Category: art supplies

Success, Failure, Success

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I took the coast road down to Santa Cruz on Wednesday. There was a mad gale blowing, and pouring down rain, and I just didn’t feel like hydroplaning on the Peninsula freeways. Mid-week, the coast road — in addition to being spectacularly beautiful — is a good place to think, and I needed some thinking time. The weather was intense, especially on the open coastal bluffs; the road oddly deserted, and I felt alive and free, so happy to be on the way to seeing my baby girls (the little mama, Maddie, and the bun in the oven :)

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I had this great idea to do diagonal weaving that occupied much of my drive, with the first project being an open-sided ottoman on stylish legs. After our joyful reunion at preschool, and snacks, Maddie and I sat side by side on the couch, she absorbed in an animal show on the iPad (special treat!) while I sketched out my ideas. Above you see some of the sketches, along with Maddie’s later commentary. And the next day’s failed attempts to devise a workable diagonal paper loom.

But no. I tried a few variations, redid my measurements, cut different spoke looms, wove this way and that, but it’s just too hard to do in paper, and not fun at all. Feh.

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However, my notebook has been enriched with an almost-4-year-old’s visions. This is one of my favorites. So much going on!

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Today, after happily spending the morning kitting and filling MMS+S orders, I noticed the supply of old presentation materials I have been hacking and re-purposing for shipping was dwindling. (Seriously, they are like 20 years old? And I’ve held on to them all this time? = paper hoarder.) I determined to craft new ones. Some trial-and-error, but I learned how to use the Cricut scoring tool (super useful!) and cut up bunches of cardstock that is too heavy for weaving (thrifty!) to make colorful new shipping inserts.

Heartfelt thanks to Brae and Keli for writing about the basket kits. Your esteem and influence is plain to see, and I am so very glad that you like them. In our tiny community, you set a standard of generosity that is priceless.

Lime Spice, Liners, Soon, Stretch

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lime_spice

Last night, I thought this color combination was a really good idea. Note my test markers in the lower right corner… I rejected better colors for the jolt of lime. Tsk. But all is not wasted. I refined the Toto basket handle assembly, and experimented with interior/exterior color differences.

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Which led me to this, this morning. I’ve been holding onto this fabulous piece of wrapping paper for some years, creases, tape and all. With the sticky mats of the Cricut machine, I sacrificed precision of placement for precision of cutting.

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Perfectionist me was disappointed, but do it me did something.

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Basket liners! I don’t know why I thought the wrapping paper offcut would make a good photo background, but here you can mostly see three of the round lidded baskets, stained golden oak, dark walnut and cherry, with their new bling liners. I quite like the contrast between understated exterior and patterned inside. And, as a technique! I encourage you to explore.

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The new basket kits require larger packaging, which necessitates a different form for the instructions and mailer. Here is a ’neak preview of the thing. The weather forecast is for clear skies tomorrow, so I’m hoping to finish the instructions photography then. And then, then, actually list them in the shop!

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Finally, of course, Scarlett. I’ve shown remarkable restraint in not posting multi-daily photos of her adorableness. At almost seven months old, she’s approaching cat teenhood. The best thing to have happened to the harmony of our multi-species family is her access to the great outdoors. She still torments the two older cat boys relentlessly, but a lot of her alpha ways are absorbed in bug-and-other hunting and exploration. And she’s still got that crazy striped lemur tail.

Cutting 1/16-inch, New Basket, Erosion

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After trying several different 1/16-inch materials — illustration board, mat board, chipboard — I finally found a cardboard I can get the Cricut machine to cut all the way through (on the 2mm thick leather setting, five passes with a deep cut blade). Unfortunately, it’s from my cardboard stash pile, and I’ve no idea what it is :\ These circles will make an easier base to work with on the soon-to-be released round basket kit.

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Here’s a peek at a new rectangular woven paper basket. Too bad the light is so poor; the two colors of this prototype are “Spice” accented with “Burnt Orange” and are very appealing. Still very early stages. Now that I can command shapes… ideas may expand.

