D effect. To me, the extra dimension offers a world of possibilities.

Since both Keith and I enjoy the Steampunk genre, I decided that I wanted my little tree to have that for a theme for a while. I found some beautiful LED lights for it that are connected with copper wire. (I will show a picture in a later post) and I want to fill the tree with some cool types of ornaments and things. I am not quite sure what they will be yet - but I will consider it my work in progress. The lights are up on it and I look at the tree as a blank canvas for what my imagination will come up with.

The reason I am mentioning this is because the little piece that I designed and decided to embroider is an octopus. As many who are familiar with the genre know - the octopus is somewhat of a staple in Steampunk decorating. I drew up my own three layer piece and I spent the last several weeks working on it in my 'off hours' (which haven't been many) in the evenings. I finally finished him last night and I couldn't be more thrilled with him:

Gold Symmetry Font Metal Pattern


He measures about 5" in diameter and all eight arms are completely wired so they are somewhat pose able. The suction cups on his tentacles are all of glass beads and the gears are all real watch gears. He is completely embroidered by hand, using one strand of silk or DMC cotton thread and his base is heirloom quality cotton. I just LOVE him!

I have an idea as to how he will fit perfectly on the tree, and you will all have to come back and read to see what I came up with. I can also put a pin back on him and wear him as a lapel pin on my coat, or hang him from a cord for a funky necklace. I think he would make a wonderful statement, don't you?

Keith thinks I am crazy, but what else is new?? I am having fun and that is what matters most. ;)

As for my other design work - I have lots of other things in progress. I am sure my scroll saw followers are looking for some new designs and I don't want to disappoint them. I have several new things that I will be working on in the very near future. I also have some painting projects that are already on the drawing board that I can't wait to get to. And of course, I am fascinated by these embroidery designs and toying with the idea of designing some small pin pattern packets and seeing how they fly. I notice that my embroidery "pins" on my Pinterest board seem to get the most 're-pins', and I think there are lots of people who love embroidering.

So much to do!

In the mean time while I have been doing all of this, Keith has been working on new designs as well. He has THREE new designs for everyone to enjoy.

His first is SLDK589 Better With Age Wine Plaque pattern:

Rectangle Font Greeting Poster Petal


And then he has a new sectional plaque that is fabulous - SLDK406 Exodus 20:1 - 17 Ten Commandments plaque pattern:

Brown Font Handwriting Paper Parallel


And finally, a new set of general plaques - SLDK588 - Follow, Embrace, Cherish plaque pattern:

Brown Font Handwriting Poster Event


Between the two of us, we hope to keep you all busy on MANY levels of creating. I always consider myself a very fortunate person to be able to do what I love every day. The biggest problem I have is deciding what to do first. It's a good problem to have and a good way to live life. No wonder I am usually happy!

I wish you all a wonderful day today. I hope you find time to do something to feed your creative soul.

Happy Wednesday to you all!
I love your octopus! Embroidering with one strand of thread would take some time and patience. I like the combination of Stumpwork and Steampunk.
Keith's plaques are awesome as usual and I like that he added some colour to the fine wine one.
 

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#11,802 ·
Gears are Turning

I took the day off of blogging yesterday because I slept in a bit. By the time I awoke it was after 8:30 am (which is LATE for me!) and by the time I got through the morning mail, it was already rather late to begin writing. I figured since I was in 'recovery mode' from the previous weeks work, there wouldn't be much to miss anyway. The world would get along without me for a morning. ;)

We spent a good part of the day updating the site. While Keith does most of the computer work for that, I do the writing of the newsletter. For those of you who read here often, the newsletter is probably not really 'news' to you, as you see what is going on with me nearly every day. However, there are lots of customers we have on our mailing list who only receive the bi-monthly newsletter, so for them it is new information. Besides - we do add some things like special offers for subscribers only and announce our new sales and such. (If you want to subscribe, you can do so on our Mailing List page. We never share your information with anyone and we send out approximately 2 newsletters per month.)

While I naturally mention new patterns and so forth that we have at the site, I really don't try to make my blog here about selling. I like it to be more about the day to day processes of creating and running a small business in today's world. I realize that many (if not most) of my readers here do some sort of selling themselves - be it patterns or finished products - and I honestly hope that by seeing someone else's perspective, it helps them with their own ventures. I also hope that my blog here helps expose people to new techniques. Whether they create for pleasure or business, it is always fun and exciting to learn something new. It hopefully acts as a springboard for their own creativity and helps them enjoy this life a little more. I think communicating with other creative people and networking is really key to finding success. It is good for everyone and helps the industry as a whole grow.

