Well I have been off and on productive to well...not so actively moving off my couch. But after searching references and spending days getting inspired from my favorite sources, as well as finding some new great design blogs and sites, I am not fully prepared.
I finished my living room coffee table, it is gorgeous and prepared me to do so many more jobs. ( I will post those pictures soon) And now have assembled a new table project that I accidentally made to large for my purposes so hopefully it will pay for my new bed...because my bed is getting a makeover.
But on to more fun things:
I just found this great staining recipe on Designspongeonline.com courtesy of Kara and Tim:
I gathered my supplies: a glass jar, distilled white vinegar and a steel scrubber or steel wool. Then I placed the vinegar and steel in the jar and waited for 24 hours. I used the solution and stained the piece normally. (Note: the stain will go on clear and start to darken within a few minutes and continue darkening for about 15 minutes or so.) This particular stain looks different on different types of wood, so do a test run before committing! Our flat file was made from oak. — Kara
I have been wondering how to age wood without using recycled lumber (as much as I love reclaiming wood its hard to find the right size). So this DIY comes perfectly along to help solve that, and I just wanted to share that with you.
Good luck and happy staining!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Morning Coffee
Well, I have spent the last few days doing grunt work. Yes grunt work, all that work that at one point in time I had been excited to finish up but got left on the way side for a new more interesting project. So I FORCED myself to do it.
I started sanding my coffee table, refinishing the top but left it after only a few passes thinking I was ruining it. Then SINCE my sander was still set up, I finished sanding round the oval pieces for my bathroom art. Then caulked my window....yes all that miserable back hurting, smelly stuffs that you DON'T feel like spending a night doing. But deep breath and plunge in.
On to better things. Got up today, have a few hours to do more grunt and my adorable kitten curled up on my arm, yes as I am typing this she is laying on my typing arm, riding the movement and purring away purely content. So rethink my free hour. Coffee. Yes a nice big cup of coffee and some beautiful references of what to create today.
My New favorite obsession is jars and large ostentatious glass vases. Now this is a step up from my usual mason jars, but ahh, with these ideas why not create this new obsession, look at all the fun you can have with them:
Now I bought ones similar to these at Target, available this month for $24.99 and $19.99, but I also found some at pottery barn and my love: Anthropologie.
I apologize for having such a small picture here, but I think this apothecary jar take to add aged paper to make labels is very simple and cute, the framed bird page behind add to the old world apothecary shop look.
I like the thought of placing the picture in there, though I might let it free float and not be held by anything, there by allowing it to lean. I just like some asymmetry to offset my obsession with perfect order.
I am in LOVE with this one, the layering on glass, the items holding in it. Totally unique and make my heart swell.
I love the branch with bird located on it, simple, but curiously taxidermi-rific.
I hope you enjoy these little designs, all the possibilities you could place in your own jars, vases or glasses. Please share any ideas or your own photos.
I started sanding my coffee table, refinishing the top but left it after only a few passes thinking I was ruining it. Then SINCE my sander was still set up, I finished sanding round the oval pieces for my bathroom art. Then caulked my window....yes all that miserable back hurting, smelly stuffs that you DON'T feel like spending a night doing. But deep breath and plunge in.
On to better things. Got up today, have a few hours to do more grunt and my adorable kitten curled up on my arm, yes as I am typing this she is laying on my typing arm, riding the movement and purring away purely content. So rethink my free hour. Coffee. Yes a nice big cup of coffee and some beautiful references of what to create today.
My New favorite obsession is jars and large ostentatious glass vases. Now this is a step up from my usual mason jars, but ahh, with these ideas why not create this new obsession, look at all the fun you can have with them:
Now I bought ones similar to these at Target, available this month for $24.99 and $19.99, but I also found some at pottery barn and my love: Anthropologie.
I apologize for having such a small picture here, but I think this apothecary jar take to add aged paper to make labels is very simple and cute, the framed bird page behind add to the old world apothecary shop look.
I like the thought of placing the picture in there, though I might let it free float and not be held by anything, there by allowing it to lean. I just like some asymmetry to offset my obsession with perfect order.
I am in LOVE with this one, the layering on glass, the items holding in it. Totally unique and make my heart swell.
I love the branch with bird located on it, simple, but curiously taxidermi-rific.I hope you enjoy these little designs, all the possibilities you could place in your own jars, vases or glasses. Please share any ideas or your own photos.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Apologies
I know it's been awhile. It's been awhile since I could even look at myself and evaluate, where I could look into that dark rabbit hole I fell down into and try to pick myself up again.
I guess this is just me realizing my life isn't the same, that I am no longer classified as solely one title. I have spent so much of my time, so many hours of the day, days upon days in a year as a student, that I feel lost now. I have spent time wandering around, trying to find where I fit now. I have always been devoted, creative, completely fixated on the tasks at hand, going from project to project, burying myself in worry and panic and deadlines.