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Keeping things real, here in Northern California (in Pacifica, at least) we’re enjoying some drying out time, after a series of very wet, damaging storms. This is the remains of the already sketchy trail that leads to the sometimes-beach below the bluffs at the bottom of the hill. It’s the last super-low King tide, and a beautiful view stretching to the Marin headlands. Gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation.

Basket Kit Progress, Bobo Fun

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This was my desk, late last night, working away on the paper basket kits. After many pattern iterations, file conversion aberrations and test cuts, I had the basket itself fairly well worked out. I was thinking about basket lids — if, how and why — when I had an idea. I was too tired to implement it, but scrawled some notes.

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This morning I drew the pattern and did a test cut.

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And yay! It works swell! (Also, chilly in the studio this morning! My poor fingers.)

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It’s a simple construction, very open to customization.

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I’m thinking about handles now. But enough! I want to get these kits out.

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For those who saw the item in the January newsletter referencing my delight with the typeface Bobo — designed by Jean-Baptiste Morizot in 2016 and published by Indian Type Foundry — I put together this logo. Each character in the all-caps font has at least three variations. So fun, even as an example of expanding your notions of what makes a thing a thing. (And it’s available from Fontshop right now for half price.) Check it out!

Machine Love, Sundry Basket

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I first learned weaving paper strips to make perfect miniature baskets from Jane Harrop. I’ve used her technique quite a bit for all manner of woven containers. I’m no stranger to precise measuring and cutting of things, but the Cricut machine is ideal for streamlining and automating the process, namely the precise measuring and cutting. I draw the lines in Illustrator, and export as a SVG. Here you see a 1/16-inch (1.6 mm) layout of base and weavers. Perfectly cut by a happy machine.

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Beginning weaving. This is for a finished height of 1.5 inches (38 mm) which translates to 18 inches (46 cm), a substantial-sized basket. On a 1.5-inch (38 cm) base, that’s a lot of weaving of black paper, late at night, on the first day of the new year.

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Slow progress, though I enjoy the process. This height (or width) of basket requires tacking down the weavers every three or so, to maintain integrity. It gets gluey.

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Come next morning, I’ve rethought my premise. All black is challenging to work with in the best of light. Also, black cardstock as a medium is very monochrome and flat as a believable basket. And the starting height requires *far* too much time weaving for a prototype or proof of concept. So I redrew the base to half the height, and cut a new pattern from white cardstock. I used an ebony Minwax touchup marker to stain the base, which lends a more organic color to the paper. I was about to stain the weavers, when, hey! that looks cool!

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I’ve once again lost the light, but I think you can see how appealing this black-and-white woven tub is! More importantly, having the tedious measuring and cutting work reduced in producing such a thing — whether round, oblong, square or oval, handled or no — in whatever color suits your purpose, because *you* decide… might this be a thing for you? I’m going to put a basic kit in the shop which will accommodate up to a 1.25-inch round bottom, a 1/16-inch weaving base and more than adequate weavers. I’ll gladly draw to your specifications, as well. It will take me a few more days, but check it out and let me know!

MMS+S Signage

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sign_fail_4x5

I continue to explore what works and what does not on the Cricut Explore Air 2. I’ve not yet moved beyond cardstock. I wanted to make signage for the courtyard set. This is my first attempt at cutting a sign 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) square. Lessons learned.

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I scaled up to almost four inches, and it cut beautifully.

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Here is the sign, 23 picas square, released from the sticky mat. I glued a nice piece of translucent plastic salvaged from Japanese rice cracker packaging to the back, and cut lengths of 1/4-inch basswood for the top and bottom.

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The finished sign. At least for now.

New Echeveria Kit, Esplanade, Scarlett

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There’s a new kit available over at Modern Miniature Succulents + Sundries. It’s a more delicate echeveria variety, based on an eight-leaved shape. Each plant is about 3/8-inch (9.5 mm) in diameter; the kit makes nine.

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In other news, natural beach erosion opened up two large sinkholes in the switchback path leading down to Esplanade beach, as well as taking out more of the cliffs under the remaining apartments (vacant since January). It was so windy this afternoon on the bluffs I could scarcely keep my camera still.