With that said, I did want to mention that we have some really good new specials on our site. We decided to give even deeper discounts on our most popular pattern sets. Since this is a slower time of year for us (especially with summer just beginning and people finally being able to do outdoor things after this LONG winter!) we decided to offer these sets to encourage people to build their pattern stock up for the autumn perhaps. We hope everyone takes advantage of the savings. You can see all the sales on our Pattern Specials page on our site. We will keep them there for a couple of weeks. :)

Other than that, I am kind of in between things now. I am at the drawing board and hope to be cutting some of the new designs by tomorrow.

As usual, my head is spinning with designs, so I am working on several new things at once. Many are for scrolling and some are for painting and I am thinking of some other new things as well. I can't wait to see them come to life!

For now - I can only give you a small sample:

White Organism Gesture Font Line


While these may look like something 'ordinary', by the time I finish with them, I assure you that they will be anything but that! It is going to be a wonderfully fun project that will take something simple and turn it into something really, really cool. I can't wait to show you all!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I can't complain, as we have had just beautiful and mild weather. They are supposed to be starting the work on my car this week and hopefully I will have it back in a week or two. I can't wait.

Until then, I will keep my nose to the grindstone and enjoy my work.

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Friday to you all!
 

Attachments

#11,803 ·
Gears are Turning

I took the day off of blogging yesterday because I slept in a bit. By the time I awoke it was after 8:30 am (which is LATE for me!) and by the time I got through the morning mail, it was already rather late to begin writing. I figured since I was in 'recovery mode' from the previous weeks work, there wouldn't be much to miss anyway. The world would get along without me for a morning. ;)

We spent a good part of the day updating the site. While Keith does most of the computer work for that, I do the writing of the newsletter. For those of you who read here often, the newsletter is probably not really 'news' to you, as you see what is going on with me nearly every day. However, there are lots of customers we have on our mailing list who only receive the bi-monthly newsletter, so for them it is new information. Besides - we do add some things like special offers for subscribers only and announce our new sales and such. (If you want to subscribe, you can do so on our Mailing List page. We never share your information with anyone and we send out approximately 2 newsletters per month.)

While I naturally mention new patterns and so forth that we have at the site, I really don't try to make my blog here about selling. I like it to be more about the day to day processes of creating and running a small business in today's world. I realize that many (if not most) of my readers here do some sort of selling themselves - be it patterns or finished products - and I honestly hope that by seeing someone else's perspective, it helps them with their own ventures. I also hope that my blog here helps expose people to new techniques. Whether they create for pleasure or business, it is always fun and exciting to learn something new. It hopefully acts as a springboard for their own creativity and helps them enjoy this life a little more. I think communicating with other creative people and networking is really key to finding success. It is good for everyone and helps the industry as a whole grow.

With that said, I did want to mention that we have some really good new specials on our site. We decided to give even deeper discounts on our most popular pattern sets. Since this is a slower time of year for us (especially with summer just beginning and people finally being able to do outdoor things after this LONG winter!) we decided to offer these sets to encourage people to build their pattern stock up for the autumn perhaps. We hope everyone takes advantage of the savings. You can see all the sales on our Pattern Specials page on our site. We will keep them there for a couple of weeks. :)

Other than that, I am kind of in between things now. I am at the drawing board and hope to be cutting some of the new designs by tomorrow.

As usual, my head is spinning with designs, so I am working on several new things at once. Many are for scrolling and some are for painting and I am thinking of some other new things as well. I can't wait to see them come to life!

For now - I can only give you a small sample:

White Organism Gesture Font Line


While these may look like something 'ordinary', by the time I finish with them, I assure you that they will be anything but that! It is going to be a wonderfully fun project that will take something simple and turn it into something really, really cool. I can't wait to show you all!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I can't complain, as we have had just beautiful and mild weather. They are supposed to be starting the work on my car this week and hopefully I will have it back in a week or two. I can't wait.

Until then, I will keep my nose to the grindstone and enjoy my work.

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Friday to you all!
I love what you have started with! I can't wait to see what you do with them!
 

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