Maybe if any of you are reading you can relate to this, not just to school, but taking this lifestyle for work, or any other task that dictates how we decide our lives.
How often when we fixate and punish ourselves this way do we sit back and enjoy? I am always fretting, trying to figure out what to do next, even on days when I need to sit down and relax.
The joy of doing nothing.
The novel "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert talks about this concept.
Yet finally its sinking in. I have accomplished this large obstacle in my life just to look around and want something else to replace it. Now after all my ideas, the minimal ones I have had in clear headed moments of creativity that I try not to douse in MUST ACCOMPLISH NOW, I swear I will get to you.
Maybe this is my twenty odd life crisis, maybe this is the test that I have to pass. the test of reality, of welcome to what life is and isn't this is where you need to fit in.
Or maybe I am just blowing smoke out my rear, but all those thoughts, and anxiety. Make a list if you must, number things, order things. make life practical. CONTROL it again. I may be a control freak but take the reins and stop spinning wildly flailing down that hole.
Apologies to myself, to everyone, let me clear my head, my heart and relax in the control of my own life again.
Settle in, find where you are, forget where you belong. STOP thinking and just breathe.
Hugs and kisses,
Karina
I guess this is just me realizing my life isn't the same, that I am no longer classified as solely one title. I have spent so much of my time, so many hours of the day, days upon days in a year as a student, that I feel lost now. I have spent time wandering around, trying to find where I fit now. I have always been devoted, creative, completely fixated on the tasks at hand, going from project to project, burying myself in worry and panic and deadlines.
Maybe if any of you are reading you can relate to this, not just to school, but taking this lifestyle for work, or any other task that dictates how we decide our lives.
How often when we fixate and punish ourselves this way do we sit back and enjoy? I am always fretting, trying to figure out what to do next, even on days when I need to sit down and relax.
The joy of doing nothing.
The novel "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert talks about this concept.
Yet finally its sinking in. I have accomplished this large obstacle in my life just to look around and want something else to replace it. Now after all my ideas, the minimal ones I have had in clear headed moments of creativity that I try not to douse in MUST ACCOMPLISH NOW, I swear I will get to you.
Maybe this is my twenty odd life crisis, maybe this is the test that I have to pass. the test of reality, of welcome to what life is and isn't this is where you need to fit in.
Or maybe I am just blowing smoke out my rear, but all those thoughts, and anxiety. Make a list if you must, number things, order things. make life practical. CONTROL it again. I may be a control freak but take the reins and stop spinning wildly flailing down that hole.
Apologies to myself, to everyone, let me clear my head, my heart and relax in the control of my own life again.
Settle in, find where you are, forget where you belong. STOP thinking and just breathe.
Hugs and kisses,
Karina
Friday, June 25, 2010
Keys
These were designed to be actual prop keys, hidden on a few of them is my signature. I loved the way they came out, and hopefully soon I will actually fabricate these...
And for a little bit of sap, there is a part inside everyone called the carina, spelled this way I believe, it is part of the breast bone, and so these keys can unlock your heart and expose to everyone that small piece of me that everyone carries.
Cutsy huh.
And for a little bit of sap, there is a part inside everyone called the carina, spelled this way I believe, it is part of the breast bone, and so these keys can unlock your heart and expose to everyone that small piece of me that everyone carries.
Cutsy huh.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Totally Amazing
Alright so while researching for one of my newest miniatures I found some amazing work that I just had to share.
These are Murals painted in childrens rooms and they are simply beautiful, so please take a look and hopefully you are as inspired as I am.
The fore is from wendyspaints.com and the latter is johnhiemstra.com beautiful and adorable.
And here are some of the other things that greatly inspired me...
These are Murals painted in childrens rooms and they are simply beautiful, so please take a look and hopefully you are as inspired as I am.
The fore is from wendyspaints.com and the latter is johnhiemstra.com beautiful and adorable.
And here are some of the other things that greatly inspired me...
Portfolio Review
So part of my glorious graduation is to show my work...so without ado, the compilation of three years of work, a la my style, a wall of my work that is uniquely me.
My buisness card holder, alike to one I saw at anthropologie, I loved collecting the pieces and then joining them together
My miniature library, not my favorite piece that I have created but it was the hit of the show, everyone who came up loved it, raving about it...I can only imagine how many pictures of this can be found on facebook the next day
Another show stopper, my enormous THESIS, yes this is my thesis, a miniature city built by ancients, inspired by art nouveau and the thought of Mount Olympus, final pictures of this coming soon
A Costume I created for my faery make-up, hard to display but the pants were too beautiful not to show
The guardian of the business cards, a flexible dragon that I had made stooped below all, a hidden secret for those who paid attention
...and apparently all the hard work paid off, my design won me the June 2010 BEST IN SHOW AWARD!!!!!!!