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Scarlett is almost six months old. Her extravagant affections continue to grow, and because she goes outside now, her depredations have eased *somewhat*.

Happy winter solstice, all.

Courtyard Set

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floor

I wanted to build a courtyard set in which to photograph the miniature succulents, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of time doing it. I mulled it over conceptually for a few days, then remembered I had this egg carton paved floor from a few years ago. It had been sealed, so I grouted it with DAP spackle.

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I spent about half a day going through all my MDF scrap, windows, doors and gates, dry-fitting various combinations to fit the floor. And getting frustrated when they inevitably collapsed, as all dry-fits do. All the while sighing with that sinking feeling of I really don’t want to do all the work of cutting, patching, painting, sanding. Then I remembered I didn’t have to, and settled on a peaked end panel from a garage kit, and a length of half-inch foamboard for the long back wall. I mixed up a stucco slurry from some fine texture medium, thinned acrylic paint and a little tacky glue. It was a very enjoyable application :)

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After gluing the pieces together, I put it on the floor in front of my wee-yet-powerful Dyson heater to dry overnight.

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Today I added a few pieces of wood trim — a cross beam and some posts — all stained leftovers from Argo Wool Works, and called it done. Actually, tomorrow I’ll drill some holes and add small nails and dowels for increased stability. Also I’m currently incubating designs for building anchor stars to cut on the Cricut and a few implementations of MMS+S signage :)

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Here are some vases that will be available real soon over at Modern Miniature Succulents + Sundries. (These are just my prototype succulents; the actually plants have thinner stems.) Above is a turquoise-glazed porcelain Art Deco vase, about an inch tall.

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This is a glazed porcelain vase sculpted with cavorting sea horses.

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And one of my freaky favorites, a reproduction of an ancient 15th–13th century vase marked Chypre (Cyprus). Fierce! Nasty!

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Update: Original vessel is in The British Museum, whose website is impossibly slow, but I found this image on a Pinterest board. “Glazed composition vessel in form of woman’s head. Ancient Cyprus in the British Museum”.

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For you, Pepper.

hens test

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hens_holes

Hen and chicks are one of the first succulents I fell in love with, so this design is dear to my heart. And I felt like a right genius because I figured out how to get the machine to cut a hole in each center. It is not an automatic process and involves what Cricut calls “attaching” layers. (The above holes are three points in diameter; I’ve since upped it to four.)

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This is the fun part. Removing the waste from the sticky mat makes a musical plinking sound that is very satisfying. And as I soon learned and as Nora suggested, it’s far easier to remove the cut shapes after the mat has been “de-sticked” a bit — which seems to happen with use.

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Color test and shaping. The little point on the end of each leaf adds such sweet realism. My inspiration:

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These guys are in a bit more shade now in my early winter backyard, so they’ve lost most of their edge-leaf color.

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Prototype hen. Next up is to draft a smaller-leaved pattern set for the chicks, so we can build happy succulent families. This one is about 5/8-inch (16 mm) across.

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And this is how I’m keeping all the very many parts organized and identified. I’ve long kept a stash of these useful little containers from takeout food, but ran out quickly. Dollar store to the rescue! Ten cups with lids/$1. I should probably cost them out in greater quantities :(

 

Testing

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first_test_cut_120116

I drew some succulent patterns in Illustrator and exported them as SVG. The Cricut Design Space, the app the cutter uses, is fairly straight forward and easy to navigate. First cuts! The sticky cutting mat smells like a toxic headache, though.

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Here’s the first batch. The software arranges the cuts for best use of the material.

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By far the most difficult and tedious task is removing my many, many small shapes from the cutting mat.

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A proposed stack. As it turns out, the two 11-leaved pieces don’t work well at all for miniature succulents.

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Here’s a first model and prototype. I’ll need to make some several before I work out the best construction techniques.

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After revising the patterns, I cut a 12 x 12-inch sheet of colored stock. That’s a lot of prying off to do. Best tool I’ve used thus far is a thin, flexible wedge-shaped palette knife. The next thing I want to determine is if the pen can have a broader tip, and can outline the cut line, and hold registration with the cutter. Learning!