My buisness card holder, alike to one I saw at anthropologie, I loved collecting the pieces and then joining them together
My miniature library, not my favorite piece that I have created but it was the hit of the show, everyone who came up loved it, raving about it...I can only imagine how many pictures of this can be found on facebook the next day
Another show stopper, my enormous THESIS, yes this is my thesis, a miniature city built by ancients, inspired by art nouveau and the thought of Mount Olympus, final pictures of this coming soon
A Costume I created for my faery make-up, hard to display but the pants were too beautiful not to show
The guardian of the business cards, a flexible dragon that I had made stooped below all, a hidden secret for those who paid attention
...and apparently all the hard work paid off, my design won me the June 2010 BEST IN SHOW AWARD!!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Whiteleaf
So for one class I had long ago...in a land far far away...
just kidding, in reality, I so far have not traveled or moved as of yet, but that comes soon, and this class I believe was only a year ago but my goodness how much of my life it sucked out. It was a two part class totally six months in which I dont believe I slept for most of it, I can remember vividly the last week of its due-ness in which I did not sleep, nothing went right and he was barely finished when I walked into the room to be graded.
Not my best or proudest moment as I was barely above crying due to lack of sleep and the stress of it all, but I am pleased with him, he did turn out cute...
So without further ado may I introduce, my creature, a wood spirit, Whiteleaf
These little sculptures are my maquettes that I had created to work out how his bark will look, work on his faces and poses, the bark texture and the intertwined knots and where to place them for the best appearance.
The sculpture, made from seven blocks of oil clay, Chevant, there was a form underneath, but all the spires were just additions of clay, that way they could be rearranged if there location looked off.
The molding process, ah that fun. I had to weave the clay around his spires for no undercuts, creating a completely organic and wiggly mold seams between the two pieces- but there were no bad gaps or undercuts.
I had been very patient and spent about six hours just building this wall and seaming it against the oil clay neatly and smoothly.
This picture amuses me, as I was pulling all the clay out after having the two halves, his eyes were staring at me from inside his head!
When you are so dedicated to a project you have to have a little bit of fun with it-
Its pack man.....eating my head!
The final skin, this paint job required about eight different shades of brown and tints of blue to darken it...the whole job took about seven hours, trying to age it and still make him appear young, since Whiteleaf is only around 14 in human years but 120 in tree...still a baby left to grow, as seen in all his tiny mouth wrinkles...he still has to grow into his bark.
This is the animatronic part, for some reason I do not have his eyes in place, they are run by one of the back servos by a pully system, since his eyes need to rotate 120 degrees, the pully gives me max movement, everything is based off a center point, as seen by the mouth picture so that was a lot of planning to fit everything in along that center line running through the interior of his fiberglass head.
just kidding, in reality, I so far have not traveled or moved as of yet, but that comes soon, and this class I believe was only a year ago but my goodness how much of my life it sucked out. It was a two part class totally six months in which I dont believe I slept for most of it, I can remember vividly the last week of its due-ness in which I did not sleep, nothing went right and he was barely finished when I walked into the room to be graded.
Not my best or proudest moment as I was barely above crying due to lack of sleep and the stress of it all, but I am pleased with him, he did turn out cute...
So without further ado may I introduce, my creature, a wood spirit, Whiteleaf
These little sculptures are my maquettes that I had created to work out how his bark will look, work on his faces and poses, the bark texture and the intertwined knots and where to place them for the best appearance.
The sculpture, made from seven blocks of oil clay, Chevant, there was a form underneath, but all the spires were just additions of clay, that way they could be rearranged if there location looked off.
The molding process, ah that fun. I had to weave the clay around his spires for no undercuts, creating a completely organic and wiggly mold seams between the two pieces- but there were no bad gaps or undercuts.
I had been very patient and spent about six hours just building this wall and seaming it against the oil clay neatly and smoothly.
This picture amuses me, as I was pulling all the clay out after having the two halves, his eyes were staring at me from inside his head!
When you are so dedicated to a project you have to have a little bit of fun with it-
Its pack man.....eating my head!
The final skin, this paint job required about eight different shades of brown and tints of blue to darken it...the whole job took about seven hours, trying to age it and still make him appear young, since Whiteleaf is only around 14 in human years but 120 in tree...still a baby left to grow, as seen in all his tiny mouth wrinkles...he still has to grow into his bark.
This is the animatronic part, for some reason I do not have his eyes in place, they are run by one of the back servos by a pully system, since his eyes need to rotate 120 degrees, the pully gives me max movement, everything is based off a center point, as seen by the mouth picture so that was a lot of planning to fit everything in along that center line running through the interior of his fiberglass head.
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